Ban Ford Rangers at least. The drivers tend to be inconsiderate psychos.
They can ride eBikes instead.
Australia’s roads are full of giant cars, and everyone pays the price. What can be done?
Submitted 2 weeks ago by vividspecter@aussie.zone to australia@aussie.zone
Comments
SarahFromOz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Salvo@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Ban F-trucks, Silverados and RAMs.
I saw an F350 Super Duty parked in a suburban mains street the other day.
It is so big, it needed Interstate Heavy Vehicle plates. It was not a tradies Utes; It was not a Tow Vehicle, It wasn’t even an Oversized Load pilot. It was just compensating someone’s inadequacy.
It had a sticker on the window “Patriotism is not Racism” and it looked like a MAGA sticker but with an Australian Flag instead of the Stars and Stripes.
With all my heart, I wanted to get a paint marker and write “GAGYGF Seppo Cunt”, but I was on work uniform and did not have a paint pen. Also, I am not a complete arsehole.
Almacca@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Make an anger management course part of the requirements to register one.
Longmactoppedup@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Currently I think it’s the other way around. Before you are allowed to own one you sign a contract saying you will at every opportunity drive millimetres from the bumper of the car in front.
DampSquid@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Ranger Danger!
prex@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
I saw the sticker on one of them modified to say ‘pinger’.
hanrahan@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Be still my beating heart
sqgl@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
2x the weight of the car increases the road damage by 16x
pHr34kY@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
We should charge rego by weight and volume. We should measure safety by damage inflicted, not damage deflected.
TheHolm@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
We already to. IMHO rego is weight based.
pHr34kY@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Rego is weight-based, but it’s utterly fucked.
My 900kg hatchback costs $149 more to register than a 2-tonne ute out in the country.
In the city, the rego difference is $1.10.
Tau@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Depends on the state. NSW for example is one that does vary depending on weight (based on weight ranges, not a full sliding scale) - there’s a ~$180 difference between my sedan and van due to the van’s tare weight placing it in the next category up. QLD on the other hand is one that doesn’t - they charge based on the cylinder count instead.
ryannathans@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Why is rego on a little i20 so damn expensive then
Almacca@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
First, the “SUV loophole”: under US law, most SUVs are classified as light trucks, meaning they’re subject to less stringent fuel-efficiency and crash-safety standards than passenger cars.
This has always been baffling to me. Make the standards universal and I reckon people would make very different choices.
Seagoon_@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
just remove the tax rebate/incentive
prex@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Could it be so simple?
Pretty much yes.
Funky_Beak@lemmy.sdf.org 2 weeks ago
If the vehicle has RANGER on the back i just automatically assume they are a cunt.
comrade19@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Ranger Raptor RUGGED X TUFF BLACK BLOKE EDITION
Salvo@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
It was a meme that the majority of incidents in DCAU were Rangers; to the point that when the Range Danger special was released, I know a few people who through it was just another episode.
DCAU is a great resource for learner drivers, to discuss and debate who is primarily at fault and who else contributed to the incident be being an arsehole.
FireWire400@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
For real. The car I’ve seen the most in Oz was some kind of Ranger, with many even being Raptors.
Runner up would be the Toyota (GT)68, but I really don’t mind those at all.
rcbrk@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Zero BAC requirement for vehicles exceeding various hazard thresholds? Say, 3T GVM, vehicle width/length, and a particular vision path requirement.
Tenderizer@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
I’m guessing the sales of emotional support vehicles would drop overnight with that policy.
psud@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
You don’t want to catch small EVs in the rule, I’d do it on dimensions and view angle and classify anything big or inefficient under a different category with different licence rules and conditions. I mean we don’t want drivers of big engined fast cars impaired any more than we want drivers of giant utes impaired
rcbrk@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
On weight, why not? – because F=ma – weight influences the risk posed by the vehicle regardless of whether it is lithium or steel.
Then again, newer cars have ANCAP pedestrian/vulnerable road user safety ratings which could override a weight threshold where available.
shirro@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Speed limit Rangers to 40kph within city limits. They usually speed through school zones and roadworks so it won’t slow them down but we might get a few disqualified from driving which will help.
porcoesphino@mander.xyz 2 weeks ago
Pretty early the article points out that the top selling car in 2011 was far smaller than the best selling car now, in 2025, a Ford Ranger
It then says:
Four in five new cars sold in Australia are SUVs or utes – more than double the share of 20 years ago.
And follows up by pointing out two parts of US legislation that are driving manufacturing there to larger cars ends by pointing out the extra risks to large cars and how the situation can be improved with local legislation.
Why does the article ignore that the 2011 top selling car was from an Asian manufacturer and that Asian and European manufacturers exist. I went looking for data on sales from regions / brands over time but failed a bit. Anyone want to fill in the gaps? Obviously Mazda is no longer selling the top selling model and Ford is, but was there a swing in sales to Ford, a consolidation of sales on one model or maybe more that people that loved Ford just started buying the bigger cars? Any chance someone knows of some sort of data that helps fill in the gaps?
Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
Double the price of gas. Problem will solve itself.
psud@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
We have done more than that over the thirty years. It hasn’t helped.
Lemmyoutofhere@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
$1.65 AUD/L is not that expensive.
reddig33@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Replace petrol taxes with a formula based on miles driven and weight of car.
Tenderizer@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
People are surprisingly unkeen on tracking in their car. So kilometers driven wouldn’t work.
I’d say just go with a fee based on the weight of the vehicle, exponential of course. We need fewer heavy cars, fewer kilometers driven in just a side effect. And as a bonus effect maybe I’d be able to buy an EV without a range that’s 8 times what I actually need.
rcbrk@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Eh, people can submit odometer readings once a year with their rego renewal.
Honesty based should be good enough. Penalties can apply if you’re caught tampering or severely underreporting.
Salvo@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Odometer reading is a relatively unobtrusive metadatum.
It is recorded when the vehicle is serviced so it is already in someone’s database.
If kms travelled had to be reported annually at the time of registration, no-one will complain (except sov-shit cookers, and they don’t pay rego anyway).
psud@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Have you actually driven outside the city here? I need the 400km my EV has to get between capital cities
dumbass@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Let us bully them again, these dipshits with their shit over sized vehicles used to be publicly mocked for their insecurities, bring that back and you will see a drop in sales for them, shame works wonders.
hanrahan@piefed.social 2 weeks ago
Rest of is could vote Green
TimePencil@infosec.exchange 2 weeks ago
"Rest of is could vote Green"
"is"? Islamic State?
Oh!... "us"... you meant "us". A typo...
So... the "United States", right?
Am I right?(I'll shut up now...)
melsaskca@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
I thought that was specifically a North American issue. Damn. Stay safe pedestrians (those drivers of too-large vehicles won’t even see you when they run you over)!
Taleya@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
Big fan of fire
TheHolm@aussie.zone 2 weeks ago
“Second, under US fuel economy rules, fuel-efficiency targets are adjusted based on the size of the vehicle’s “footprint” — the area between its wheels. In practice, this means larger vehicles are allowed to consume more fuel while still meeting the target.”
So this is the problem (in US) remove that rule and cars will shrink again. Deformities often caused by unnatural pressure, and this is an example.
DampSquid@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Make rego 10x for these yank tanks wanks