The last few years have seen an invasion of bloated, American-style Truckzillas, lumbering around narrow streets that were never designed for them. Australians rightly love a good, practical ute – but nobody needs to pick up the groceries in something the size of a World War II tank.
These rapidly expanding vehicles have consequences for everyone around them. They do not fit into normal parking spaces, spilling out onto the next space, the footpath or the roadway. They struggle to navigate inner city roundabouts.
They have huge blind spots, making them more likely to hit pedestrians, cyclists and even other cars – and when they do, the damage is far worse. Their boxy fronts and huge mass mean children are eight times more likely to die when hit by an SUV.
This is not to mention the consequences for our climate and hip pockets. These Truckzillas guzzle immense amounts of fuel – if SUVs were a country, they would be the sixth largest emitter on earth.
Other places around the world are taking action. Paris recently tripled the parking costs for large vehicles, which alongside other clean transport policies has cut the city’s air pollution in half.
Tradies and farmers will always need utes – and older, normal-sized models of utes have always gotten the job done, while being much safer for everyone around them. It’s time we regulated dangerous, polluting, oversized vehicles properly, so we can go back to vehicles that are safer, more efficient and the right size for the job.
The Greens want to:
- Increase the cost of parking for Truckzillas
- Reform vehicle registration to incentivise lighter and smaller vehicles
- Require minimum pedestrian safety standards for all vehicles
- Close the loophole that exempts big utes from Luxury Vehicle Tax
If you support action on Truckzillas, add your name here!
When this petition reaches 500 signatures, we will raise it in the Victorian Parliament
