ITS EDUCATION ASIA ARTICLE

New activism targeting SUVs

By Danny Harrington, MD ITS Education Asia

The rise of the SUV is a classic case of a perfect storm of vanity, ego, machismo, marketing, supply, unintended consequences of regulations, social media “facts” and more. But whatever the particular combination, the fact is that the SUV now dominates many urban environments – the place where the slightly more justifiable reasons for driving this kind of vehicle are least applicable. And the auto industry just keeps pushing the choice and variety.

But we should all realize that these are vehicles which are massively inefficient. They take up too much space, too many resources, are fuel greedy and while safer for the occupants, much more dangerous to everyone else.

While all private vehicle ownership needs to come under more scrutiny in urban areas, SUVs are certainly a good first target. As this article in The Conversation shows, some people are taking matters into their own hands to make owning an SUV a bit more hassle than expected…..