P-Plate drivers!! (2 Viewers)

[waterfowl]

In Austria (and I'm sure many other European countries) to obtain a licence young drivers have to spend in the thousands and must gain certificates in different courses such as First Aid, driving etc etc. They don't have many accidents (that I'm aware of) and they tend to drive very fast.

I don't think our problem is a lack of experience, it's most likely education. A lot of accidents seem to involve P platers who are driving powerful cars.

 

[Monkey Butler]

But alot of Europe is more agrarian than Australia, so who have many many people who have no use for cars as they never really travel long distances - more people in Australia (I would think, I'm generalising) either need a car, or think they need a car. So making licences that hard to get wouldn't really work.

 

[BrenKHS]

Curfews. Passenger limitations. Limiting Power/Weight ratios.

All just more rules to be broken.

The people who drive in skylines are ATTRACTED to the type of driving associated with them. Its not like "oh i just bought a skyline im gonna drive like an asshole now". If these people bought some little 4 cylinder nugget they are still going to go fast, still going to be on your ass, still going to cut you off in traffic.

Its not the car, its the driver.

It doesnt require a wrx, skyline or a gts monaro to go fast. Ive been in a stock v6 vr commodore and gone 200km/h. Changing the cars wont do shit, at least without power/weight ratio we can spot the dickheads.

And what i dont get is, they decided to put the power/weight restrictions after EVLR34 crashed. He broke how many laws/rules driving that car? Whats another law?

 

[waterfowl]

But alot of Europe is more agrarian than Australia, so who have many many people who have no use for cars as they never really travel long distances - more people in Australia (I would think, I'm generalising) either need a car, or think they need a car. So making licences that hard to get wouldn't really work.

LOL...not in the urban areas. And I know a family who lives on a farm in Austria and they have three cars that they use all the time. They travel long distances all the time: holidays in Italy, travelling across countries for business etc etc

 

[gh0stlyg4bb1]

Possible changes to L and P plate driver freedoms... HAVE YOUR SAY!!!

The road minister Carl Scully is looking for youth feedback on what restrictions should be placed on young drivers. If very few people answer back they will probably say that the youth were consulted and didn't have a problem with it. These plans include:
* 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.
+ many, many more changes and restrictions....

Whilst some of these suggestions are okay, the ones about having only one passenger and introducing night driving restrictions (I think) are really going too far.

If you want to have your say, go to www.youngdrivers.com.au, have a read and then follow the link to "submit comments". We only have until 28th February 2005 to submit our comments before the decision will be made whether or not to implement the changes, according to Mr Scully, some changes may even be implemented before then... so HAVE YOUR SAY NOW!!!!!

And tell all your friends about this, before our driving freedoms are revoked.

(Feel free to copy and paste this into an email and send it to all of your friends and family who will be affected by these possible changes)

 

[Monkey Butler]

Well, the first two are stupid - you still have to be 17 to get your P's (currently), so increasing the time on your L's won't make any difference to the majority of people who get their L's as soon as they turn 16. Same with the 100 hours thing - people that are serious about learning to drive would most likely do 100 hours anyway, logged or unlogged (I would've done 100 hours easily - I drove everywhere on my L's) and those who aren't serious just make up the hours anyway. Nobody drives to 50 hours and then just stops.

Other than that, the recommendations seem sensical, but they're way too general. I mean, "further developing" could mean anything. And the night driving and passenger limitations are always going to be unrealistic. The example of passengers encouraging people to speed is often given, and I'm not going to deny that it happens, but I don't think restricting passenger limits (with exemptions - whatever that means) is the right way to go about it.

 

[loquasagacious]

Generator your concern for the diadvantaged is admirable.

I did a level 1 defensive drving course at the Jim Murcott centre for $100, you also miss my two points that:

a) a subsidy would reduce this cost, and:

b) If these courses were made mandatory many more companies offering them would open up and the competition would drive down prices. Further increased numbers in the courses would bring economics of scale into play - basically the more that do the course the less per-head it is to run the course.


It is particularly the German system which is expensive to become a driver under and has unlimited speed autobahns. I believe that given Australia's size it is unfair for the licensing system to be as expensive here as it is in Germany further the poor quality of many of our roads make autobahn speeds unsafe.

So in essence I propose adapting the german system that is increasing training of drivers (including in school and defensive driving courses), increased assesment of drivers for their p-plates (eg an emrgency brake), increased ongoing assessment of drivers evrytime you renew your licence you should have to re-sit the L-test to ensure knowledge of changed road rules, increase in L-platers speed limit to black licence limit to allow for supervised traing at freeway speeds and a seperate licensing system for SUV's including specialist training.

A slight increase in motorway/freeway limits to say 120-130.

 

[Cape]

how about increasing road limits ... they should change the speed limit every 20 metres. seriously one metre its 80km and then the next metre its 40km cause of a school zone.
And i have heard as well that the german licensing scheme is very good - no wonder they are such great drivers there.

 

[iambored]

i'll tell you what i want - some PROPER STATS. ok, GIVE US SOME STATS SHOWING CRASHES WITH SPEED vs no speeding, then i can make a more informed decision on what they should be doing.

all the crashes they have reported in the paper had people speeding, right?

 

[Left-ism]

speeding and P plater/young people crashes result from stupidity and recklessness. there is no simple way of curbing stupidity- its inherent in some people. education can be applied, but it still wouldnt curb human desire to speed..show off etc.

u could put restrictions on the type of cars young ppl drive ( no high powered cars)- but they could stil be going 140 in a toyota echo.


it sucks how all P platers cop shit for the idiocy of a few reckless drivers.

 

[waterfowl]

it sucks how all P platers cop shit for the idiocy of a few reckless drivers.

Exactly, I think that's how most P platers feel.

 

[chubbaraff]

Mass Action

Hi
In regards to the NRMA, there are actually some really cool people working on our side saying how stupid the stuff is... They organized a forum in wollonging atracted media and got our oppinions heard... the real problem for us is getting those views out there... we need a website, and organisation and a constitution, but how, by when and with what money is my question.. I feel the need to organise a rally outside parliament house and start a network, anyone know of stuff like that happening. We are so defencesless coz we are the ones wondering where our next 15 minuets let aloone week is coming from to organise such a thing.
Cheers Raff