Road safety campaigners have called for a new tax on drivers of utes and large SUVs to try and cut the road toll.
Speaking to a Victorian government enquiry into road safety, Dr Ingrid Johnston of the Australasian College of Road Safety has advocated for a levy on larger vehicles because of the role they play in fatal accidents.
Road deaths are on the rise as sales of SUVs and utes surge in Australia, with almost 75 per cent (74.6%) of all new vehicles sold in the first seven months of 2023 falling into those two categories. So, Dr Johnston wants to try and push Australians away from such big vehicles and into smaller and potentially safer models.
“It’s being done elsewhere,” Dr Johnston told the enquiry. “To disincentivise people from purchasing these cars in the first place, you could increase import tax.
“You could try to disincentivise them being used in the middle of cities, so you could have a levy for bringing a vehicle of a certain size. You could increase registration fees.”
According to the latest sales figures, released at the end of July, the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux remain the two best-selling models in the country. The rest of the top 10 selling vehicles for July featured five SUVs, including the Toyota LandCruiser and Prado, as well as the Isuzu D-Max ute. That left the Toyota Corolla and Hyundai i30 as the only small cars amongst the most popular models.
Therefore adding a new levy or tax on utes and SUVs will be an unpopular move, but there is also evidence something needs to be done to cut the road toll. The Australian Automobile Association (AAA) released data in August that highlighted an increase in road fatalities. According to the AAA report, 1234 Australians died on the road in the 12 months to July 2023, an 8.4 per cent increase over the previous 12 month period. This comes despite state governments around the country pushing road safety campaigns with a focus on speeding.
Dr Johnston is missing half the picture here, although whether that be by design, or ignorance is hard to say.
Given the upsurge in domestic travel since the Pandemic, it’s natural that more vehicles travelling more k’s means potentially more accidents, especially on regional and outback roads.
Also what does she think is going to happen when a small hatch hits wildlife, when compared to a larger ute or 4wd? Answer; if it’s a larger animal such as a kangaroo, emu or wallaby, there’s a higher chance of injury or death.
If the government and do-gooders are serious about reducing accidents involving larger vehicles, put an education and training program in place, and restrictions on their purchase for inexperienced users until said courses are completed.
Here’s another idea, instead of penalizing all of us for the stupidity and inexperience of a few, why not put a levy on all vehicles in the cities that could be using public transport instead, and use it to fund the education programs?
I agree the roads cause most deaths and yet no one talks about this as the government doesn’t want to spend the money there should be legal action against those authorities who leave the roads in disrepair and are dangerous and these are major highways that are death traps also stop blaming trucks they are a fact of life and our roads should be designed and built to handle these trucks all in all its federal, state and regional government that cause the major problems with NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE road surfaces .Michael Green
To disincentive would be unfair on retirees who need an SUV or ute to tow a caravan ,why should we have to compromise our lifestyle because some idiots can’t drive ,I’d love to see the statistics on those accidents to see if excessive speed or alcohol was involved, maybe people should have to give a good reason to purchase a ute or SUV such as towing a caravan or boat or even a living in a rural area with rough roads , too many 4wd being used to ferry kids to school and local shops
It’s the big American utes which need to be reeled in somewhat.
I disagree for several reasons.
Firstly these big yank tanks are too big to use as a city runabout as parking and maneuverability becomes an issue. So they are generally bought for purpose, which is often touring or towing a caravan.
When used for towing and driven sensibly, they often don’t use any more fuel than a Landcruiser or Patrol as their extra power means the engine is not working as hard.
Given that they are heavier also means that they are safer when it comes to towing larger loads, and they are also usually more comfortable.
Given that they are generally more powerful, also reduces the risks during overtaking while towing a heavy load such as a caravan.
If they’re too big for those purposes why do I see them in suburbia every day and growing rapidly? Why is there almost always one taking up two parking spaces at the shops? They aren’t always bought for purpose, they’re increasingly bought as a status symbol.
Fair point BM and I guess even those who do buy them for touring will spend a good part of the year at home in Suburbia, plus a lot of tradies are starting to use them now too. But it’s not just the big American trucks, there’s actually far more Landcruiser’s and Patrols in the cities and suburbs that never leave the metro area. And yes I do agree they need to find a way to crack down on these, and an additional usage tax “while in the city” might be one way.
However, when it comes to outback or regional driving there are plenty of benefits to having these larger vehicles, including rougher roads, wild animals and overall comfort.
Yet when we used F250s with ambulance bodies we could park them in a normal carpark, albeit they were a little long.
Did she actually provide any evidence the larger vehicles are more at fault in fatal accidents? If there are more of them then they will be more involved in all sorts of things! Doesn’t mean large is the problem….
I am sure she must have given more statistics than what Stephen has put in the article. This is just click bait writing. A proper article would have provided some meaningful statistics like the increase in deaths involving utes and suv’s over the last so many years compared to the % increase in these vehicles being sold.
Perhaps you could be a journalist and provide this Stephen.
Another classic manipulation of stats to justify revenue raising and grant applications.
Introduce driver training as part of caravan registration as an example, or make it illegal to modify a vehicle for the purpose of towing when purchasing and/or registering a new or used vehicle if you don’t have the qualification to tow on your license. It would take away lumping everyone in the one basket and stop hammering rural areas that are copping a hammering.
I disagree with Dr Johnston’s comments as I don’t think smaller vehicles are safer, each vehicle has its place in society. Australia is a big country and we have large wild life roaming free and accidents with wild animals happen. I would rather be in an accident with a kangaroo or camel in a larger SUV Like a patrol, land cruiser or even an American pickup style ute than a little Hyundai GETS or a Honda JAZ. At the end of the day Australia is a country of option and opportunity it is our free right to choose what we drive. We pay higher prices for our choice of vehicles as it is through stamp duty and fuel taxes. Also just to sum it up, I visit quiet a few car auctions and I don’t see alot of larger vehicles with accident damage they are mainly smaller hatch back and sedan type vehicle.
Good points Gerhard, but unfortunately pollies and those who have influence on our road designs/funding etc. live in a metropolitan bubble and never venture out to see the rest of the country.
It would be an interesting exercise to cram 4-5 of them into a small 4 cylinder hatch for a 12 hr road trip (each way) out to the regional areas to check out the condition of the roads 🤣.
How many accidents are caused by people stealing these cars and then driving them irresponsibly and when they get caught a slap on the wrist and they do it again, also if these vehicles are the most popular on our roads it is only logic that they are involved in more accidents, it seems some people just choose ignorance to push their own a gender probably EV drivers
I don’t agree that those of us who drive 4 wheel drives should be taxed more. I do however feel that Australia has lost the plot by allowing the larger RAM, Chevy and Ford utes should not be allowed to even enter the country. These larger vehicles should be taxed higher and also require a light rigid truck licence to drive them, because they are trucks not your average 4 wheel drive like a Landcruiser.
Australia used to have an amazing car industry. This sadly disappeared on the back of the government allowing cheap imports from the likes of India and Korea and other countrys that are not suited to our climate and roads, let alone our safety standards. Not to mention the fact that some of these vehicles are prices way to high for the average buyer.
Cars don’t have accidents, people driving them do , poor driving standards is where the road toll comes from.