Byron Bay Tradgedy & Curfew

[Christina]

don't get me wrong, i sympathise deeply for those killed in the recent crash, but if they try and put a curfew on young drivers now that they have brought up the issue, i know i'll be outraged as well as others.

your thoughts?
(people started driving past me today and giving me really dirty looks, i have a commodore club sticker on my car)

i think it'll probbably only apply to new p platers. if it ever happened....

[TheForgotten]

don't p-platers have a curfew already? or is this for certain age groups?

[Christina]

don't p-platers have a curfew already? or is this for certain age groups?

not in sydney, no, im not too sure about other states!

[qwertsta]

It will be ignored by p plater's. There is hardly any police out on the road as it is to enforce the law if it was passed and the majority of p plater's dont have their p plate's on display anyway. They have already screwed us over by not allowing us to drive powerfull car's, tho if a curfew is enforced it wont concern me as i already am on my P's and it will most likely stand for new p plater's.

[KingDiamond]

Oh well, I never drive anywhere but to work anyways, too much $$ to do random driving and hooning.

And the no cops on the road statement is too true. I see a cop car on the roads like once a week around here..

[TheForgotten]

hey, if it makes you guys feel any better, QLD transport went over p-plate laws in nsw and vic, and said 99% of it was draconian. it's been proven that the powerful car ban, speed restriction, passenger limitation and driver curfew are just ways to tether the younger generation, as none of these have been a major contributor to the carnage on the roads.
Also, a study has shown that the 15% fastest drivers, and the 80% slowest drivers are the most likely crash. those that travel at 5-10km/h above the speed limit are the least likely to crash.
and how many small cars like hyundai, toyota etc have you seen in a ditch or around a pole?

[Mr Squishi]

The local new here mentioned something about mandatory defensive driving courses in that story, but i missed most of it.
Tassie doesn't have a curfew yet and p platers can drive whatever the hell they want, as long as its a car. Unless they changed that rule in the past year.
And I haven't seen a cop in my home town for two weeks now.

[minux]

And once again, lack of young driver education and ways to prevent these accidents is ignored by the govt. If the government funded compulsory drive days held by qualified professionals in both car safety, medical personnal(to explain risks of speeding etc) this could all be prevented, but nooo, it would be stupid to spend money on a worthwhile cause when they can spend that money on trotting around the country courtesy of us.

[stocky]

And once again, lack of young driver education and ways to prevent these accidents is ignored by the govt. If the government funded compulsory drive days held by qualified professionals in both car safety, medical personnal(to explain risks of speeding etc) this could all be prevented, but nooo, it would be stupid to spend money on a worthwhile cause when they can spend that money on trotting around the country courtesy of us.

when i did my defensive drivers course i remember the instructors telling us about how the government wont provide any funding for these courses because they think they are useless and wont help the road situation at all. its bullsh*t. i learnt a lot more about how to handle my car from that course

[minux]

when i did my defensive drivers course i remember the instructors telling us about how the government wont provide any funding for these courses because they think they are useless and wont help the road situation at all. its bullsh*t. i learnt a lot more about how to handle my car from that course

Mate, i am 28, in the last 12 months i have done 4 different courses, granted alot are for fun such as the rally extreme course etc, but they all teach one fundamental lesson. HOW TO DRIVE. The government is just a joke, i know NTIA do not get funding for these courses for the same reasons. Even at my age, i learnt alot.

[veclubby]

great thing about being in wa, no curfew's, no power restictions farken lovin it!

yeh i rekon all l platers should have to pass an advanced driving course before they can get their p's, at least it mite teach some people how to control their cars.

[stylin_vr2]

im moving to perth.. its so weird u go from 1 state 2 another and the rules are all diff.. arent p platers in vic gettin the whole curfew thing with the new rules?? i didnt pay attention when it was all talked about.. but since losing my license im scared im gonna have 2 deal with them when i get it back! GRR!

[1vngal]

The local new here mentioned something about mandatory defensive driving courses in that story, but i missed most of it.
Tassie doesn't have a curfew yet and p platers can drive whatever the hell they want, as long as its a car. Unless they changed that rule in the past year.
And I haven't seen a cop in my home town for two weeks now.

Nope!! It hasn't been changed!! Oh...it was a good life being a P-Plater in Tassie...

