Saw this shared on Mastodon and it really made me think of National and their Atlas Network aligned astro-turf organisation the Taxpayer’s Onion who campaigned against what they termed the ‘ute tax’.
If the results of this 2004 study hold true 20 years later, and in New Zealand, then knowingly or not, they in effect have campaigned for and enacted legislation that will kill more New Zealanders.
"A 2004 study found that for every life saved by a motorist who switched from a car to a light truck (SUV or pickup), 4.3 other drivers, pedestrians and cyclists were killed. "
That statistic also suggests that the safety fears driving people to SUVs are completely overblown and over-egged.
I know a few ute owners, I’ve never heard any of them mention safety as a reason for buying one. In the days of ANCAP safety ratings, it’s very easy to know exactly how safe a vehicle is.
The reasons people typically buy utes and SUVs is as a lifestyle vehicle, something that can carry sporting equipment, camping gear etc, go anywhere they want to go, and tow.
It’s also worth noting that some of the heaviest vehicles on the road are EVs, the difference in weight between a Leaf and a Ranger isn’t actually much.
I honestly think you’re barking up the wrong tree here.
Let’s look at some other weight specs, shall we?
https://www.drive.com.au/showrooms/ford/ranger/12db7674afb33e6a/ Baseline Ranger, less than 1.8 tonnes
https://www.dimensions.com/element/tesla-model-s Tesla model s, 2.2 tonnes
https://www.drivencarguide.co.nz/vehicle-profiles/byd-atto-3/ BYD atto, 1.8 tonnes.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rivian_R1S Rivian SUV, 3.5 tonnes, more than the GVM of some utes.
EVs are far heavier than an equivalent ICE vehicle.
A leaf has much better pedestrian crash safety than any ute or SUV…
OK, so what about vans? Most cab forward van designs are just a wall, and even vehicles like the Transit would be worse than most SUVs. Why aren’t we griping about those?
Vans are infinitely more useful than SUVs. They’re also the better lifestyle cars.