Formal Opinions Wanted (1 Viewer)

[SlipStream]

Hi everyone,

I've been a campaigner for adequate and necessary road safety measures for young peope for a while now. Carl Scully (Minister for Roads and Transport, among other things) agrees with me - but the measures he has proposed are a little extreme.

For those of you who had missed what Carl Scully proposes to do to young people, here are the eleven propositions:

• Increasing the mandatory period of supervised driving for Learner drivers from 50 hours to 100 hours.
• Increasing the minimum period as a Learner driver from six months to 12 months.
• Increasing the age for P plate licences to 18 years.
• Further developing formal driver training.
• Providing an increased role for secondary schools in driver training.
• Improvements to the on-road test to progress from a Learner to a P plate driver.
• A limit of one passenger for P1 drivers aged under 26, with exemptions.
• Prohibiting P plate drivers from driving high-powered vehicles, with exemptions.
• Modifying the demerit point structure for young drivers.
• Introducing a night driving restriction, with exemptions.
• A requirement for 15 hours of night driving for Learner drivers.


I am writing a document that is one big researched program to improve road safety for young people. I've finished it, but now I'm writing a discussion document. I need to include quotes in my discussion paper that formally oppose the current proposals that have been made by Carl Scully.

So please, post you opinions here regarding those 11 proposals. If I see an opinion I like, I will copy it into my discussion paper to support my own proposals. This will eventually be sent to Carl Scully for reading, and perhaps Michael Costa and John Anderson.

I will be quoting directly from this discussion thread. I will PM you if I want to use your opinion in my huge sixteen page discussion paper (which runs parallel to my ten page proposal).

Keep them formal and civilised, thanks!

 

[SlipStream]

If any mods read this, can you move it over to Non-School.

Thankyou!

 

[Generator]

http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?t=51407

Try the news, current affairs and politics forum for ideas and opinions.

Edit: http://www.boredofstudies.org/community/showthread.php?t=51465 (the non-school thread)

 

[SlipStream]

Generator,

Thanks for the links but I'm after formal written opinions, not a few sentences written in SMS language. I would personally appreciate it if YOU wrote a paragraph summing up your personal opinion on Carl Scully's proposals for young drivers. Be subjective, critical and analytical.

I'm looking for opinions from the greater young person bandwith rather than people who like cars. After all, we all are after our Ps sometime so it affects all of us, right?

 

[wanton-wonton]

Hi everyone,

I've been a campaigner for adequate and necessary road safety measures for young peope for a while now. Carl Scully (Minister for Roads and Transport, among other things) agrees with me - but the measures he has proposed are a little extreme.

For those of you who had missed what Carl Scully proposes to do to young people, here are the eleven propositions:

• Increasing the mandatory period of supervised driving for Learner drivers from 50 hours to 100 hours.
• Increasing the minimum period as a Learner driver from six months to 12 months.
• Increasing the age for P plate licences to 18 years.
• Further developing formal driver training.
• Providing an increased role for secondary schools in driver training.
• Improvements to the on-road test to progress from a Learner to a P plate driver.
• A limit of one passenger for P1 drivers aged under 26, with exemptions.
• Prohibiting P plate drivers from driving high-powered vehicles, with exemptions.
• Modifying the demerit point structure for young drivers.
• Introducing a night driving restriction, with exemptions.
• A requirement for 15 hours of night driving for Learner drivers.


I am writing a document that is one big researched program to improve road safety for young people. I've finished it, but now I'm writing a discussion document. I need to include quotes in my discussion paper that formally oppose the current proposals that have been made by Carl Scully.

So please, post you opinions here regarding those 11 proposals. If I see an opinion I like, I will copy it into my discussion paper to support my own proposals. This will eventually be sent to Carl Scully for reading, and perhaps Michael Costa and John Anderson.

I will be quoting directly from this discussion thread. I will PM you if I want to use your opinion in my huge sixteen page discussion paper (which runs parallel to my ten page proposal).

