A London woman whose parents were killed by the driver of a speeding “monster” SUV has called on the Sadiq Khan to push for tougher regulations of these vehicles and a ban on large-SUV advertising across the Transport for London network.
asserted
parents → kill → network
Claire Corkery, 34, from Dulwich, was out celebrating a friend’s engagement in January 2024 when she received a life-changing call from a police officer.
asserted
she → celebrate → officer
Her parents, Sue and Tom, had been walking their dog along a country road near their home in Kent when they were struck by a BMW X5 travelling at 87mph.
asserted
they → walk → mph
They were killed instantly.
asserted
They → kill → ?
Scott Gunn, who had bought the SUV just a week earlier, was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving and jailed for 16 years in 2025.
asserted
who → buy → 2025
For Claire, the sheer devastation of the collision meant she was denied even the chance to say goodbye to her parents.
asserted
she → mean → parents
“I never saw my mum and dad again,” she said.
asserted
she → see → mum
“And when I say I never saw them again, I mean I never saw their bodies.
asserted
I → say → bodies
“I was advised not to.
asserted
I → advise → ?
They were in a state where I couldn’t really say goodbye, which gives you an idea of the destructive nature of these vehicles and the damage they can cause.”
asserted
they → say → vehicles
Now, more than two years on, Claire is campaigning for tighter controls on some of the biggest and most powerful vehicles on Britain’s roads.
asserted
Claire → campaign → roads
She is supporting the Carspreading campaign, which wants tougher safety standards and testing for large SUVs.
asserted
which → support → SUVs
Claire is calling on TfL to ban advertising for large SUVs across its network, while urging Lord Khan to press the Government to introduce national limits on the width, length and, in particular, bonnet height of new passenger cars — measures campaigners say could reduce blind spots and save lives.
uncertain
campaigners → call → lives
“If he is really serious about reducing deaths and serious injuries on our roads, then he could stop them being advertised,” Claire said.
uncertain
Claire → reduce → roads
Read More
When Claire tells the story of what happened to her parents, she says she is often met with the same response: “They could have been killed by a Ford Fiesta travelling at that speed.”
uncertain
They → read → speed
While she accepts that a smaller car travelling at high speed could also have caused a fatal crash, Claire argues that the size and power of “monster” SUVs can make collisions far more devastating for people outside the vehicle.
uncertain
collisions → accept → vehicle
She also questions whether some of these cars are bought as status symbols – and whether drivers would be as likely to travel at such speeds to ‘show off a Ford Fiesta’.
asserted
drivers → question → Fiesta
She also questions why such large vehicles are marketed as “family cars”.
asserted
vehicles → question → cars
“I feel people are really being missold,” she said.
asserted
she → feel → ?
“To me, the description of these cars as ‘family cars’ — well, I think that’s destroyed my family.”
asserted
that → think → family
“What family needs a car with a 4.4-litre engine that goes from zero to 60 in four seconds?
asserted
that → need → seconds
I mean, they don’t.”
asserted
they → mean → ?
Claire does not blame families for choosing to buy SUVs.
asserted
Claire → blame → SUVs
Her anger is aimed instead at manufacturers and at the message she believes they are selling, which is that bigger, heavier and more powerful cars are somehow safer.
asserted
cars → aim → message
“You might feel safer from inside,” she said.
uncertain
she → feel → ?
Speaking about her son, who is sixteen-months-old, Claire added: “I’m really terrified about what happens if he gets into a collision with an SUV because he is three times more likely to be killed if that happens.”
asserted
that → speak → SUV
The risk was even greater among younger children aged 0–9, who had more than three times the odds of dying when hit by an SUV.
asserted
who → have → SUV
The study analysed 359,000 casualties recorded in police-reported road crashes across Britain between 2004 and 2023.
asserted
study → analyse → 2004
Researchers examined the risk of serious and fatal injuries among pedestrians and cyclists hit by SUVs compared with passenger cars, finding that the increased risk was particularly pronounced among children.
asserted
risk → examine → children
Mother-of-two Katy Heald, from Lambeth, knows all too well the risks an SUV collision can pose.
asserted
collision → know → risks
She says she still has nightmares about what could have happened to her four-year-old son, Ben, after he was knocked off his bike by an SUV a few years ago.
uncertain
he → say → SUV
The driver, who Katy says was incredibly apologetic, had not seen Ben over the bonnet of her vehicle.
asserted
Katy → say → vehicle
“I screamed.
asserted
I → scream → ?
I almost sort of saw it happening in slow motion,” Katy said.
asserted
Katy → see → motion
“There was just this car coming towards my tiny child, and so I was absolutely terrified and I still have nightmares about the what ifs.
asserted
I → be → ifs
“The front wheel of the SUV went over the front wheel of Ben's bike.
asserted
wheel → go → bike
It crushed the front wheel and the front fork.
asserted
It → crush → wheel
It somehow missed him,” she told The Standard.
asserted
she → miss → Standard
“The collision happened purely because of the design of that vehicle.”
asserted
collision → happen → vehicle
Reiterating the same point that Claire made, Katy added: “They (SUVs) might be safe for the people inside them, but they're absolutely terrifying for the people outside.”
uncertain
they → reiterate → people
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
.jpg?width=1200&auto=webp&quality=75)
