Utes - Danger On Wheels
The Sunday Age
Sunday August 6, 2006
IT IS the quintessential "Aussie bloke's" vehicle, but it is also the most dangerous.
Favoured by tradesmen, young country drivers and city dwellers who like to escape to the bush at weekends, the ute has been shown to be 2.5 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than an ordinary car.And figures from the Transport Accident Commission show that they are also twice as likely to be in a crash where someone is seriously injured.Sales of high-performance V8 utes are on the rise with many young men opting for these as a status symbol. The total number of registered utes in Victoria last year was 195,586 compared to 174,938 in 2004.As a result, utes make up about 4.5 per cent of the state's total number of registered cars.But, according to TAC general manager of road safety, David Healy, they are involved, on average, in 15 per cent of fatal accidents and 10 per cent of serious injury accidents.The husbands of two sisters killed by a runaway, high-powered ute want them banned.Trevor Hurst lost his wife, Michelle, 47, and Peter Thomson lost his wife, Glenda, 49, when a 2005 VZ Holden SS ute hit them while they walked home from a 21st birthday party at Korumburra in South Gippsland on May 29.Ms Thomson's daughter, Tara Wells-Thomson, also had her legs broken in the accident.Mr Hurst told The Sunday Age that many high-performance utes were dangerous weapons."They're not working utes, they're the Australian sports car really. People buy them as bloody racing cars. "They've got too much power and don't handle well because they're too light in the rear end. They should be banned."
© 2006 The Sunday Age