Keep them formal and civilised, thanks!

so what's this all about?

can you summarise it for me?

 

[table for 1]

ok, i'm really clueless about getting my liscense and stuff....but i can still offer opinion

• Increasing the mandatory period of supervised driving for Learner drivers from 50 hours to 100 hours.
• Increasing the minimum period as a Learner driver from six months to 12 months.
• Increasing the age for P plate licences to 18 years.
• Further developing formal driver training.
• Providing an increased role for secondary schools in driver training.
• Improvements to the on-road test to progress from a Learner to a P plate driver.
• A limit of one passenger for P1 drivers aged under 26, with exemptions.
• Prohibiting P plate drivers from driving high-powered vehicles, with exemptions.
• Modifying the demerit point structure for young drivers.
• Introducing a night driving restriction, with exemptions.
• A requirement for 15 hours of night driving for Learner drivers.

basically, most of the stuff listed above is mainly aimed at discriminating against the younger drivers. just because we cannot invent a machine to fast forward time does not mean that we are inadequate drivers, and most certainly not underqualified. i'm beginning to think it may just be a power trip to reduce the freedom of the younger generation. eg, modifying the demerit points for younger drivers. how does being younger justify the need to be so drastic with demerit points? this means that if i was a young driver, driving on a public holiday, and for some unknown reason, i would probably loose my whole lisence. where's the sense in that? this jsut means an increase in revenue.

sure, making it mandatory for younger drivers to have more driving practise is a good idea to help them become better drivers, but what really is the point? there are people who can lie/cheat about their driving experience. then there are those who jsut don't have the time to spend driving, and also those who cannot find a supervisor.

if the time for the L plate to advance to P plate is increased, i believe that many youths will get discouraged and no longer bother practising their driving skills. if the only chance they get to drive is with another adult who is qualified, then why bother? if he wanted to go somewhere [eg, movies, shopping], the adult would have to go with him. and what would this adult do? drive the car back home? tag along with the youth's friends? catch the bus home, then come back when the youth wants to leave so then the adult may once again supervise? it's just too much trouble. he may as well jsut take the bus or train to and from his destination

A limit of one passenger for P1 drivers aged under 26, with exemptions: this is absolutely pathetic. An age of 26 is quite old. considering most students finish secondary school at an age of 17, go on to complete 3 yrs of uni, would make them 20. so by the age of 26, these 'younger drivers' are well into establishing a secure job, and are without doubt, much more mature. where is the need?

Introducing a night driving restriction, with exemptions: why would people think younger drivers are incapable at driving at night? if it's for reasons such as drowsiness, then i should think that most drivers suffer from this as well.

also, why is Carl Scully even intorducing these new laws if he didn't need them when he was younger? is he trying to say that previous methods were ineffective, and therefore that he is a crappy driver?? yes, there have been technological advances, and most of them are to asist the driver, not make it harder for younger drivers to control. there may be mroe cars now than before, but that doesn't necessarily justify the need to punish only the younger drivers. we would have gone through all the same tests that he has had to, so if he doesn't need restrictions, why should we? the main arguement all boils down to experience. i'm sorry that there is no short cut for younger drivers to gain experience, but this does not mean we will be any less careful than any one else who drives.

A requirement for 15 hours of night driving for Learner drivers: i actually think this is a good idea. it allows them to practise in conditions that they may or may not be comfortable with.

note to SlipStream: i hope this helps, and even if it doesn't [my arguement is all over the place !], i hope your document achieves something for us yougner drivers. best of luck with it ! =]

 

[Generator]

Generator,

Thanks for the links but I'm after formal written opinions, not a few sentences written in SMS language. I would personally appreciate it if YOU wrote a paragraph summing up your personal opinion on Carl Scully's proposals for young drivers. Be subjective, critical and analytical.

