STUDY WARNS BIGGER CARS COULD ADD 2,600 ANNUAL DEATHS BY 2040

A study by the campaign group Transport & Environment has found that cars sold in Europe have grown steadily larger since 2000, expanding by an average of 1.2 centimetres in length, 0.5 centimetres in height and 0.5 centimetres in width each year. The analysis modelled two scenarios: one in which vehicles continue to enlarge at current rates until 2040, and another in which average car sizes return to 2015 levels. Compared with the right-sizing scenario, the current trend of vehicle growth would result in an extra 2,600 road deaths annually by 2040, including 79 children, according to the research findings. The study attributes increased crash fatalities to larger vehicles being more likely to kill people in collisions.

The growth in car dimensions has continued at a steady rate over two and a half decades despite family sizes falling in Europe. The research found that expanding vehicle sizes would consume an additional 100 million barrels of oil imports and 22.5 terawatt hours of electricity annually by 2040. Urban parking capacity would also decline significantly, with cities expected to lose between 8.5 and 14 per cent of on-street parking spaces by 2040 if present trends continue; London and Berlin are each predicted to lose approximately 100,000 parking spaces. Lucien Mathieu, an analyst at Transport & Environment, described the enlargement trend as raising serious questions about public safety and urban space erosion.

Brian Caulfield, a transport researcher at Trinity College Dublin, stated that the research highlighted "several striking points of concern" if vehicle growth persisted at current rates. Caulfield noted that larger vehicles require more energy regardless of fuel type, and suggested the additional energy demand could equal the output of approximately 1,500 offshore wind turbines. The study does not account for additional deaths from air pollution caused by increased fossil fuel burning or deaths related to more extreme weather from climate breakdown.