At the end of last week, the Paris Council “challenged” the government to ban the circulation of SUVs in the city, given the “dangerousness” of these heavy vehicles.
After the passage of the ring road from 70 to 50 km/h and the establishment of a Limited Traffic Zone (ZTL) in the first four arrondissements, the Paris town hall wants to go even further by asking the government to ban SUVs in town.
SUVs soon to be banned in Paris?
This is a new request that will cause a lot of talk and reaction. At the end of last week, the Council of Paris “challenged” the government so that he prohibits the circulation of SUVs in the city. Particularly with regard to the “dangerousness” of these heavy vehiclesafter the death in October in Paris of a cyclist crushed by an SUV driver.
In addition, the socialist town hall also asks the executive toto forbid “all advertising and marketing operations promoting heavy and bulky SUV-type vehicles.in a wish adopted by the Council chaired by Anne Hidalgo.
Last Tuesday, November 19, at the opening of the debates, Parisian elected officials observed a minute of silence in tribute to Paul Varry. This 27-year-old cyclist was killed on October 15 by an SUV driver on a cycle path.
“This event highlighted the extent of road violence on the Parisian territory”said Senator Ian Brossat. Furthermore, the co-president of the communist group at the Council of Paris has just submitted a bill in the Senate to allow the local elected officials to ban heavy vehicles (1.8 tonnes and more) in town.
More fatal accidents involving this type of vehicle
In his wish, the municipal executive points out “the severity of road violence which rages every day in the capital”. The town hall also specifies that “53.5% of trips are made on foot, 30% by public transport, 11.2% by bike and 4.3% by car.”
Furthermore, the accidents involving an SUVin town, in Paris or not, “are statistically more often fatal for the vulnerable users they hit”according to the 2023 road safety report. This is based on data from a study, still in progress, carried out by the Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks (Cerema).
In addition, a few days after the death of Paul Varry, the Ministry of Transport set up a mission with a duration of four months titled “against violence, protect all road users”.
Finally, the Council of Paris requests for its part that a “table-ronde”, with the police headquarters, looks more specifically at a plan to combat “motorized violence”.
