Dying To Drive

[SKY031]

SBS are doing an Insight program on P platers, P plate restrictions, and deaths amongst young drivers.

Seeing as so many people have fairly strong views about this, it might be worth watching.

The program will be aired at 7:30pm on Tuesday, but if you're unable to watch it, it will be replayed on Friday 23rd at 1:30pm, and again on Monday 26th at 2:30pm.

DYING TO DRIVE Youth and cars are a volatile mix.

Newspaper and television images of horror smashes tell us what we already know - that proportionally, way too many young people die on our roads.

Car crashes are the leading cause of death for people aged 18 to 24.

Particularly young men. They represent just 6% of the population but account for about 20% of road deaths.

Tough new laws for P Plate drivers are proposed in several states.

But it seems no one - motoring organisations, youth groups, accident researchers nor young people themselves - can agree on whether the new laws, like night time pasenger limits, will be either effective or fair.

Presenter Jenny Brockie will be joined in the studio by people who've been touched in a very personal way by the issue - from a teenager who recently gave the eulogy at his best mate's funeral; to a woman whose two sons' lives were lost when speeding just minutes from home.

Just how avoidable is the high rate of young deaths on the roads?

INSIGHT will discuss new brain research that suggests that those parts of the human brain that controls decision making and impulse control are not fully formed until the mid 20's. Add this to a teen's tendency for risk taking and we've got a potent combination.

[ctjet]

LOL @ P-platers

[Driver]

LOL @ P-platers

rrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahaaaa

[sigsputnik]

sweet, thanks for that. will tape it.

[R34NRG]

theres currently a show about P platers combined with high powered cars and exactly how good tey can drive ect ect. i would like to open a discussion about it as it would be interesting to hear what everyone thinks of the situation....

[evil_weevil]

thanks for the reminder

hope evry p plater/young driver is watching this.

[inissane]

just saw bits and pieces but seemed like alot of emotional string pulling and not much real suggestions or solutions

cant believe how the presenter glossed over a great comment about how people are only trained to pass the test and not how to really drive in all situations including emergencies

[nzm033]

im a p plater

only watch abit ...in watching that all the old ppl were saying that its about the car's safety features

the old man said that the car needs airbags, abs brakes, traction control etc etc

IMHO its come down to the driver and how he/she wants to drive the car...if they wanna drive like a wanker and lose control and crash its their fault. But seriously, u can drive any car normally and reduce the chances of having an accident

my 2cents

[EVILTD]

Hi guys,

some details of it would be nice... time, screen days etc?

And what is the program called?

[fr0st]

Insight at 7:30 pm

I'm in WA so I can tape + youtube it

[dangerous_daveo]

Hmmm.

They do have repeats of the show on for those that missed it.

But as always they instantly get on to the 'advanced' driving courses and forget they are a thing of the past for young drivers. A lot of the driver training companys have a course for L & P platers. Those courses dont teach anything about skid control, its all very positive. You get to the pratical bits you put them out of their comfort zone a bit, most people do get something out of the day. As they were going on about what they would like to be taught or learnt is not getting in to the situation in the first place. Which is the defensive driving, which we teach. But we also teach how to get out of the situation if you do stuff up, because we are human, and mistakes will happen. I think some of them are too much in this sientific world to think of that. They think in stats, and think if you add this stat to that stat the problem goes away...

But yeah, not one of their best debates...

[alexk]

cars don't kill people, people kill people

[D_I_F]

thanks for the reminder

hope evry p plater/young driver is watching this.

I hope you are too evil weiner.. Lets just see how you go saturday

[Lucy in the Sky]

im a p-plater, and ive just bought an r33 gts t

i would watch the show but im in wa and at work at the moment..

i agree with skyline17 that its the person behind the wheel and not the power of the car.

i think that just because some people are not mature / sensible / capable of controlling their vehicle responsibly, it is incorrect to take the privelage of owning / driving away from the rest of the p platers that are capable of driving responsibly.

also i agree with inissane that i wasnt taught how to drive properly, sure i was taught how to pass the test.. everything was based around what i was going to be assessed on.

there was a time late last year where i was driving home, and going the speed limit and i saw a light in the middle of the road, realising it was someone holding a torch pointing at me, i slowed down rapidly and then as i was about 10meters away i realised it was a police officer.

i panicked thinking he was stopping to pull me over, and so indicated and pulled over. he informed me they were carrying out reaction tests and my reaction stopping time was too slow. (i think that test was a load of rubbish considering the circumstances)

Anyway, it made me realise that i hadnt even been taught how to pull over correctly - obviously the concept is easy, but in practice at the time he was infront of me, and i was thinking "wtf is he doing in the middle of the road? what the.. is a policeman" i had no clue what to do his arms were just waving around, not really helping with direction or specifically asking me to pull over, i just did anyway.

