Controversial mega truck parking act 'infuriates' Aussies: 'Worst cars imaginable'

The owner of an oversized American-style ute has once again reignited a heated discussion surrounding the controversial vehicles — by parking in the most frustrating way possible.

An image of a giant truck taking up a whopping four car spaces in a Geelong car park has riled up hundreds of Aussies, who have immediately hit out at owners of the oversized utes with their large size once again being brought into question.

Previously, Aussies have criticised the vehicles for being too large for standard parking bays with many arguing they often take up too much space. But the parking effort on display in Victoria this week even had people who owned similar vehicles chiming in to say they would never park in such a way.

'Worst cars imaginable'

A flood of negativity towards the US-style trucks quickly followed the post which was shared on social media on Wednesday. "I hate American import utes. They are the worst cars imaginable, but with a tray," one said.

"Why do these cars attract idiots? They are always speeding and impatient to boot," a second exclaimed.

"I own one of these monsters and even I would p**s in his vents! I park in one bay," another fellow oversized ute owner added.

Some however tried to offer up a potential reason for the poor parking job. "In the guys' defence, I often drive with a trailer and I park far away from the entrance. Maybe he's done the same?" one asked. But his remarks were quickly dismissed.

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Defenders of the mega trucks

Also defending the vehicles is Chris Maujean, a proud mega truck owner and advocate. Maujean told Yahoo News Australia he believes they offer "safety, comfort and ease" for drivers compared to your typical sized cars.

"The American trucks are built and designed to do the job. They're coming into the country fast because they are that capable and safe... they're unbelievable," he said.

Maujean said he can easily park his truck in one bay and said the issue is with these individual drivers, not the vehicles as a collective. After posting a video online of his Chevrolet squeezed in one parking bay in Melbourne's CBD supporters also said the blame falls on Aussie roads and car parks, which are too small and that "infrastructure needs to adapt".

Monash University lecturer Julian O'Shea, who explores sustainable transport options as part of his work, is one of the many vocal critics of the surge in large American pick-up trucks. He agreed and told Yahoo News Australia there would need to be significant changes to infrastructure to accomodate these vehicles on Aussie roads — but doing this would mean losing space for everything else.

"If we want to make our carparks bigger, we get fewer of them, we lose space for bike lanes, we lose space for parks, we lose space for shops," he argued. He also suggested introducing a tax for larger vehicles.

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