P-Plate Restrictions (2 Viewers)

[ZabZu]

Regarding the proposal of curfews. Im sure permits can be issued to p platers who work late hours.

However, a curfew would be extremely inconvienant for party goers who rely on a dedicated driver.

 

[Captain Obvious 1]

At the heart and soul of this issue, is the fact that there are P-platers who are breaking the law; speeding and driving dangerously. They have a disregard for the law and safety of other people.

I find it funny, that the way that some people suggest to combat this, is to introduce new laws and restrictions on P-platers. The p-platers don't obey speed limits, or other traffic laws.. but yeh, they are going to obey the new laws and restrictions placed on them, aren't they?

People are taking the wrong stance on this. The answer isn't to introduce new laws, the answer is to educate teenagers, either at school or through an external driving course, about:

the physics behind driving
the physiology of the human body and
how these two things interact.

They need to be taught that the human body is not designed to travel at fast speeds. The human brain has a density of butter. The average cricketer can through a ball at 120 KM/H. Imagine giving your brain to a cricketer and getting him to through it at a brick wall. This is essentially what is happening when you drive at fast speeds and they come to a stop by running into something - the consequences are generally life long injury and brain damage (in about 80% of the cases) or death. You have no control of what pops in front of you - no person in the history of man kind has chosen to be in a car accident which has resulted in them dieing. Things happen on the road - animals run out in front of people.. cars disobey the law.. people fall asleep.. And it distrupts peoples expectancies and people die. When you exceed the speed limit it makes things worse.

Young people are told a lot of rubbish by their parents - That sex is bad, that santa bring presents etc. So, when they are told that speeding is dangerous, they may have a tendency to pass this advice and information off as molly codling. "Speeding isn't dangerous, deerrrrrrr, i saw fast and the furious and they don't die, derrrrrrrrrrrr". They don't understand how dangerous driving is. It is not speeding which is dangerous. It is driving which is dangerous.

You can introduce as many laws and restrictions as you want, but if you don't attack this underlying attitude towards driving, then they are just going to come out the other end (fully licenced) as dick head drivers who are just as dangerous!

Essentially, introducing new laws and restrictions, serves to disavantage the large majority of responsible p-platers, and does not restrict those people who disregard the law (which is who the laws are attempting to target!)

People are also too happy to stereotype.. Not every p-plater drives around with his hat on back the front listening to loud music. I know a 50 year old woman who is on her red Ps. Introducing restrictions is not the answer, education is.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

At the heart and soul of this issue, is the fact that there are P-platers who are breaking the law; speeding and driving dangerously. They have a disregard for the law and safety of other people.

I find it funny, that the way that some people suggest to combat this, is to introduce new laws and restrictions on P-platers. The p-platers don't obey speed limits, or other traffic laws.. but yeh, they are going to obey the new laws and restrictions placed on them, aren't they?

Sounds exactly like gun control to me.

No nanny state please.

 

[w00dy.]

Re: Robert Wells can fuck off.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/dead-teens-parents-call-for-clampdown/2006/11/28/1164476178204.html

Just saw this on the news, damn I'm pissed off at the parents of irresponsible teenagers, blaming everybody else except the driver and their own control over their son.

He's going to talk tomorrow about restricting p-platers of everything and/or anything.

I wish there was a responsible representative for P-Platers, because the rest of us responsible drivers are being treated like shit because we don't have anyone to represent us. I would debate this fool if possible.

If he had kept an eye on his son and knew what the fuck he was doing and who he was hanging around with, maybe this wouldn't have happened. Since when did parents lose responsibility to give their son decent common sense.

But now because shitty dumb ass drivers who somehow gained their license, (who probably cant even drive a manual which makes it easier for them to simply push the accelerator to the floor), are crashing everywhere, the rest of us are being fucked.

if you had been listening to the news you would also find that the police still DONT know what the cause of the accident was.

the boys that died in that ACCIDENT were sensible and responsible boys. no alcohol was consumed that night and it was PROVEN.

dont you think the driver would feel bad enough knowing he was behind the wheel of the car that killed four of his mates?

yes we all have lives that require alot of travelling and what not. but stop and think about what these 'proposed' laws are trying to achieve.

for those who want to disobey it then go ahead. but DONT complain when these laws get changed because a majority arent abiding by the ones that in place to protect lives.

 

[lengy]

Re: Robert Wells can fuck off.

Weren't the boys who died a while ago driving a Barina? I remember seeing a Barina wreck in the news and LOL'D assuming it was the Barina's fault.

 

[Pilgrim]

Re: Robert Wells can fuck off.

if you had been listening to the news you would also find that the police still DONT know what the cause of the accident was.

the boys that died in that ACCIDENT were sensible and responsible boys. no alcohol was consumed that night and it was PROVEN.

dont you think the driver would feel bad enough knowing he was behind the wheel of the car that killed four of his mates?

yes we all have lives that require alot of travelling and what not. but stop and think about what these 'proposed' laws are trying to achieve.

for those who want to disobey it then go ahead. but DONT complain when these laws get changed because a majority arent abiding by the ones that in place to protect lives.

Well if it was, as you say, actually an "accident", then really new laws should have no real effect.

