Comments on: Vic rules change for young drivers

By: Togenshi

Togenshi — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 16:38:08 +0000

From a person that just got their car impounded for a freaking week due to a couple bursts of speed (to 120km/h in a 50 zone…yeah i know but it was a 4 lane, road with plenty of room) and lack of knowledge that the police sported unmarked Nissan Patrols, this isnt gonna work.

First of all, my prelude VTEC NA has 142kw of power. Plenty to make the wheels spin and have a thrill, then eventually get caught. Doesn’t matter about the car, bigger/faster is better in a young adults eyes. Not to mention if you get a quiet exhaust system, it is easy to hide a NA engine. Especially with the new mivec, vtec, whatever-tec technologies they have.

Lets also take a financial look at this. Pay vs Free. You would take the “free” option whether its food, drinks, cars, etc. Many of us just feel that hooning in the streets anytime you feel like it gives us freedom and control. Given there are idiots out there, many of us get kicks out of driving/drifting our cars fast. The alternative would be drugs or alcohol as a recreational past time. Personally i love driving but i told the cops that took away my car that there is no local venue. Im in perth, so theres motorplex, ahg driving course and barbagello racedays. Ok, motorplex, every wednesday for $40 you may pull off 3-4 drags. Alternative is to go on the freeway at 12-2am in the morning to hit the top speed.

Ahg driving sessions is around 3-4 hours long for around $55. Given it is the most favourable, there is the issue of wear and tear. Hoons usually have a burst here and there while at a race track, you pretty much warp your brake rotors and give the clutch a good work out. Still inconvenient that its not here and now but personally i would be interested in it if i had the money. Im $800 short now due double yammy. $400 fine, $400 tow…..*sigh*

Next is barbegallo raceway, if they ever have a street race day >.>.

Really, if you want hooning to stop, or to be more correct become almost non-extistant, the gov’t needs to provide a free venue. If I added up the cost of the fines and savings on not going to these events, i would probably come out even for the 2 years i’ve had my license (only had one $75 before this). Just the thing that sucks is the whole reckless driving tab against my name but hey, i wouldnt want it any other way. The 2 years of solo street racing/drifiting was fun and I arent stupid enough to do it where there was an imminent risk of crashing/losing control.

Just that there is one last major problem. Laws shouldnt provoke a person to cause a more serious fine. Since next time i get caught, my car faces 1 month impoundment, im gonna give the cops the slip pretty much. Better to get away than go through this shit. I could easily outpace any car the police have due to my street racing skills. So the question would be, “how much more recreational past-times for young adults can the gov’t/police suck out of it till start taking extreme measures?”

Sorry about long post >.> I got caught and need to rant. As the saying goes “sh!t happens”.

By: Al Juraj

Al Juraj — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 14:41:51 +0000

This super or turbocharger rules are nonsense. The law is too lax, reluctant, maybe even naive about cars. P-platers can drive diesels, which includes the upcoming BMW 330d, faster than a lot of petrol cars. VW’s 1.4-litre super/turbocharged engine is designed for economy and not raw performance, yet youngsters cannot drive it.

There really has to be changes. Just because you’re driving fast doesn’t mean you’re dangerous. How many times do we have to reiterate that German autobahns see less deaths than our strictly speed-limited roads? It’s about sheer training and discipline that determines safety on the streets, apart from driver aids like airbags, stability control and what-have-you. A hoon in a Tiida can be much more of a hazard than a responsible driver in a Godzilla.

By: Cupid Stunt

Cupid Stunt — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 12:46:12 +0000

Stupid comment Horse!!

Agree with Hjalle – power to weight should apply with any type of engine along with annual roadworthies.

By: Horse

Horse — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:54:17 +0000

I just can’t believe Mercedes make a car with only 135Kw !!!

By: Supply & Demand

Supply & Demand — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 05:43:48 +0000

I’d say this has less to do with road safety and more to do with saving Holden. Isn’t the new Cruz running a little 1.4 Turbo? Remember, the government doesn’t care about road safety – only revenue rasing. Power to Weight is the correct method but that would stop buyers from buying locally made cars – thus the non-sensical complicated turbo + power to weight + forms + admin fees + stand on your head and count to three method.

By: Hjalle

Hjalle — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:52:09 +0000

This is stupid. It should depend on power to weight ratio, OR how much power the engine puts out. NOT what type of engine it is.

By: Nathaniel

Nathaniel — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:32:54 +0000

I think that 100kw is a bit too small. I thought something like 115kw was more suitable. And it should be that that is the maximum limit, whether that is a family car or not. 120kw/t is getting very powerful ie. VW-R32, 2008 WRX.

Also they really need to get of their ass’s and change the whole system and apply this to EVERY car, be it NA, Turbo…
And for those who say it will make it more confusing, the system is already used with motorbikes.

Lastly just a side note, I am really over the “saftey” issue to justify some of these cars. Sorry but that is just utter crap.

Just because you 7 airbags and esp (that can be switched off) doesn’t mean the car is unable to be driven foolishly and not end up wraped around a pole.
And also all those air bags in you’re car are not going to help the passengers of the car you have just crashed into.

There are plenty of car’s that are less powerful and just as safe, ie The new impreza range, new fiesta, the C4.

By: Reckless1

Reckless1 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 23:26:18 +0000

Comments from obviously retarded P plate drivers frighten me….

Not to mention questions like “how do you work out power to weight ratios?”

125kw per ton is seriously too much. That means a P plater can’t drive a Golf GTI (because it’s a “sports” purpose) but they can drive a Jetta with the same engine/transmission, but with smaller tyres and softer suspension, because it’s not a “sports” car.

But it is good that the numnuts in Spring St are looking at the issue and allowing exemptions.

Does it mean that if a P plater goes to the trouble of getting an exemption, and then gets caught hooning, the penalty will double? It should.

By: Frenchie

Frenchie — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:57:03 +0000

Educating drivers how to drive and how to handle a vehicle is an area where state and federal money is better spent!

By: Gibbo

Gibbo — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 11:18:05 +0000

These P plate laws are the direct result of a bunch of retards that are trying to justify their jobs as they sit in an office all day with no real world experience. The same goes for NSW. When I was a P plater I wasn’t allowed to drive my father’s truck because it has a V8, a V8 that produces less power than the V6 in my Commodore ute, his truck also weighs about a tonne more than my ute and has less gears – ie the Commodore is alot faster and would be alot easier to wrap around a power pole, but no the Truck gets banned because some idiot has just gone through the list of all vehicles sold in Australia and ticked the banned box next to any thing with a super or turbo charger, or more than 6 cylinders – regardless of the type of vehicle in question.
Heres an Idea why dont the government bodies in charge of these idiotic laws employ people that are car people an who know what different cars can and can’t do.
At the end of the day education is the key – put the P platers in the drivers seat and get them to drive (on a closed road as part of a class) above the speed limit and get them to stop suddenly (perhaps throw a crash test dummy out infront of the car). Being in the situation and seeing how much longer it takes to stop a car that is travelling at exess speed should make them think twice. All cars will break the speed limit wheather they are deemed to be high performance or not and I bet the C200 from this article would be one of the quickest on the list to come to a stop.