Paris Slaps Crossovers With Fat Vehicle Fees

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It’s not just Americans who are obsessed with crossovers these days. The craze of lifted, unibody SUV-wannabes has spread to Europe like wildfire, all but killing the once vibrant wagon market there. Not everyone is happy about this development, including a majority of voters in Paris, France and now those who drive crossovers are going to get hit with extra fees.

This is proof drivers don’t pay attention to the road.

Back on February 4, a narrow majority of voters in France backed a proposal to triple parking fees for vehicles which weigh 1.6 tonnes (about 3,500 lbs.) or more in the city center area. That means they’ll shell out 18 euros per hour instead of the 6 euros everyone else pays to park. In other parts of the city the fee will be 12 euros for these heavier rides.

Before one thinks people in Paris are just wanting to slap some sort of fat tax on vehicles, KULR8 is quick to point out a mere 5.7% of eligible voters even bothered casting a ballot on this issue. We don’t know Parisian politics well enough to weigh on in why that might be, but we do know the city has tried getting older cars and motorcycles off roads to the dismay of residents in the past.

Still, the report indicated Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says the vote was a victory for the “our health and… the planet.” Since she’s a proud socialist we’re not shocked she wants to make everyone drive small, crappy cars (the USSR-made vehicles were truly things of horror).

While KULR8 interviewed some people who were elated about the new measure, they also spoke with Parisians who seem pretty fed up with anti-car policies from Hidalgo and her socialist party. Apparently, not enough were sick enough of the situation to show up in force, at least this time.

Just like we hear from certain groups here in the US, Paris leadership has hammered home that crossovers not only kill the planet through pollution, their height and weight present a danger to pedestrians and cyclists.

Just so we’re clear, depending on how it’s equipped, a 2024 Ford Escape might qualify for these higher parking fees. Yeah, those things are just super porky.

Image via Kadir Avsar

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