Young Drivers New Laws

[swingonthespiral]

Morning all.

As im sitting here this morning doing up a Staff Memo in regards to the new laws for young drivers that have been put in place in QLD I got thinking (scarey i know)....

These laws are being put in place in QLD to aid in bringing the road toll of young drivers down. But these laws are exactly the same as NSW and to my knowledge hasn't been working for years.

Why is that??

I'm only 20 and now on my Open Licence. I learned to drive in NSW and obtained my P licence there as well.

I think that these new laws in QLD will have little if any effect on young drivers.

The power restrictions I can understand where they are coming from. But in reality you still do 120km in a 60km zone in a Corolla.

The passenger restrictions again I can understand where they are coming from, but when they turn 21 they will be allowed to have as many passengers as they want and will still surcumb (sp?) to 'peer pressure'.

The 50hrs of documented learner driving is total BULL...... you can easily fake the book its very easy as I'm sure most of us know.

IMHO alot of the responsibility has to come down to the parents (yes i know its very cliche but hey)..... we all seem too busy in our lives to take the time out to instill some life saving attitudes into our kids.

When i was learning to drive my parents wouldn't let me go for my P's until I had completed 250hrs of driving which had to include at least 50hrs of night driving, 5hrs of fog and rain driving, 50hrs of highway driving and 10hrs of peak hour traffic driving. After that my father who has been a policemen for over 20yrs put me through an advance driving course which I can honestly say helped me more so than ever paying for a driving instructor.

Now i was exceptionally lucky that my parents were this hard on me and I really did enjoy the challenge rather than seeing it as a burden. I feel very confident and safe in ANY vehicle which I also think is important. You shoudl be able to jump from a classic to a brand new car with no troubles which young drivers do not get to the chance to do nor realise the importance. Mind you I still can't reverse park to save my life :lol:

I want to know at what point do young drivers feel its ok to show off in front of thier mates and put thier lives at risk??? This over confidence needs to be stamped out and the only way I can think of to do this is more education.

I hate even driving with my other half who has an RX7...... for some reason he thinks its ok to do 130km down the motorway and weave in and out of the traffic for no apparent reason and then sit up the rear end of other cars. Where does this attitude come from?????

I know its horrible to admit and I can't believe I am saying it but perhaps take a leaf out of the Americans book to some extent. IMO teaching driving as a complusary subject at school would do wonders with professional teachers and real life situations and safety needs to be drummed into some people.

IMO restrictions and laws will do nothing unless the education is there to begin with.

So I would like to hear your opinions on how to make younger drivers better drivers????

(by the way im not saying all young drivers are bad before someone has a go :lol:...... I feel soooo old right now)

 

[waruikazi]

I trhink the only way the rd toll for ALL drivers would be reduced is if there was a federally funded defensive driving course for everyone who is getting their licence.

Some of the most dangerous driving i have seen has not been from hoons but from people who are just not good drivers. Like people who don't know what to do if their car goes into a slide etc etc.

 

[Miss B]

This topic has been done to death on the other forum I frequent (which is a car forum). Basically the conclusion that everyone arrived at (after much debate :lol was that it comes down to driver training. I think the example used was Germany... an absolutely excellent driver training program and very impressive motor vehicle accident statistics. You can place as many restrictions on young drivers as you like, but if they are not taught the skills to be a safe driver, it's really pretty pointless.

I think it should be compulsory for all young drivers/learner's to have extensive driver training, not just half a dozen lessons and then hand them a licence on a silver platter.

Oh and I do love the anti-hooning laws, but I think they could do with a bit of a tweak. Cars should be not only confiscated, but then crushed - with the owner of the vehicle forced to stand and watch

 

[waruikazi]

Anti-hoon laws are stupid. Is there any stats that show that hoons significantly increase rd traffic accidents and deaths?

I don't recon there are. Fatigue, rd conditions etc etc are much much bigger contributers IMO. Old people just don't like young people having faster better cars than they did when they were young.

 

[Miss B]

Hoons are dangerous, no doubt about it. And regardless; if you're going to be a moron and do burnouts and doughies and cut people off and act like a knob, you deserve to have your car confiscated. I don't think it's got anything to do with 'old' people. I'm only 22 myself and I think hoons are a bunch of bucktooth bogans.

