SUVs are outgrowing Europe's narrow roads & parking spaces

Most large SUVs on sale in Europe today are around 200 cm wide

According to a new study, new SUVs are getting wider and larger to the point that they are outgrowing the roads and parking spaces in Europe.

Reports state that the maximum permitted width for all vehicles in the European Union is 255 cm. However, this law was implemented in the mid-90s to limit the size of buses and trucks. Today though, automakers are taking advantage of this by offering SUVs and pickups, clearly too big for European roads. The study also claims that the average width of new cars in the EU has already surpassed 180 cm and is increasing at an annual growth rate of 0.5 cm since 2001.

Europe, unlike the USA, is known to have many narrow roads - with many of them sometimes even having to accommodate on-street parking. These parking spots were designed for vehicles that measure 180 cm in width. This means many of today's new vehicles are either on the limit or do not comfortably fit into these parking spaces.

The study goes on to mention that most large SUVs on sale in Europe today are around 200 cm wide, already making them incompatible with many of the roads in Europe. Hence, the report suggests that lawmakers should review the maximum size of passenger vehicles and LCVs if they want to protect public space from "further encroachment".

Source: Transport&Environment