I'm looking for opinions from the greater young person bandwith rather than people who like cars. After all, we all are after our Ps sometime so it affects all of us, right?

I did say to look through those links for ideas and opinions (not proper responses), and it's clear that you did even bother to do that if you believe that each thread is riddled with sms language. Though this may seem suprising, a number of members have already expressed their opinions quite clearly, and I am sure that they would be more than willing to prepare a more formal response if you take the time to contact them directly.

In my case, I really could not care about the nature of the proposals, and I am more than willing to believe that the government will take note of the consultation process and introduce the most appropriate proposals.

Edit: I was also trying to suggest that political forum would be the better place for this thread.

 

[SlipStream]

table_for_1, thanks for your comments and I will be using your opinion to support my arguments regarding the effects of these proposals on the quality of young people's driving experiences.

Generator, I did look through those threads and I think it would be better if people were aware of what their comments would be used for if I were to source from them.

Thankfully I'm getting much more support from other forums. If I were to rely on the BOS forum for young people's opinions then I would be lost.

 

[Generator]

I should not be defending BOS, but it seems as though you have not realised that the issue is far from being new, that it has been widely discussed in a number of threads on this forum, and that asking for formal opinions without specifying the topic area within the title does not make much sense. As I said, try contacting the members that have already made their point and ask for their assistance given that they may not notice this thread. The forum tends to reward those who are proactive, not those who sit back and hope for the best.

 

[table for 1]

wah....do you know what i heard? on the radio today, the gov has passed the thingy so that all the above [well, they only listed 3, which was:
• A limit of one passenger for P1 drivers aged under 26, with exemptions.
• Prohibiting P plate drivers from driving high-powered vehicles, with exemptions.
and i can't remember the 3rd. but i'm assuming they meant that everything was approved and only listed the main points]
will apply. this is so unfair !! it got passed today !! you didn't even get a chance to send in your document.... i'm going to have such a hard time getting my lisence....

stupid people discriminating against young adults for power

 

[SlipStream]

I'm not going to use people's opinions anymore off the internet because the cloud of legal matters is looking to rain and I don't want to get wet, especially if I have no cover to run to.

Thanks anyway, guys.

Generator, thanks for your rather critical, negative albeit helpful, assistance.

 

[table for 1]

*raises eyebrow*

well then.... pretend they're your own ideas....oh hey, wanted to add that not being able to drive your friends [like a car pool] is really inconvenient [especially getting to places such as uni....] because of the 'unreliable public transport'.....ie. the trains are always late, and unless they can do anything about it to fix that problem, driving is proabably the best option

have they actually passed the bill/proposal yet? if so, when will it come into action?

 

[kylie_robbo]

I feel sorry for all those sitting HSC exams in 2005. Why? Most of my friends relied on the other P-platers in the year to transport them to their exams. Living in a "rural" location with very little public transport, and our exam centre in a different location to our school, it was near to impossible to get to the exam centre without relying on these P-platers. Next year, I am thinking that the school will have to arrange a mini-bus to go to each individuals house and pick them up for each and every exam. What a major (costly) inconvenience to the school, staff and students?!

Whilst not meaning to be rude to those people living in suburban areas where there is (nearly) adequate public transport (which if it ran on time would be fantastic), I think it would be alot easier to survive the "only 1 passenger" rule in these areas. It would remove the freedom that P-platers currently possess, but it would still be possible to socialise and get to important functions/events/work etc. Unfortunately for us living in NSW largest inland city (Wagga Wagga) there is extremely little public transport after school hours, our school bus system is very poorly organised, and the city is reasonably wide spread. We have no option but to drive ourselves all places at all hours, and usually taking a few passengers.

What an irresponsible decision made by the government today.

[I did hear somewhere though that the "only 1 passenger" rule was only for those who had had a temporary loss of license whilst on their P1 plates. I do not know how genuine this statement was.]

 

[table for 1]

wow....valid point. that really sucks [nothing else i want to add]