for supersized cars is mad
Let Standards Australia know that this is a really bad idea!
Standards Australia is considering increasing the length of off-street car parking spaces from 5.4 m to 5.6 m to accommodate oversized vehicles. At first glance, this may seem relatively inoffensive. But enlarging parking spaces would be highly irresponsible on a number of fronts.
“I’m testing out the 2021 Cadillac Escalade this week, and I can't get over how dangerously huge this vehicle is. This is so unnecessary” The Conversation (Image: @andyjayhawke)
Standards Australia is looking at the problem in the wrong way, and in doing so, creating a much bigger problem
Oversized cars are a growing Australian trend inherited from the US and turbocharged through tax breaks. In our article, The Weight We Share, we examine the threat of autobesity to safety, climate and urban space.
What happens then, when the national body invested with protecting safety and environmental standards proposes to accommodate more massive cars?
"By accommodating larger cars, we continue to make them cheap and convenient. Thus people are more likely to own them and want to ensure that parking spaces are big enough. But planning controls still require the same number of parking spaces. So the surface area devoted to parking increases,” says Professor David Levinson of Walk Sydney/Sydney University.
Supersizing parking spaces increases the risk of harm to pedestrians, cyclists and especially kids
“If people want to cruise around in mobile living rooms, that’s their choice. But they should pay the full cost of that privilege. It’s unfair after all, to transfer it through sacrifices to our community spaces, public safety and air quality,” says Peter McLean, CEO Bicycle NSW.
“Standard utes and 4x4's in Australia are already large enough and not ideal for heavily urbanised areas. But supersized American pick-up trucks are 25% heavier, 35% wider, 15% longer and use 54% more fuel.” Peter McLean
- University of Melbourne data has found more than 11,000 Australians a year die prematurely due to vehicle pollution.
- Even as Australia works to combat climate change, Climate Council data shows emissions from light commercial vehicles rose by about 20 per cent between 2012 and 2020.
Oversized cars are death traps, increasing fatalities by 30%
This is due to the crash forces of speed and mass colliding with human road users not encased in steel. Additionally, oversized cars have oversized blind spots that are especially dangerous to children, smaller adults and people in wheelchairs. Another issue is that higher chassis collisions lead to more head traumas. Again, as with blind-spots, smaller people are less visible and more susceptible to getting hit then crushed under tons of steel.
Presumed liable: Collect your latte and a random child in the all-new Tundra (Image: Tom Flood)
The wrong commercial assumption harms everyone
Car parks are primarily built for motorists with limited light commercial parking. That’s because most motorists aren’t truck drivers, and for obvious safety reasons, pedestrians and trucks don’t mix. Therefore the proposal to supersize parking to accommodate supersized cars behaves as though all drivers are commercial vehicle operators. But trucks can’t drive where they please.
But this tax-subsided trend for huge cars ought not to entitle them to be driven and stored at the community’s expense. This would set a faulty and damaging assumption placing pedestrians at greater risk. Additionally, there’s the structural risk created by a preponderance of 2 tonne vehicles straining structures not built for them. And there is an impact on housing affordability too if developments need to accommodate larger cars.
Dominating headlines and street space (Image: Bicycle NSW)
Standards Australia needs to prioritise people over cars
Currently, Australian kids are among the least physically active on the planet. And more likely to suffer death by motor vehicle than any premature cause. This concerning scenario, compounded by the obesity epidemic, can be linked back to a pervasive car-centric approach in urban planning. Public health and safety must come first. So must Australian and international environmental standards aimed at curbing carbon emissions. And Standards Australia holds the compass for safeguarding these principles. The proposal therefore, to expand parking spaces to accommodate massive vehicles is the polar opposite of what Australia needs.
Do you agree that supersizing parking spaces will worsen the problem of supersized cars?
Standards Australia is asking the public in a consultation that runs until 9th November 2023. Read our submission here. And then have your say here.
Also…
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