Accident stats show 4WDs the deadliest
June 28, 2005 - 1:24PM
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A 16-year study of Australian road accidents shows four wheel drives are far more likely than conventional vehicles to kill or maim other road users.
Monash Uni's Used Car Safety Ratings project, on behalf of the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria, Traffic Accidents Commission and VicRoads, investigated almost 1.5 million crashes in Australia and New Zealand from 1987 to 2003.
RACV chief engineer Michael Case said the typical Australian family
sedan offers good crash protection but some small cars still expose occupants to unnecessary risk.
He said Australia's road safety lemons are the Daihatsu Charade and Ford Festiva, noting their safety performance was lower than average and had not improved over successive models.
He said Australian-made family sedans were mostly a good choice second-hand vehicle, and he singled out the Ford Falcon AU, Holden Commodore models VR/VX and the Mitsubishi Magna (1991 to 2003) as "strong performers".
He also said the Toyota Corolla built from 1998 to 2001 also showed "strong design can ensure a strong result even in small cars."
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AdvertisementThe study assessed 288 of the most popular cars driven on Australian and New Zealand roads, providing information on the impact of vehicle occupancy and other road users.
Four wheel drives were described as providing the same safety for occupants as family sedans but they have greater impact on the occupants of other cars, and particularly pedestrians, cyclists, and motor cyclists.
Pedestrian Council of Australia chairman Harold Scruby called on the federal government to scrap tariff reductions on 4WD vehicles, and to apply lower tariffs to safer vehicles.
People who genuinely needed 4WDs, such as those in remote areas, could be exempted from increased tariffs, he said.
But elsewhere 4WDs should be "taxed off the road".
"I don't think people in Mosman and Toorak should be getting these vehicles at five per cent tax when a Corolla is taxed at 10 per cent," Mr Scruby said.
He also took aim at
young drivers in regional areas who drove souped-up utes often adorned with bullbars, aerials and stickers.
"In the bush every
young driver wants to drive a Holden ute with a bullbar," he said.
"It's a testosterone thing, it's all about `
mine is bigger than yours'."
However, NRMA vehicle policy expert Jack Haley said the high rate of injuries caused by 4WDs was due to the type of vehicle involved, not the behaviour of 4WD drivers.
The same tariffs should be applied to all cars, Mr Haley said.