There’s talk of extra charges for driving an SUV in London

It looks like SUV drivers in London could be hit with extra charges to drive in the capital, with a TfL report suggesting that “without action to address oversized and heavier vehicles, more people will be seriously injured or killed”.

It’s all part of the mayor of London’s Vision Zero action plan, which was first initiated back in 2018 and aims to see no one killed or seriously injured on London’s roads by 2041.

The latest action plan cites a July 2025 study that looked at crash data from Britain’s roads between 2004 and 2023. That study found that people walking or cycling are 14 per cent more likely to be killed in a collision with an “oversized vehicle” when compared with smaller passenger cars. It also noted that children faced a 77 per cent higher chance of being killed, and that risk rose to 209 per cent for children under the age of nine.

BBC News reported that a spokesperson for the mayor said these results were “startling”: “The mayor has asked TfL to undertake detailed analysis of the safety risks posed by large SUVs and their wider impact on London's roads. This could then inform any future policy proposals in London or recommendations to government or the sector.

“As the numbers of large SUVs increase on London's roads, it is right that TfL consider their impact on safety and how they affect other road users.”

This second Vision Zero report also claims that large SUVs are “physically reshaping urban streets” and cites a Transport & Environment (T&E) study that found more than half of new cars sold in 2023 were too wide for the minimum on-street parking space in UK cities. Last year, Cardiff became the first major UK city to vote in favour of increasing parking permit costs for SUVs.

“This is no longer a gradual trend – it is creating immediate and intensifying risks across London,” reads the Vision Zero report. “Without action to address oversized and heavier vehicles, more people will be seriously injured or killed.”

As part of the action plan, £150m per year will be invested in London’s roads, with 1,000 new zebra and signal-controlled pedestrian crossings, lower speed limits and improved bus safety.