 

[fuegan13]

i have a couple of points to say about this.....

and being 18 and on my green p's i think its people like me that the government should be listening to.

i dont know if you are aware but the 50hrs rule has just gone up to 120 hours with at least 20 hours night driving (or at least it will be very soon if not already.)

i dont know if this is going to help much in regards to people faking the log book because no matter how many hours you are meant to do people can always fake it. although i do know from some of my friends that it is discouraging people to even bother to go get their p's. Which i think is a good thing because it means there will be less people on the road.

In regards to some of the other restrictions i think that yes there is a need for them, however i think there needs to be a system in place that rewards good drivers by giving exemptions to those who are worthy. ie. more testing. optional testing. i hope everyoen can follow this.

i think that there should be a series of optional tests after for red p's test (or perhaps even after greens)
that allow the driver to get restrictions lifted.
ie. a test to allow more passengers, a test to be allowed to drive turbos, a test for v8's etc etc.

these tests should be expensive and above all hard, so that only the best and willing to work drivers are rewarded with this.

because while i agree that the some people need these restrictions, im sick of australian society always covering the "lowest common denominator". eg. because a few people cant drive the lower the speed limits everywhere. and OHS and all that (not related so dont even get me started).

I also think that all learners should have to drive manual. auto cars make you lazy and learning on a manual makes you better driver.

in addition to driving manual, you should have to drive a variety of cars, old and new like swing said. My dad is a mechanic and ive been driving on private property since just after i could walk. and i firmly believe im a better driver because of the variety of cars have driven, you learn to adjust to a new car quicker and that makes you a safer driver. if it were up to me every kid should have to race go - karts, because i know that helped me.


i also agree that an advanced driver course would be a good idea.

i know i had other things to say but im drawing a blank.... ill post more when i think of them....

 

[swingonthespiral]

Thats definately a good point waruikazi about having federally funded advanced/defensive driving courses for ALL drivers. I suppose we have to start somewhere.

Considerate and courtious drivers are few and far between, its all about getting two cars ahead

And don't even get me started on road conditions :lol:

 

[Retic]

I agree, I can't see the new laws having any affect at all. I can certainly see the wisdom of restricting the power for new drivers as that makes perfect sense, it isn't so much the fact that an old clunker will still exceed the speed limit as it seems lots of young drivers come unstuck because they are unable to handle the power of a big V8 for example.
I drove for many years in the UK where the standard of driving far exceeds the level here, I can only put it down to attitude better training. I have on numerous occassions seen learner drivers sitting in the right hand lane for example, if they are taught that this is acceptable then they will continue to drive in the same manner with little regard for others. The biggest difference I find is the lack of courtesy which goes a long way to making better drivers.
The authorities can introduce any number of laws but if drivers aren't willing to accept responsibility for their own behaviour then laws wont influence them at all. The attitude that it is perfectly acceptable to drive wherever and however you like is the problem and I feel it is ingrained into drivers so it is probably a cycle that is impossible to break unless Police crack down on it, the only policing I see on freeways is a camera car hidden in the bushes which achieves nothing other than filling the Governments coffers. The Police are doing their job and are just following orders but it does little to increase safety or improve drivers habits.
Your parents did the right thing but unfortunately they are very much in the minority, your other half sounds like a prime example of how not to drive, from what you say he has little regard for the lives of others on the road.
There is no simple answer but yes education is the way ahead, it appears to be sadly lacking in our system at present.

 

[fuegan13]

i drive a skyline R34, which people see and simply assume im a "hoon" when im not. i agree hoons can be dangerous, but id like to see people not judge a person on what car they drive.

 

[fuegan13]

I trhink the only way the rd toll for ALL drivers would be reduced is if there was a federally funded defensive driving course for everyone who is getting their licence.

Some of the most dangerous driving i have seen has not been from hoons but from people who are just not good drivers. Like people who don't know what to do if their car goes into a slide etc etc.

this course is a good idea.... however i completely disagree it shoudl be federally funded. it should be compulsary, but it should be paid for by the person doing the course.

driving is a privilege, and young people would respect thier licence more if they paid alot of hard earned money to get it. if its federally funded then its just like well pfft that was easy.

 

[swingonthespiral]

I love the idea of the optional tests!!!! yes good drivers should be rewarded in all aspects (better insurance premiums etc).

Yes driving an auto makes you lazy I totally agree (although legally im not allowed to drive a manual anymore..... thats what you get when you drop a freezer on your foot and can no longer control the movements of your left foot....im such a knob)......

