As Australia’s road death toll soars, and pedestrians and cyclists are increasingly impacted, a leading road safety campaigner has urged residents to reconsider whether oversized vehicles are truly necessary in urban hubs.
Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) chief executive, Dr Ingrid Johnston, spoke with Yahoo News Australia this week about what’s needed to reduce road trauma across the country.
Australia’s road toll has now risen for five consecutive years, with fatalities increasing both in raw numbers and per capita rates.
Reducing speed limits and a renewed government commitment to a national road safety action plan were among the measures she called for.
But another issue that perhaps gets less attention is Australia’s apparent reliance on large vehicles.
“One of the potential factors [contributing to the rise of pedestrian and cyclist trauma] is the rise in the size of vehicles — these overgrown utes and SUVs, enormous RAM trucks and things that people are driving around now,” Dr Johnston told Yahoo.
“They’ve got so much more weight behind them, so if there is a collision, it’s doing more physical damage.
“They’re higher, which means there is a much bigger blind spot for the driver, including when turning corners.”
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Left: A Ford ranger in a parking garage. Right: A Toyoto ute.
Australia’s obsession with oversized vehicles
According to official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), SUVs and utes completely dominate the Australian market, accounting for over 83 per cent of all new vehicle sales.
A consumer preference has pushed large models like the Ford Ranger to the top of the national sales charts.
The FCAI reports that traditional passenger cars like sedans and hatchbacks are suffering a sharp structural decline as manufacturers pivot to meet this massive demand for larger vehicles.
SUVs and utes completely dominate the Australian new car market, accounting for over 83 per cent of all new vehicle sales.
Dr Johnston asked drivers to consider whether the jumbo-sized vehicles were absolutely essential, pointing to the harm they can cause in accidents.
“They’re so much more damaging to anyone they might hit, be it a pedestrian, a cyclist or someone in a small vehicle,” she said.
“The highest demographic groups in which we’re seeing the increase in trauma numbers are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists.”
Where do big cars belong?
Research shows that for every 10 new vehicles hitting Australian roads, roughly six are SUVs, two are utes, and barely more than one is a traditional sedan or hatchback.
“Those [larger] vehicles have a role and a place, but we need to really consider what that is, and it’s not dropping your kid at school and picking up a loaf of bread,” Dr Johnston added.
Some parents say that bigger cars provide more space for car seats, plus a larger boot for prams, bikes and pets.
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But while they’re often seen as safer, the reality is more complicated.
“The idea that everyone should just be in a bigger vehicle so we’re all safer — that’s a race to the bottom,” Dr Johnston said.
“School pick-up is a really good example of where all of this stuff comes together.
“You’ve got way too many kids being driven 600 metres to school because parents don’t feel like it’s safe to let the kids get themselves that very short distance to school.
“And why don’t they think it’s safe?
“Well, because there are too many of these enormous vehicles there, and there’s no safe, separated path for them to follow to get themselves to school.”
Calls for a national framework on road safety
All of these things, Dr Johnston argued, come together to unite the problems facing Australia’s roads.
“That’s what I mean about there being lots of reasons why we should be addressing this [with a national road safety action plan] — it makes a community so much more liveable.”
Her comments come during National Road Safety Week, a period used annually to promote safer driving behaviour.
Dr Johnston warned that without an updated road safety action plan — with the last one having expired in 2025 — efforts to reduce road trauma risk would become fragmented, difficult to measure and enforce.
“Other countries can do this. We can too. We just need to take it more seriously,” she said.
“The death rate — the number of fatalities per 100,000 people — has increased every year for the last five years as well.
“So this is a real increase that we’re seeing. It is not just about population growth.”
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