2024-01-23 12:36:00
Cars get bigger as they get older. Take the Volkswagen Golf. When he was born, in 1974, that cart was over 3 meters 81 long and 1 meter 61 wide. The current Golf 8 is over 4 meters 28 long and almost 180 wide. A difference of many centimeters. And the popular model is certainly not the only passenger car that experienced a growth spurt. Just put the Mini Cooper from the seventies next to the current Mini. A world of difference. And now also a problem, as the British newspaper notes The Guardian.
The newspaper writes about a study by the European umbrella organization Transport & Environment, which is committed to sustainable mobility. She compared the dimensions of passenger cars over the years and came to the conclusion that the average car on European roads has become half a centimeter wider every year. In the first half of 2023, the average width of cars will have grown to over 1 meter 80. The fact that new cars are increasingly lagging behind has all kinds of disadvantages, especially in urban areas.
Parking spaces too narrow
For example, parking spaces are often too narrow to allow easy exit. Before you know it, the door swings against the car next to you. It’s worse to be hit by such a big SUV. Research by the Belgian Road Safety Institute, reports RTL News, shows that cars with a high nose greatly increase the risk of serious injuries. A ‘nose increase’ of 10 centimeters resulted in a 30 percent higher risk of a fatal accident if the car hits a cyclist or pedestrian.
More dominant and deadly
“The traffic landscape is changing,” says a spokesperson for Veilig Verkeer Nederland. “Many electric bicycles have been added and cars are indeed getting bigger. Then the infrastructure must be adapted accordingly. Larger parking spaces, wider roads, safer cycle paths.” But at least as important, according to Veilig Verkeer Nederland, is the behavior of drivers: “Be aware of where you are and which vehicle you are actually in. And then act accordingly. That is our most important message.”
The members of Transport & Environment advocate, among other things, rules on maximum dimensions for passenger cars. These now only apply to buses and trucks. Larger cars are also heavier – and therefore more expensive in road tax – and although the vehicle fleet is slowly but surely electrifying, SUVs with a petrol or diesel engine are relatively polluting. Passenger cars have therefore increasingly taken up more space, they have become more dominant and deadlier road users and they place a greater demand on the planet.
Bigger screens, bigger cars
Why do we want an oversized car so badly? Tim Roks, car expert from used car platform AutoTrack, makes a comparison with the increasingly large screens of telephones: “If Apple were to make the display smaller, it would affect the appeal and therefore the sales of the telephone. I think the reason behind the growth is that manufacturers want to offer consumers more and more, so that they can ask more for a car with good reason. Why would you buy a Golf again if it offers less space than its predecessor?
Yet Roks sees from the search behavior on AutoTrack that Dutch people are not necessarily interested in the largest cars. Searches for SUVs increased from 14.6 percent to 16.8 percent in 2023. But, Roks sees: “In the Netherlands, more people are looking for station wagons than SUVs every month. Moreover, within the sales figures of new cars, you see small models appearing more often, such as the Kia Picanto and the Peugeot 208. And among used cars, the compact Volkswagen Polo is particularly popular.”
Also read:
Good luck to everyone. Despite the climate crisis, new cars are becoming increasingly heavier
New cars, including electric ones, are becoming increasingly heavier, European research shows. This hinders energy savings and leads to more greenhouse gas emissions.
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