But seriously, a curfew isn't going to achieve anything. Plus it's a little impratical, I mean what about all those that need to drive after the curfew time? Do they just quit their jobs, ignore emergencies etc?!

It's a pointless idea.

[CHANDLC]

Here in townsville thier solution to every thing is to drop the speed limit 20klms so that the traffic get congested, and when traffic gets congested it always slows down, the more cars the slower traffic moves, than when you get out of the slowed zone every one takes greater risk to try and get in front which causes more accidents, and if its not accidents its near misses. I just got back from holidays from the brisbane area and i noticed that nearly everyone down there dose 10-15klms over the limit (good on you guys) and up here in townsville nearly everyone dose 10-15klms under the limit (wankers)

[Lumps of cheese]

I'm pretty sure that in New Zealand and California they have passenger restrictions and curfews for young drivers and statistics show that since introduced fatalities have drop quite significantly.
I'm not sure about the curfew thing but scorn me if you want, sometimes i think passenger restriction might be worth a look, especially when you see a full car of girls displaying p plates almost run you off the road with your kids onboard.
The problem being it only takes d***heads like that to ruin it for the rest of responsible p platers out there doing the right thing.

[KingDiamond]

I hate to be sexist, but a car full of girls actually scares me.

Almost got ran off the road on the way home from work by some schoolgirls who sped up beside me to have a look at who i was... I was like, yeah some nice girls... Then their car starts veering towards me :/

[Dylan VT]

I think it's dissappointing that the rules could possibly be changed by a few individuals doing the wrong thing. Most people drive safely and obey the rules, and because one group of kids crashed, the law could be changed for everyone.

I'm getting annoyed at a lot of the new laws.

[sixshooter]

Another knee jerk reaction response !

[NVE_069]

Here in townsville thier solution to every thing is to drop the speed limit 20klms so that the traffic get congested, and when traffic gets congested it always slows down, the more cars the slower traffic moves, than when you get out of the slowed zone every one takes greater risk to try and get in front which causes more accidents, and if its not accidents its near misses. I just got back from holidays from the brisbane area and i noticed that nearly everyone down there dose 10-15klms over the limit (good on you guys) and up here in townsville nearly everyone dose 10-15klms under the limit (wankers)

So True, What You Have Said Sounds Like The Gateway LOL, Once U Pay
To Go Through U Have To Race To Get In. As Many Know How It Goes From A 6-7 bay too Lane To A 3 Lane iv seen so many near misses its not funny.

[DavidPartay]

Speed and acceleration limited?

What a stupid idea.

If I stall my car in the middle of an intersection and there's a truck running a red light, I want to be able to floor it and get out of the way.

Do you want to know the BEST way to make all learners into safe drivers?

- Learning to drive manual is MANDATORY

- Learning to drive in a V6 or V8 powered medium - large sized car (nothing smaller). The reason for this is you become more aware of where each corner of your vehicle is, and unlike in an underpowered engine, you have to learn to control the throttle in a V6 or V8. That's why so many kids kill themselves when they get out of the Excel they learned in and into the SS Commodore they just bought for themselves. They don't know how to control the throttle.

- Learners must pass a simple reflex test (eg. dropping the ruler)

- Mandatory defensive driving course involving controlled braking, regaining traction after it is lost, controlling a slide in a FWD vehicle, controlling fish-tailing. These things don't just happen on purpose! Most accidents in the wet are caused by lost traction and PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET OUT OF IT!

- The government should provide accessible locations where people can let off some steam and just throw their car around.

- The test for your Ps should involve emergency stopping, controlling slides, controlled braking, and more emphasis place on such things rather than on being able to reverse park or indicate correcly during a 3-point-turn. Since when do people indicate on 3-point-turns after they've passed the test anyway? Most people are more interested in completing the turn quickly so they don't hold up traffic.

- Cruise Control should be outlawed. You tell me who's more at risk of a fatigue related accident - someone keeping their mind active by driving a manual, not using cruise control, or something driving an auto with cruise control on every time they settle on a speed?

I'm sure there's more things I could add to that list but those are the most important things.

The fact is that the 'hoons' are never going to get off our roads. The least we can do for them is PREPARE them for if they get themselves into grief. We'd save a hell of a lot more lives that way than by imposing so many restrictions upon 'young drivers'.

