Huge ute ‘concern’ triggers Aus safety tests
Technology designed to stop massive pick-up trucks from losing control and killing other road users has been put under the microscope in Australia.
Technology designed to stop massive pick-up trucks from losing control and killing other road users has been put under the microscope in Australia.
The ANCAP safety body tested large utes from the likes of Ford, RAM, Chevrolet and Toyota following “community concern” over the risk they pose to smaller vehicles, pedestrians, or cyclists.
ANCAP chief executive Carla Hoorweg said her team of experts examined safety features designed to stop vehicles such as the Ford F-150 from crashing, rather than measuring how the cars fare once a collision occurs.
“There is community concern over the size of pickups when they are driving in suburban streets, around schools, and in built-up areas,” she said.
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“Larger vehicles pose a bigger threat to other road users than passenger cars.
“The best way to reduce the potential risk of fatalities and serious injuries from large vehicles is to make sure they do the best possible job at avoiding a crash.”
A report published by ANCAP cited data from the US showing fatal pedestrian crashes involving pickups are four times more likely to occur during a turn than those involving cars, and vehicles with bonnet heights above one metre are approximately 45 per cent more likely to cause pedestrian fatalities.
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The safety body tested systems such as autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assistance and driver distraction monitoring features found in many new cars.
Cars were ranked according to the presence and effectiveness of safety features.
Ford’s F-150 topped the ranks with a “platinum” grade, while the RAM 1500 finished in second place with “gold”.
Toyota’s Tundra and LandCruiser 79 series returned “silver” ratings, while the Chevrolet Silverado finished last with “bronze”.
ANCAP’s report criticised the Chevrolet for missing features such as reverse autonomous emergency braking, cyclist detection and advanced driver monitoring systems.
Plans to test the utes have been in place since 2023.
Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general for Euro NCAP, said at the time that testing of huge pick-up trucks should focus on the risk they pose to other road users.
“For passenger cars, most of them kill people inside the vehicle, so you have to basically protect them inside the vehicle,” he said in 2023.
“For heavier vehicles, the problem is primarily outside the vehicle because they kill a lot of people, vulnerable road users and people in other cars.
“Therefore … the focus has to be on avoidance, not on protecting one or two persons that happen to be in the truck, right?
“They are not the prime victim here.”
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