New Queensland P-Plate laws

[Wombat]

I dont know about what "fine print" if any, will be attached to these laws, all I know is that Premier Beattie and his transport minister have had thier smiling mush's all over the TV, simply saying "P-platers under 25 will be banned from owning V8's, turbocharger vehciles, and modified vehicles"...full stop, no qualifications. The RACQ has come out saying it is a great idea.
I do realise something has to be done, but a proper driver training system is the only answer, though I realise a simple ban is a lot cheaper for the taxpayer. Sometimes the right thing to do isn't the easiest thing to do.

My point is this: I'm sure we all see enough people doing stupid things in cheap barely-modded (maybe a set of mags) Hyundais and Honda Civics without thier having to spring for a turbo or a V8.

Practically all the young peoples' road deaths around my area over the last few years have been in normal everyday cars. Dead is dead, and if you do something stupid or illegal and smack a light pole, your body isn't going to care what engine you had up the front.

edit: This is a cut and paste direct from that website mentioned above. Looks like there will be a "restricted list" of cars. Should be interesting. Most interesting and pertinent for people here will be "what about turbo VL Commodores?". They won't put out as much power I would imagine as a new Commodore 190 Alloytec...so will they be on the "evil list"...?
What type of vehicles will be restricted?
Vehicles such as V8 or turbo charged cars, or
modified vehicles will be restricted from use by
provisional licence holders.
A list restricted vehicles will be on the Queensland
Transport website www.transport.qld.gov.au and
available through licence issuing centres from late
2006.
When do power restrictions apply?
This restriction will apply for the full provisional
licence period (P1 and P2 stages).
What happens if I breach vehicle power
restrictions?
A penalty will apply. Details will be determined
closer to the implementation date.

As you can see, the "list" won;t be available until late 2006....too bad if you are coming out of your learners period then and looking to buy a nice car...you had better hold off and see what the powers that be say you should be able to own...

Oh, and my beef isn't about having a go at the guy in the wheelchair or not feeling sorry for him, because I do feel for him...my problem is that he is blatantly being used under false pretences as a propoganda tool...no-one can honestly say they agree with his emotive statement that if his friend hadn't had a turbocharged car, the accident wouldn't have happened and he wouldn't be in a chair...as I said, plenty of people do silly things in normal cars, and the impact at speed with an immovable object is the same no matter what you've got up front...

 

[sircruisealotVS]

this whole thing is nothing but a political gimick to make beatie look the goods in the peoples eye (remember election coming up very soon). it doesnt take a "high performance vehicle" to kill someone or cause damage.
if they were at all serious about the whole young driver death toll they would impliment more effective measures.
like say, manditory amount of hours logged on L's before you can sit for P's (like NSW), more difficult/intensive P's testing, defensive driving course passed before you can be issued your P's, MOVE THE AGE LIMIT UP from 17 (c'mon, who here was mature enough at 17??), etc.
but no, these things would cost the government money, cant do that....just ban all the naughty turbos,v8's and modified cars, that will make it all better.
i mean dont get me wrong, i think restrictions should apply for how much power to weight your car can has when you only have a provisional licence (just to cover all bases, this wouldnt fix the problem alone), but your not going to fix anything by going out and baning all v8's and and modded cars (as said, some old v8's dont even come close to a bog stock commodore or falcon these days).
...it doesnt matter if its a excel or a skyline you can still end up killing yourself or someone else.
one of my friends on his first night of getting his P's rolled an '85 hilux going too fast around a corner (and anyone who's driven an ol' hilux knows these things dont have any balls)...it was quite simply my mates fault for not knowing how to drive responsibly.
no one was seriously hurt, but we were just damn lucky and it made me think twice ill tell you. (i was about another 3 months off my P's at the time and i was a very sensible driver once i did get them- because of this experience)
these laws arent goin to affect me, im past my time on P's, but i almost laughed when i read about them...

 

[TheForgotten]

well... what about people who have been of their P's for a few years? I can point out at least 30 people almost every day who can't drive safely or responsibly, and they can drive anything with an engine.
It doesn't need to be fast or powerful to kill people. Like already said, the answer isn't banning certain engines, but training new drivers, and getting rid of this "I am a god" mentality they seem to have. Nothing will ever diminish peer pressure, but we need to find a way to get into those young maleable melons - we didn't think we were bullet-proof, they shouldn't feel pressured into driving at insane speeds. for uneducated or inexperienced drivers, it's a sheer fluke that they can do stupid stuff and live to tell the tale

 

