Cardiff mum urges action on number of SUVs in the city

A mother whose teenage son was injured after being hit by a car wants Cardiff council to reduce the number of bigger vehicles like SUVs (Sport Utility Vehicle) in the city.

The authority has been considering proposals to manage on-street parking, restricting parking permits for larger vehicles to free up more spaces.

Resident Helen Edwards told councillors her son escaped serious injury after being hit by an “average-sized” car but bigger vehicles were becoming popular.

“We live on a very busy residential road and my neighbour knocks on my front door [to say] my son is lying in the road,” she said. “In the hospital the first thing the doctor wanted to know was what size car he was hit by.”

She told Cardiff council he “escaped with only scrapes because he was hit by an average-sized car”.

“If you hit a child while driving an SUV you are three times more likely to kill that child.

“Children have to navigate dangerous, congested [and] overcrowded roads which are becoming dominated by large vehicles.

“Please act to make Cardiff a safer, cleaner city and stop large SUVs taking up space in our city,” she said, while presenting a petition to the full council meeting.

According to the Clean Cities Campaign group, 62% of UK new car sales in 2024 were SUVs, a fairly loose term which encompasses larger vehicles that have 4×4 capabilities to handle rugged terrain.

It said since 2020, about 4.6 million cars that are “too big for a standard urban parking space” have been sold in the UK, with sales exceeding 1.1 million a year.

Cardiff council carried out a consultation last year about a range of parking proposals aimed at reducing congestion, improving air quality and residents’ parking.

As well as proposing a limit on vehicles over 3,500kg from obtaining parking permits, it has also proposed restricting the number parking permits for students.