Paris votes to crack down on SUVs | Non-Parisians will be charged almost $20 per hour to park large gas or hybrid vehicles within the city center in a bid to address pedestrian safety and air pollu…::Parisians have voted to increase parking charges for out-of-town SUV drivers as part of the city’s efforts to address road safety, air pollution, and climate change.
The described use cases of SUVs way out in the beyond make sense to me - what doesn’t is the expectation that ANY vehicle is a one-size fits all. What if you want to go visit relatives in Alaska? Is an SUV really the most suitable thing for the trip? Obviously not - you’re taking a plane.
If someone is spending a lot of time in that sort of environment, and frequently needs to bring large items, I can almost kind of appreciate that need for a big vehicle. But no one, including that person, really needs to take an SUV downtown. There are many people out in suburbs that enjoy having a car, but still only take it to their closest train stop when getting into the city. And, the vast majority of SUV users don’t need to haul an entire kitchen for most of their trips; yet this still weighs against the risk of accidents those people have.