‘Truckzillas’: War declared on US-style utes

A party leader has launched an extraordinary attack on a new breed of utes on Aussie streets, and it could spell bad news if you want one.

A new breed of American-style utes is taking over Aussie streets — but their impact is causing a backlash that is now being spear-headed by a party leader who wants tough action taken on the giant vehicles.

The number of ‘pick-up trucks’ — which are hugely popular in the US — has been increasing in Australia. Big brands are ramping up manufacturing to keep up with soaring sales.

While Queensland started as largest biggest market for the big vehicles, Victoria and NSW have since taken over; even in metro areas, much to the disapproval of locals.

Social media has been flooded with complaints about the massive vehicles, with many users sharing photos of the obnoxiously-parked trucks and slamming them for taking up multiple spots.

Now, a Greens leader has launched an extraordinary attack on the giant cars. She claims the “truckzillas” are too big and dangerous for Aussie roads, as some councils weigh up slamming owners of the giant cars with increased fees.

The Victorian Greens Party leader Samantha Ratnam. Picture NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

In a speech to parliament in March that has gone viral this week, Samantha Ratnam, the leader of the Victorian Greens, said Aussie highways aren’t designed to accommodate them.

“It’s an undeniable fact that super-sized vehicles are dangerous. They have blind spots up to four metres in front of the vehicle,” Ms Ratnam said.

“And it is no coincidence that a child is eight times more likely to die being hit by a larger utility vehicle when compared to a lighter car. Not to mention the astonishing amount of pollution caused by these beasts.”

Ms Ratnam called for increased registration fees for owners of American-style utes to deter people from buying them.

“Large utes have a role in regional areas, but these luxury vehicles – that often cost upwards of $100,000 – have significantly higher emissions, and are more dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists than regular passenger cars,” she wrote on Instagram.

“If we want to lower our transport emissions and reduce road fatalities, we need to see less of these monster cars on our streets.”

Some fed-up councils are taking matter into their own hands.

The Ford F-150 is one of America’s best-selling vehicles.

Yarra City Council in Melbourne’s east has voted to explore the possibility of imposing higher parking fees and costs for drivers of large SUVs and trucks — a move that could potentially discourage the use of these vehicles in the area.

“If you live in Fitzroy with the tiny streets that exist and you buy yourself a Hummer, you’re an absolute idiot and you need to be dealt with, with whatever way that council can deal with it,” councillor Stephen Jolly said.

Greens councillor Sophie Wade said the large imported vehicles from the United States did not fit in the Australian urban landscape.

“We’ve got smaller streets, they were designed to the 1800s,” she said, according to the ABC.

“They weren’t designed for this kind of vehicle, and it’s something that we need to look at everywhere.”

Parking has also become a tricky issue. Some Aussies have taken to social media to vent about the massive cars often taking up multiple spots.

The trucks have been slammed for their impractical size. Picture: Reddit

Aussies are not happy by the pick-up drivers’ obnoxious parking. Picture: Reddit

On Facebook and Reddit, drivers are snapped and called out for overhanging another car space in a crowded car park, or taking up multiple spaces by parking on top of lines. Some pick-up drivers seem to cruise the “stupid American trucks” through carparks to pull up wherever they please, some irate Aussies have claimed.

Despite the backlash from some, American-style trucks continue to grow in popularity across Australia.

The highly anticipated Toyota Tundra, set to cost $140,000, is arriving in early 2025.

Ford began importing the larger F-150 pick-up truck late last year and up to 10,000 full-size US pick-up trucks were sold in Australia in 2023.

Russell White, CEO of the Australian Road Safety Foundation warned American-style utes have increased blind spots.

“The bigger these sorts of vehicles are, there is a bigger risk of blind spots being large enough to hide vulnerable road users, so having things like front facing cameras should definitely be part of the overall safety envelope,” Mr White said.

“Just as we’ve seen with reversing cameras, its another tool that a driver can have so that they can have the information they need to operate the vehicle.

“As they become more popular and there are more of them, unless something is done to look at the safety rating of them to evolve them with the time, we might potentially see more incidents on the roads.”

Originally published as ‘Truckzillas’: War declared on US-style utes