Copyright theage
Australians – especially western Sydney drivers – have an obsession with big cars. Eight of the top 10 sold in the country last year were medium-to-large SUVs and utes. Beneath the passion lies a darker side: the huge risk these cars pose to pedestrians and others outside the vehicle. Last week, a five-year-old kindergarten student was killed outside her school in Rouse Hill, in Sydney’s north-west. She was riding her scooter on the footpath near the school entrance when she was hit by a Toyota Hilux ute driving forward. “Sports SUVs and light trucks are known to cause more severe injuries to pedestrians and cyclists than passenger cars,” said Rebecca Ivers, a professor at UNSW specialising in injury prevention and road safety. “With rising numbers of large utes and SUVs, this will only increase.” The key problem is about the car’s height, said Christopher Standing, a UNSW professor who holds a PhD in transport planning.