Hell, I bet I can out-drive the majority of fully-licensed drivers, and I've only been driving for 6 years (including Ls). The difference is that I've actually gone out of my way to learn how to do these things - something the government FROWNS upon, yet would be the BEST way to teach people how to drive SAFELY.

I wonder what the statistics are on fender benders because of all the FULLY LICENSED drivers not paying attention/falling into autopilot mode/not indicating/braking too late/panic braking/not checking mirrors...

I bet there's 200 fender benders involving fully licensed drivers for every serious crash involving a P plater. But these don't get reported because they're generally not insurance jobs.

The federal government should appoint me as an advisor to all the state governments about road safety. I'll reduce the death toll, and that's a promise.

[stylin_vr2]

So True, What You Have Said Sounds Like The Gateway LOL, Once U Pay
To Go Through U Have To Race To Get In. As Many Know How It Goes From A 6-7 bay too Lane To A 3 Lane iv seen so many near misses its not funny.

oooh i remember goin on hols up there in august.. i used 2 live in brissy but never really drove up there.. that bridge is mayhem and a half! i got clipped in the ass end one day and then watched a full on stack a few days later in the same place.. argh!
plus brissy is full of badass red light runners.. whats with that??

but i am all for passenger restrictions.. p platers give in 2 pressure from their passenger mates 2 drive like wankers.. i know that from experience.. so sorry p platers but i agree with that one!

[Infus10n]

I being a P-Plater is more inclined to drive like a fool if im following my mate infront of me in his car then having pasengers in my car.

I drive a v8...on p's and havent had 1 fine or crashed.... It is possible with some common sense

These laws/curfews/restrictions do nothing but egg on these rebels/adrenaline junkies to just break the new laws. Its encouraging them i think. Hey lets be rebels and drive after the curfew and have more passengers then im meant to.

Driver training and defensive driving courses are whats needed for sure.

[Emackulation]

I dunno about the driving corses, if they have a good run and end up controlling the car in the course they will think they r king tut and try the shit on the streets, but then others will not. I don't beleive cerfew will do anything and the same with passenger limitations. I really dont know if there is any logical solution to this problem, as time goes on cars are getting faster and kids are getting more confident.

[Wombat]

Gateway Bridge....believe it or not, I only drove on it for the first time a couple of months back...my son and I were just coming back from the Gold Coast where he had bought his 4x4, a 1987 Navara non-turbo diesel five speed. Coming onto the Gateway through the toll booths, we both looked at one another and couldn't believe the traffic...as you said, six lanes down into three, and every man for himself! Now, the Navara isn't the quickest thing in the world...our fifty year old Morris Minor 1000 can outrun it, and we were crapping ourselves trying to slot into the traffic...


That crash in NSW...I couldn't believe the media reporting. To be perfectly blunt, the poor pricks weren't even cold before there were calls for curfews, speed restrictions, and "investigating whether speed was the cause"...like running off a road at even 80 k's into a tree like they hit down a steep hill wouldn't have been quite adequate to see you all off...

I've said it before: my favorite bit of media and police propganda: some years back outside Bundaberg, a Pulsar hit a light pole on the highway, on a long straight bit of road at night. The engine ended up about fifty meters down the road, and the two people in it were killed instantly. The same night on the news, there was a following news item about a car down near Brisbane somewhere, which had left the highway at night at smacked a huge tree, killing the driver. The one outside Bundy was reported as "a tragic accident which has shocked the community", and the other was immediately described by police as "speed was most likely involved". in both cases, there were no witnesses to say what had actually happened. One driver was a 19 year old P-plater, the other car was driven by a retired ex-cop...you guess who was driving which car...

[sganro]

These laws/curfews/restrictions do nothing but egg on these rebels/adrenaline junkies to just break the new laws. Its encouraging them i think. Hey lets be rebels and drive after the curfew and have more passengers then im meant to.

i agree. I know a few blokes that speed and drive like hoons for the simple fact that the law says they aren't allowed to. They lose their license and laugh about it. It doesnt matter what laws they bring in, young blokes that want to look cool are gonna break them. What shits me is when they drive like idiots with other people in the car. If they are gonna drive dangerously they should do it alone. If they wanna risk their own life thats their problem, but its not worth risking others as well.