The supersizing of our world is consuming our cars. Let’s eat jumbo-sized muffins, live in McMansions with no garden space, lust over phones that don’t fit in a pocket, and drive to work solo on urban roads in cars that are technically trucks. I reckon these mega-machines – which go by names like Ram, Gladiator and Raptor – are symbolic of everything that’s wrong with our world.

Monster vehicles are all about “me, me, me”, with no regard for “we”. Road safety started with seatbelts and airbags for the benefit of those within a car, but this focus on personal safety seems to have morphed into an arms race to win the “car most likely to crush everything in its path” award.

A Ram truck stopped over a pedestrian crossing in Melbourne’s CBD.Credit: Joe Armao

How dangerous are these oversized cars for other road users? I can’t answer that, as vehicles like Rams are classified as “light trucks” (despite being able to be driven on a normal licence) so they are not subject to Australian ANCAP safety testing.

What I do know is that a Ram’s front grille is at shoulder height and the highest point of the bonnet is at my ear level. Sure, I’m short (just over 152 centimetres), but I’m taller than most kids, who research has shown are eight times more likely to die when hit by even a “regular” SUV as opposed to a sedan or hatch. That’s due to being hit at torso or head height, not to mention the force created by a 2000-plus kilogram vehicle that’s likely travelling faster at impact as all that weight requires increased stopping distances.

Yet, how many hunka-chunka vehicle owners defend their purchase with concerns for the safety of their own children despite apparent disregard for everyone else’s?

Mega trucks are also evocative of our society’s problem with aggression. Just look at the names. “Ram” might have originated from an ovine hood ornament, but when the letters R-A-M are all you can see in your back window when one of these behemoths is tailgating you, it’s not male sheep that come to mind, but the dictionary definition of “strike with violence” or “make compact by pounding”.

Bloated cars are effectively holding up a knuckleduster-decorated middle finger in the face of climate change.

Then, there’s the Raptor (Ford), the Gladiator (Jeep) and the Rogue (Toyota). Are these words that inspire speed-abiding, considerate driving? Or do they encourage owners to bully other road users?

Ram’s current slogan – “eats everything else for breakfast” – strikes me as being a poor-taste apology for bad behaviour on the road (“Sorry officer, I know I was speeding, tailgating and cutting in front of others, but you see, I was just eating all the other cars for breakfast”).