Cynthia Ní Mhurchú

Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, a barrister and Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South, has backed calls by the European Transport Safety Council to change the law following a 20 per cent increase in oversized SUVs and pickups imported from the US to Europe.

Nearly 5,000 Dodge RAMs alone were brought into Europe in 2023, up by a fifth compared to 2022.

US pickup trucks and SUV imports are availing of a loophole whereby they are not required to comply with all EU safety and environmental standards as they are imported through a back-door channel called “Individual Vehicle Approval”.

Ms Ní Mhurchú said: “Due to a loophole in the law, these trucks coming in from the US can bypass current EU environmental and safety regulations.

“Many of these bigger trucks don’t fit in our car parking spaces in Europe, they don’t fit on our rural roads and they pose a danger to other drivers at a time when Ireland is struggling with high road deaths.

“Dodge RAMs make up 60 per cent of these IVA imports, and have three to nine times higher emissions than the average new European car.”

The MEP described some of these imported pickup trucks as a danger to small children.

“Many of these trucks have dangerously high bonnets, with the vehicle’s leading front edge often standing 1.3 metres from ground level,” she said.

“The result is that children up to 10 years old standing or walking in front can be obscured by the vehicle’s bonnet height, and therefore unseen by the driver.”

The European Commission has acknowledged the issue and promised action.