but yeah to sumarise, i think that no matter what car im driving, i drive pretty much the same and when it comes to being in a difficult traffic situation, further education would benefit me greatly.. as well as not being a speeding maniac on the road

Edited March 21, 2007 by Lucy in the Sky

[Sydneykid]

The fact is we boys think that we are immortal, that’s why the Army,.Navy, AirForce etc uses us to fight wars and has done so for centuries. We think that we are never going to die and that translates into how we drive cars. Risks are fun, speed is good, nothing wrong with a bit of opposite lock, danger is food for the soul etc etc. This is built in, it’s in our genes. No matter what regulations you write, no matter how you try and enforce it, no matter what car you try and make us drive, the fact is we are programmed to take risks. Even enjoy them, seek out more and greater thrills, test our skills against others, exercise that testosterone.

Passing laws will NEVER EVER change that, in fact there is a strong argument that says the more laws you pass the less effect it will have. An example, on my weekly trip to the workshop I pass through 42 (yes 42) speed zones in just under 50 minutes. What chance do I have of remembering what speed I am supposed to be doing, when it changes every 70 seconds. I would have accidents all over the place if I concentrated THAT hard on looking for every single speed sign.

So what do I do? I drive at whatever speed I feel comfortable at, whatever speed the cars around me are travelling at. I only pay attention to the speed zones when there are police cars and cameras. Oh, I am bad boy aren’t I? Well not if you count accidents as a the test, I haven’t had one in 22 years, that’s not just accidents that were my fault, that includes other peoples accidents that I avoided. Accidents that I wouldn’t have avoided if I had been concentrating on the speed zones and not watching what was going on around me.

What they have forgotten in this media fueled frenzy is the KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid. They are looking for more and more complex answers to what are basically simple questions.

cheers

[fuzzy_scuz]

The fact of life in anything is that a small minority of idiots will spoil it for the majority.

Hooning/Cars

Mexican Wave

Australian Flag

etc...

etc....

etc.....

Remeber there ain't stupid questions just stupid people.

[ctjet]

Remeber there ain't stupid questions just stupid people.

that point is very much debatable

[Sydneykid]

So, how did/do I approach teaching KoSK (kids of SK) to stay alive when driving?

From the day they were born they learnt about safety in cars, wearing seat belts, not drinking and driving, keeping the noise (distractions) to a manageable level etc etc. For example,.Mrs SK and I made sure we openly discussed (in front of KoSK) who was driving and who was drinking whenever we went out.

I then took SOSK Karts racing from 10 to 16 years old. He learnt all sorts of important stuff like;

1. Idiots will run into you

2. If you break it, you fix it

3. If you break it real bad, you miss the next race/meeting

4. It costs money and time to fix stuff after you break it

5. When another driver/kart hits you, it hurts

6. Safety gear (helmet, suite, gloves etc) save your ass

7. Car (Kart) Control

8. Braking and traction

9. Steering and traction

10. Acceleration and traction

11. How to get you and the kart out of the shit when you stupidly got yourself into it

12, How not to get in the shit next time

And heaps more “life” lessons.

Then I taught him how to drive a car, how to stay alive, what to look out for, how to change gears, look the other driver in the eye etc etc. Then I sent him to a Driving School so he could learn how to pass the test (that’s what they are good at). Then I shipped him off to a Peter Finlay course so he could take all of that kart learning and translate it into car stuff. Now I watch and make comment, I do plenty of coaching, I think its part and parcel of being a parent. Just as important as helping with homework, teaching them to talk, to read and write and all the other things parents teach kids.

So as harsh as it may sound, when I see some grieving parent on TV I am always tempted to ask, what did you personally do to improve your children’s chances? Did you just send them along to a driving school and then hope for the best? What have you done since they got their licence? As a parent I don’t think I can abdicate responsibility to the government or the police or the RTA. The fact is the buck starts and stops with me.

Enough rant on my slant on bringing up kids.

cheers

[fuzzy_scuz]

Well said.......

[dead32]

im a p plater and i have lost my license twice so far, im 22yrs old btw. let me tell you im no hoon and yes there was 1 or 2 speeding fines over the past 3 yrs (all can be accounted for) the rest was for misc things, let me tell you as a young P plate male living in sydney i believe you have just cause for police harassment alot of the time, lets add it all up im a young P plate male driving a nissan skyline living in sydney... do the math it = your f**ked, all i ask is not to pass judgement on *young* drivers as its only the ones that are in the wroung place at the wroung time, i dont go around doing 200km everywhere, dnt do burnouts on every street etc etc. just in the wroung place at the wroung time to use the judge's word.. these days you cant be seen with a passenger driving around at night, instant target. frankly im sick of it all. sick of being pulled over for bs and made up situations, police out and out lying just to pull you over. my car is completly legal, it doesnt sit 3inchs under the guards, its not 150db loud and all that bs... so tell me what is it that makes police feel they need to pull people over that fit my characteristics?