I think that the SUV debate in the UK is caused by the width of most of our minor and unclassified roads, which are frequently used as alternative roads to avoid congestion on main roads.
We have an unclassified road that runs from our village on the A36 south of Salisbury to Downton, a small town the other side of the Avon valley, most of the road is just about wide enough for two vehicles to pass, but some is not. .
The A36 from Southampton to Salisbury and beyond is a primary "Trunk" road and the A338 from Poole to the A420 near Oxford is a secondary main road. In Salisbury the A338 intersects the A354 to Blandford and Weymouth.
Crossing Salisbury on the A36 to join the A354 can take 25 minutes on a busy afternoon to drive just 5 miles. So drivers cut across to the A338, avoiding the Salisbury ring road.
I have been told by a retired traffic engineer that the vast majority of these unclassified roads remain unaltered from the post WW1 period of the 1900s, when cars were few and far between and much narrower.
My first car, a Ford 100e from the 1950s, and a length of 151.75 in (3,854 mm) and a width of 60.5 in (1,537 mm). Cars from the 1930s were narrower still, the Austin 7 was 1.25m wide.
So a road which would comfortably allow two cars of less than 1.5m wide to pass is more challenging when two cars of 2m width want to pass. Add to this the presence of potholes on the side of the road where the paved surface has broken down so drivers of expensive SUVs with 21 or 22 inch wheels and low profile tyres are reluctant to pull over and risk damaging their wheels and tyres. Drivers of Land Rovers and similar vehicles don't worry, nor do drivers of delivery vans. They pull over and help oncoming traffic pass.
My experience of driving in Europe is that the minor roads are wider and in far better state of repair, or have so little traffic that the chances of meeting another vehicle is minute.
So, the issue is not really SUVs, but the volume of traffic and the appalling quality of England's unclassified roads.
BTW, I still don't like driving them, I hate the high up sitting position. Many feel otherwise and I'm happy for them to drive what they enjoy.