But at the same time very soon the clutch manual will be obsolete which is totally lazy and ridiculous (ive seen most of the new concept cars for the coming couple of years which im lucky enough to have a squiz in my job and manuals are out )

Woohoo we may actually have an intelligent conversation YAY :lol:

 

[Miss B]

Bogans and cars are a bad, bad combination. Two nights ago, my partner and I were driving along the M1 to the Gold Coast at about 6pm (peak traffic time). As we were on the on-ramp, some guy in a Hilux ute was sitting fair up our clacker. We were doing the speed limit but I guess this wasn't good enough for him.

Once we actually got onto the M1, he switched into the lane next to us (nearly wiping out our rear back corner in the process) and pulled up level alongside us (on the passenger side, where I was sitting). I looked out the window at him, thinking 'what the ---- is your problem mate?' and he swerved hard into our lane in an attempt to either hit us, or force us into the lane on our right. My partner just managed to swerve our car into the lane on our right hand side (nearly taking out two other cars in the process) as this guy sped off up the highway at some ridiculous speed.

Very nearly caused a major accident, and I must admit that is the most scared I have ever been in a car :shock:

 

[waruikazi]

Hoons are dangerous, no doubt about it. And regardless; if you're going to be a moron and do burnouts and doughies and cut people off and act like a knob, you deserve to have your car confiscated. I don't think it's got anything to do with 'old' people. I'm only 22 myself and I think hoons are a bunch of bucktooth bogans.

So everyone who has ever cut you off has been a hoon? Hoons are no more dangerous than any other driver out there. How many accidents are there every day? How many of them can seriously attributed to people being hoons?

And seriously who cares if some guy or girl wants to do some smokies. It is not your car they are doing it in and if they want to spend their money on tyres why shouldn't they be aloud to go do a burnout.

 

[fuegan13]

its different if you cant physically drive a manual, then of course you should be allowed to drive auto, or clutchless manual. but at the very least i think new drivers should have to do thier hours and their p test on manual

 

[waruikazi]

Bogans and cars are a bad, bad combination. Two nights ago, my partner and I were driving along the M1 to the Gold Coast at about 6pm (peak traffic time). As we were on the on-ramp, some guy in a Hilux ute was sitting fair up our clacker. We were doing the speed limit but I guess this wasn't good enough for him.

Once we actually got onto the M1, he switched into the lane next to us (nearly wiping out our rear back corner in the process) and pulled up level alongside us (on the passenger side, where I was sitting). I looked out the window at him, thinking 'what the ---- is your problem mate?' and he swerved hard into our lane in an attempt to either hit us, or force us into the lane on our right. My partner just managed to swerve our car into the lane on our right hand side (nearly taking out two other cars in the process) as this guy sped off up the highway at some ridiculous speed.

Very nearly caused a major accident, and I must admit that is the most scared I have ever been in a car :shock:

That is called road rage, not hooning.

 

[Miss B]

All I am saying is that I personally feel that the anti-hooning laws are justified.

In the nearly two years to November 2004, there were 41 ‘casualty crashes’ on Victoria’s roads as a result of hoon behaviour.

According to figures released by Victoria Police’s Major Collision Investigation Unit, 3 drivers and 14 passengers were killed, and a further 6 drivers and 35 passengers seriously injured, as a result of the crashes.

Yes. Hoons are dangerous.

 

[waruikazi]

And i hate the term 'hoon' it seems every car enthusiast is lumped into that category.

 

[fuegan13]

warukazi i know what you mean. hoons dont actually cause taht many accidents(compared with all accidents), but one thing ive noticed is that when hoons crash they tend the crash BIG. like cars cut in half round telegraph poles and that. which is never good.... and personally i dont see much wrong with a little burnout in a deserted carpark or something like taht. but when theres other cars and/or pedistrrians its time to be serious.

i find the most dangerous people on the road are the people who brake for no reason, and the people who dont check their blind spots.

 

[swingonthespiral]

If the Hoons are educated they will at least know how to control thier car and be safer drivers. On the other hand give them a place to be hoons...... personally I would love a spot to go and give my beautiful Scarlett a good run, maybe a couple of doughies and go home :lol:

Unfortunately Miss B your experience is all too common. As Boa & I have said considerate and courtieous drivers are very much non existant.....

EDIT: I couldnt agree more warikazi the term hoon is normally a blanket term for car nuts.

 

[Miss B]

I am a car enthusiast (hell, I'm a mod on a car forum), I like to drive a fast car, but I'm not a hoon.

Waruikazi, someone can be a hoon in any type of car. Not everyone labels all young car enthusiasts as hoons.