Car News Articles

NSW distinguished itself over the Easter 2008 break by recording zero road fatalities, the first time this benchmark has been hit since current records were kept in 1995. But was it just a fluke, or are lower road tolls here to stay?

John Hartley, chief of the NSW Police Service highway patrol, puts it down to, among other things, good luck, hard work by the police and drivers finally getting the message.

According to Superintendent Hartley, speeding offences over the Easter period were also way down. This time last year, 10,514 people were charged with speeding offenses. This year it was 6580.

“I think that drivers are finally getting the message,” he says.

Other offences, including drunk driving, seatbelt infringements and so on, were also down, from 9039 in 2007 to 8146 in 2008. Twenty-seven-thousand more RBTs were performed this year – 199,516 of them in total.

“There were also 200 fewer crashes, and 42 fewer people injured this year than last year,” Superintendent Hartley says.

Take all those statistics together and it seems that, at least in NSW, drivers are slowing down, not drinking and buckling up.

But what role do improved vehicle design and better roads play in this game? There’s no question that cars are safer and that you’re more likely to survive a serious accident in, say, a VE Commodore than you would have in an HQ Kingswood. Go to YouTube and search for crash test footage and you’ll see what we mean - especially if you look for pictures of the Chinese-built Landwind SUV hitting an offset barrier in a standard crash test. The airbags deploy, but the cabin crumples like an empty Coke can. It’s not pretty.

No one wants to have an accident, but if you do, you want to be in a car that is designed to absorb crash energy in a safe and meaningful way. Add to that the fact that Australians are buying more and more new cars every year means that our fleet is getting younger – and safer.

Getting back to the road toll, accidents were down and fewer people were injured. Our major roads are slowly being improved. Even that old death trap, the Pacific Highway, is undergoing significant renovation.

But looking at a single long weekend in isolation is not the best way to review the road toll.

It would be a mistake to assume that the positive result over Easter 2008 all comes down simply to advertising and propaganda. Roads and cars themselves also play a role in saving lives.

Joshua Gliddon

Dick Johnson worries that young drivers lack experience.

Motor racing champion Dick Johnson has questioned whether young drivers have the experience to take on Adelaide’s street circuit after four were injured in high-speed crashes over the Clipsal 500 weekend.

The man who has won just about everything in Australian motorsport warned that drivers had to be highly experienced to cope with the demanding course through central Adelaide.

Johnson spoke out as 27-year-old Ashley Cooper remained on life support following a smash at around 200km/h on Saturday.

Another three drivers, all in their 20s, were injured in a pile-up of V8 utes yesterday before the final leg of the feature V8 Supercars event. One of them, Matt Kingsley, 23, was admitted to the intensive care unit of Royal Adelaide Hospital.

The accidents marred the 10th running of the annual Adelaide race carnival, which attracted record crowds. The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, car racing’s governing body, has launched an investigation into the crashes.

Johnson, the three-time Bathurst 1000 winner who manages a V8 Supercars team with his son Steve as a driver, said motor racing was dangerous at the best of times. But driver experience was at a premium on the tight Adelaide street circuit.

“It may be that they (CAMS) have to take a good look at the experience of the drivers,” Johnson said.

“It’s a very difficult course and … must be treated with the greatest of respect.”

Doctors were forced to perform a trackside tracheotomy on Cooper after he was pulled from the wreckage of the VZ Commodore he had purchased to compete under his own banner in the Fujitsu series, a V8 Supercars support category.

The father of two from the NSW south coast town of Ulladulla suffered severe head trauma, brain swelling and internal injuries. His wife, Casey, was at his bedside yesterday as Supercars chaplain Garry Coleman led the big race crowd in praying for his recovery.

The injured V8 ute drivers were rushed to hospital after their race, a warm-up to the Clipsal 500 finale, produced more high drama yesterday.

Jamie Whincup won the main event after Ford rivals Craig Lowndes and James Courtney took each other out of the race.

CAMS chief executive Graham Fountain said the track layout in Adelaide and “driver issues” would be covered by the investigation into the accidents.

- The Australian

Benz took the light commercial vehicle market by storm a few years back when it launched the Vito. Boxy but stylish compared with the utilitarian competition, Vito carved out a solid slice of the van pie in quick time.

Spanish-made Vito has undergone a complete model change bringing more of the stuff buyers want in a safer, more economical, roomier and better looking package.

The new model arrived last year and it features, among other things, ABS, electronic stability program, anti slip control and electronic brake force distribution as standard across the range. A drivers airbag is also
standard.

It is full of work related solutions to transporting passengers and goods and is ideal for mixed applications.

Three models are available, the 65kW 109, 110kW 115 and 140kW 119 in various body styles including compact, short and long wheelbase and high roof. The 109 and 115 are both diesel four cylinders of 2.2-litres capacity but with different boost settings. The 119 is a 3.2-litre V6 petrol.

All have the essential remote central locking, power steering and power windows and all drive through the rear wheels.

We were able to get hold of a short wheelbase crew cab 109 priced at $37,500. It’s something of a hybrid in terms of goods and passenger transport.

While still offering enough load space for a pallet there are two seat rows with full size seating and three point belts for five, potentially six.

The side sliding doors have fixed glass windows but the load space is blind.

While the interior is utilitarian in terms of floor coverings and upholstery, it is comfortable and easily accessible. The front compartment is modern and car-like incorporating many Benz passenger car features such as the foot operated park brake.

The dash layout facilitates work offering plenty of storage compartments and easy to operate controls including a centre console mounted gearshift.

The engine is a four cylinder, twin cam turbo diesel delivering 65kW and 220Nm of torque, not a lot on the face of it but the six speed manual transmission optimises performance while contributing to 1000km per tank fuel economy.

We were able to load ‘er up with about half a tonne of stuff and four passengers and while progress wasn’t as sprightly as when unloaded, the Vito still hummed along the freeway at a good clip. It hardly dented fuel economy.

Plenty of engine and transmission noise gets into the cabin but it is after all a commercial
vehicle.

Particularly pleasing is Vito’s tight turning circle. Prices start at $33,990.

- News Limited Community Newspapers