Heavier SUVs deepen UK pothole crisis as demand shifts

Britain’s potholes are no longer just a weather problem but a market outcome: rising consumer preferences for SUVs—now over half of new car sales—have increased average vehicle weight, accelerating road wear. Heavier cars exert significantly more force on road surfaces, creating a classic negative externality, where private benefits (comfort, perceived safety) impose external costs on society via higher road repair bills and degraded infrastructure. Ironically, poor road quality itself is boosting demand for SUVs, a self-reinforcing cycle. Policy responses could include indirect taxes or weight-based charges to internalise external costs and shift demand toward lighter substitutes.

SUVs are making Britain’s potholes worse, say scientists | Transport | The Guardian

1. Using a demand and supply diagram, explain how changing consumer preferences has led to an increase in SUVs on UK roads.

2. Discuss the external costs caused by SUVs and the resulting loss of welfare.

3. Discuss whether increasing taxes on SUVs is a better policy than shifting demand towards lighter vehicles for reducing pothole problems.