Owners of SUVs could soon face charges for driving in the capital after Transport for London (TfL) unveiled several proposals it hopes will reduce road deaths.
In a report released on Friday, the capital’s transport body said it also planned to increase the number of 20mph zones and reduce speed limits from 50mph to 40mph.
It comes as part of TfL’s aim to tackle road deaths and injuries over the next five years, and ultimately eliminate fatalities.
The new measures include “further developing a robust evidence base on the risk posed by oversized cars and using our powers to address their safety, congestion and environmental impacts”.
“Oversized models, such as large SUVs, make it harder for drivers to see people walking and cycling nearby,” the report added.
SUVs are 14 per cent more likely to kill people walking and cycling than other passenger cars, and 77 per cent more likely to kill children up to the age of 18 in England, it added.
Provisional data shows that in 2025, there were 95 deaths on London roads, down from 110 in 2024.
The changes build on London’s Vision Zero Action Plan, which has the ambitious goal of eliminating death and serious injury on London’s roads by 2041.
According to the report, some 262 deaths have been prevented on London’s roads since 2015 due to road safety changes.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said: “I’m proud that we have saved lives through the important steps already taken to deliver my Vision Zero goal, making our roads safer more quickly than the rest of the country and equivalent international capitals including New York and Paris.
“But every death or serious injury on our roads is unacceptable and we must go further and faster to eliminate this heartbreak across the capital.”
The report also included plans to expand London’s safety‑camera network by adding at least 20 new sites, and opening 1,000 new zebra or signalised pedestrian crossings by 2031.
TfL also wants to encourage more children and young people to walk and cycle to school by providing 200 more school streets by 2030.
It also intends to roll out 20mph limits across borough roads, stating that “evidence shows that 20mph limits save lives: borough-led 20mph schemes have resulted in 40 per cent fewer deaths and 34 per cent fewer people killed or seriously injured”.
Lilli Matson, TfL's chief safety health and environment officer, said: “London has made real progress in reducing road danger, with lives saved across the city through the action we have taken.
“But we cannot accept that it is inevitable that anyone should lose their life while travelling in the capital.”
In October, Cardiff Council became the first in the UK to introduce increased parking permit charges for SUV vehicles.
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