[smokey_dj]

these new laws just keep coming and coming theres a new one soon to hit vic the modification laws (with no restriction to driver age on the veichle)

anyway as ive said b4 its not always about just being on your p's

correct me if im wrong on this one but i love the cruise i have an addiction to get out there and cruise cruise and cruise

like 23rd jan 04 i got my p's with my vn v6 (didnt want to go v8 straight away wanted to get use to my car and slowly pogress) at 125,865 on the clock legit kms

now i get really shitty when some older bloke comes upto me and goes pfft you got no experience your still on the p's buddy

to which i turn around and say how old are you if he says anything around 25 or under i just simply say mate ive pobly been on the rd in more conditions and more hours then you have

to date currently my car has done 313,894 now you do the math on average driving kms per annum

my mates got a statistics check done on me one boring w/e to see just what i had clocked up compared to yrs
ive dont more driving than someone thats been off there p's for 3 1/2 yrs which is funny as ive only done 2 1/2 yrs of drivign currently
and ive driven black ice snow dence fog (haha prinny hwy 4am about 2 months ago) heavy belting rain thunderstorms dangeroulsly high winds (night we got the tornado through dandenong) sleet blizzard freash storm glaring wet rds you name it ive driven it

so it doesnt always come down to how fast the car is or how old or experinced you are if youve done some serious kms you probly have more expeirence and better handling control thatn most older to work to the shops style drivers

its about common sence not common law

 

[jacko]

There's some good points posted. Like it's been said, and is exactly right, you dont need to have a powerful car to kill yourself. The bulk of the idiot drivers I see around my area are in Excels, Civics, Pulsars, etc. Granted, there are idiots in larger cars too, but it doesnt soley depend on what you drive thats going to get you into trouble. It's not like someone in a 4 cylinder car can't speed or drive wrecklessly. And not to mention many 'performance cars' have better safety systems in place than the average 4 cylinder - I know I'd feel safer behind the wheel of a performance car than a tiny little car..

What the government should really be focussing on is compulsory Defensive Driver courses for everyone before they gain their provisional license. One thing I do agree on with the new laws is the night time passenger restrictions, and the hazard perception testing.

My $0.02

 

[sixshooter]

I just think they should just put a blanket ban on RICE and cheap imports !

They are most likely the cause of the majority of accidents and fatalities brought on by kids watching crap movies such as The Fast &the Furious (Teh Lame & teh Ricers !) and then getting a loan for an import to be the local hero in.

It's not uncommon to see some rice import wrapped around a tree on the news during the week.

Keep Australia Beautiful !!!

I do agree with restrictions on what cars a Learner or P-Plater can step into. However they should be measured on power to weight and engine capacity rather than just cylinders or power adders.

However there is a problem in that they could still own a v8, and modify it to make over what the acceptable power to weight ratio is.

For example a 4 litre restriction on engine size.... that eliminates most v8's.
But it would still be possible to get a rover 3.5 v8 and work the tits off that.
A standard 1982-86 Rover SD1 Vitesse: = 190bhp @ 5280rpm :: 220lb ft @ 4000rpm

Bikes licences have been issued on engine capacity for years to prevent learners from riding something they would'nt be able to handle...cars are no different.

I can remember some lads I used to hang with when I had my learners on a bike had RD250 LC's with the 350 barrels and pistons to get around the size capacity.

It's a shame that society is being governed by the minority of kids who can't control their hormones or cars which then ruins the scene for other car enthusiasts.

 

[shaggerz]

This will not affect me as I will be on opens before this law comes in, but it is yet another example of the government throwing over a blanket solution that is completely ineffective and will do absolutely nothing but annoy the hell out of people who appreciate the thrill that is driving a high performance car... SENSIBLY!

I wish death to all those who own high performance cars and drive like they are indestructible, whether they are on their P's or have had their opens for 10 years.

The WORST part of these laws is that after a few years, it will be obvious to anyone who can read numbers that they have made ZERO difference to the road toll, but do we think that they will be scrapped? you'd think so right? NO! that would require someone in government to admit they were wrong.

and this NEVER HAPPENS!

 

[J_D]

This will not affect me as I will be on opens before this law comes in, but it is yet another example of the government throwing over a blanket solution that is completely ineffective and will do absolutely nothing but annoy the hell out of people who appreciate the thrill that is driving a high performance car... SENSIBLY!

I wish death to all those who own high performance cars and drive like they are indestructible, whether they are on their P's or have had their opens for 10 years.

The WORST part of these laws is that after a few years, it will be obvious to anyone who can read numbers that they have made ZERO difference to the road toll, but do we think that they will be scrapped? you'd think so right? NO! that would require someone in government to admit they were wrong.

and this NEVER HAPPENS!

Here here.

 

[TheForgotten]

I just think they should just put a blanket ban on RICE and cheap imports !

:bow: I absolutely agree. If they banned the import of cars built to a budget ie kia, hyundai, daewoo etc this would help matters.
BUT I think the key lies in driver training. Period.
I also strongly believe that if our taxes were spent on building better roads, this would help, but alas, all our taxes do is line pollie's pockets
Look at the autobahns - no speed limit, smooth as a babies bum, and if there's a spill such as sand/gravel, there's a cleanup crew out fixing it, not like over here where it takes 6 months to rebuild a section of road 100m long

 

[Hairy Eater]

on thursday 10 August... few days ago... at about 11 am this 44 year old man hit a power pole, snapping it off at ground level and KILLING his passenger... dont know his condition but he lived... this was in a 22,000 populaton small town (Mt Isa)..... doesnt seem age matters here...