And you say they were responsible boys. Do you think most parents know that their children go out and get drunk on weekends at 14-17? No, so what makes you think their parents would say that their dead children were irresponsible?

"Responsible" boys can speed, they can act stupid under peer pressure. Sure, accidents can happen, but if they are accidents, then the laws in place are good enough.

 

[scarybunny]

Apparently (says Mediawatch) there have been something like 75 crashes at that intersection, because it's a blind corner. This is the only one that has been reported.

A lot of it is just the media jumping on any accident involving a young driver. Every day in Mx (quality literature there) they have a short car incident column, mostly about what a P plater has done today. Never mind the other 88% of crashes.

 

[BlackDragon]

i'd just like to say that just because p platers are crashing more, it doesn't mean all of them are crashing because they are on their p plates or young. i mean many do, but many of the crashes have nothing to do with the fact that they are young.
i'd like to see some statistics on how many older people crashes there have been recently, as they don't get the headlines nearly as much.

 

[w00dy.]

realistically we are talking about 'proposed laws' these are simply ideas that are being flown around which look at ways to prevent deaths on our roads.

we can argue about who was doing the right thing, and who wasnt.

but in the end a law may or may not be changed.

if it is so be it. but it will be changed with the ideology that something good will come of it. the deaths among p platers and young persons on the road could be reduced....

 

[littlewing69]

if it is so be it. but it will be changed with the ideology that something good will come of it. the deaths among p platers and young persons on the road could be reduced....

Safety is the new tyranny.

 

[lengy]

They should take safety precaution labels off goods and see how many people die from stupid accidents. Natural selection.

 

[Captain Obvious 1]

They should take safety precaution labels off goods and see how many people die from stupid accidents. Natural selection.

Try saying that to the parents though..

 

[katie_tully]

So the other day the Daily Telegraph published a letter I wrote regarding the current issue.
The damn tools did several things which I am quite angry about. They dumbed down the wording and PARAPHRASED certain parts of the letter.

I basically said that the last few accidents regarding P platers were due to reckless behaviour by the drivers which is not indicative of the way the P platers conduct themselves.
Instead it was edited to say that I was sorry for the parents?

Anyway, if you're a tool you're going to be a tool regardless of what restrictions they impose.

 

[Scanorama]

Maybe instead of giving rape prevention talks every year in school, they should have talks on the correct attitude of driving?

Bringing new laws won't change anything, the death toll will still be the same. Time to actualy do something not introducing yet another useless law.

 

[katie_tully]

Nothing has changed in the last 20 years. Kids were still wrapping themselves around trees and other inanimate objects 25 years ago when my parents were P platers. The death toll seems higher because there are more P platers on the roads.
48 deaths out of how many thousands of young drivers? If our inexperience and attitude is the problem, what excuse do the 26-59 age bracket drivers have when they take out entire families?

If Peter Brock's death shows nothing else, atleast let it show that even the most experienced drivers are fallible.

 

[Testpilot]

So the other day the Daily Telegraph published a letter I wrote regarding the current issue.
The damn tools did several things which I am quite angry about. They dumbed down the wording and PARAPHRASED certain parts of the letter.

I would be interested to see a copy of the letter you sent and then what was published. You would've probably have been better off sending it to the Herald as the Tele tends to be sensationalised. However it seems that everyone is against P Platers.

 

[katie_tully]

I'll scan a copy of the published letter and a copy of the original e-mailed letter this afternoon.

 

[Captain Obvious 1]

Maybe instead of giving rape prevention talks every year in school, they should have talks on the correct attitude of driving?

Bringing new laws won't change anything, the death toll will still be the same. Time to actualy do something not introducing yet another useless law.

The ALP, like all political parties, respond only to the media. We may be right, but so long as the media is not on our side, we have no hope of getting anything realistic to happen.

Currently the nit-wits are screaming about how P-platers need more restrictions. This is because the large majority of people are not p-platers. Australians like to grip their hands around the throat of certain "groups" because they always have to worry about *something*, instead of just shutting the fuck up and jumping off a cliff. Of course the roads minister is going to implement laws, because he wants to be seen as answering the electorate. This is exactly why American judges and police are shit. Because they are elected, they always have to answer to the public, and when you have a public who are shit, then it makes things bad.

 

[katie_tully]

Remember when that old bloke ran over Sophie Delizio earlier this year, so the media called for the blood of all elderly drivers?

They just get their knickers in a knot over the latest sensation. As it's schoolies and grad time of year, it's the season to hound P platers. Wait until the holidays when it's whole families being killed by truck drivers and they'll have a new group to hound.

 

[HotShot]

Remember when that old bloke ran over Sophie Delizio earlier this year, so the media called for the blood of all elderly drivers?

They just get their knickers in a knot over the latest sensation. As it's schoolies and grad time of year, it's the season to hound P platers. Wait until the holidays when it's whole families being killed by truck drivers and they'll have a new group to hound.

Yah true, media screws up things. One thing that I think the RTA has to do (but they fucken wont) is put some better roads and signs.

NSW has the worst roads ( i dont about NT) but definetly worse than Vic/ QLD and WA.