<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/mar/13/australian-suv-huge-ute-obsession-roads-more-dangerous>
"George Upjohn vividly remembers his interaction with the driver of an SUV
after a collision that happened while cycling in Sydney’s south.
“I had blood all over my shins and when I hobbled up and asked why she didn’t
turn her head to check to her side before veering into my lane, she said she
didn’t need to because the sensor in her car would have alerted her to me. She
said I must have been at fault and rode into her,” the 32-year-old claims.
The former pilot turned rock-climbing coach has also had multiple near misses
with SUVs while driving his small car and riding motorcycles. He says he has
grown fearful of the larger vehicle’s bulkier bodies that block visibility, and
height which makes their headlights “blinding” to those lower down.
Upjohn is dismayed at their ubiquity on the roads.
“They just don’t see me, they’re stupidly wide and tall and you know if they
hit you [as a cyclist] your body takes the whole impact.”
But Upjohn finds himself on the wrong side of Australia’s latest car trend.
SUVs and huge utes have become the most popular vehicles in Australia,
increasingly serving as the new family car. But experts are concerned their
safety pitfalls could be making the nation’s roads deadlier.
In 2024, Australia’s enthusiasm for four-wheel drives and dual cab utes such as
the Toyota RAV4 SUV and Ford Ranger over smaller cars such as the Toyota
Corolla and Mazda 3 continued to flourish, with large cars accounting for nine
of the top 10 most purchased vehicles of the year.
Of the 1,220,607 new vehicles sold in 2024, most were SUVs, with about 57%
market share, an increase of 2.4% on the previous year. Light commercial
vehicles – which includes utes – accounted for about 22% of sales.
Passenger cars – which covers sedans and hatchbacks – continued to slide in
popularity, accounting for about 17% of purchases.
The trend is a remarkable flip from Australians’ vehicle preferences over the
past decade, with the small cars and family sedans dominating the top 10 list
in 2014."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
