In the News.com report on a 3 year old's death, it's noted:
There is no suggestion the driver of the 4WD did anything wrong, police have laid no charges, and the boy ran in front of the traffic.
But road safety experts yesterday seized on the size and visibility of such an elevated 4WD, asking why these vehicles are allowed on the road.
It continues:
Road safety experts have labelled the monster vehicles "death machines" and called on them to be banned from suburban areas.
President of the Australasian College of Road Safety, Associate Professor Raphael Grzebieta, said driving a raised 4WD was akin to driving a small truck or piece of machinery.
"You can't see anyone underneath you when they are close to the vehicle and they have their blindspots like small trucks and machinery," the Monash University civil engineering lecturer said.
Similarly, Irish scientists whine that:
"There is clearly a higher risk for pedestrians when they are struck by a light truck or ...[4WD] compared to a passenger car," Dr Ciaran Simms, an expert in mechanical engineering at Trinity College in Dublin said.
In an editorial in The Lancet medical journal, Dr Simms and Desmond O'Neill, a professor of medical gerontology at Trinity College, called for warnings on 4WDs to inform buyers of the increased risk the vehicles pose to pedestrians.
They also recommended a higher road tax and called for all 4WDs involved in accidents to be documented.
and
They say elderly pedestrians are more vulnerable to the dangers of 4WDs because they are weaker, less agile and may have poorer reactions, which may make them less likely to avoid being struck and more at risk of suffering serious injuries and dying.
The increased height may also make it more difficult for drivers to see young children in front of or around the vehicle, according to the researchers.
In both cases, the 'experts' involved ignore the logical conclusion that not only 4WDs but trucks and all large vehicles would need banning in their miserable little ideal worlds, and just go for the bete noir du jour that's most likely to score a funding grant.
Further, the two dorks from Dublin seem to think that banning a class of vehicle would make up for the poor reaction times and fragility of old folk. Sheesh!
I'm no fan myself of custom over-raised 4WDs such as the one that hit the child. These particular vehicles are rock climbers, not road-goers, and if they should be more strictly regulated for any reason it's because they are inherantly unstable at speed.
But this whole call to ban 4WDs is nothing more than the pathetic sound of bleating sheep.
The fact in the case of the 3 year old is mum took her eyes off the kid and he ran into the road.
And when the scientists note "The main problem was the height and shape of the front of the vehicle. The hood, or bonnet, is higher than on cars...", what they're actually leading to is a call for uniform design of all motor vehicles such as one of some years ago which wanted the bumper bars of all cars to be at the same height.
It'll be such a perfect world, won't it, when we're all driving around in our little safety pods?
-- Nick
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