Age = Power restriction

[Lozza150]

Here is one to stir the pot.

I'd like to hear what people think on the idea that your age should restrict you in vehicle power.....

Example......

Should people now entering their P plate's be able to drive V8's or Turbo's??

Would Govt restriction's slow or stop some people killing themselve's in high powered car's when they dont really know how to handle/drive properly.

What age do you think people should be able to buy/drive high powered car's

........

Im not out to say anything bad about different driver's..... im interested in what people think

Loz

[Jimbo2000]

i think that v8 or turbo should be out for red ps but it would be too slack to restrict them for three years so green ps would be alright.

[Tosh]

I've said this over and over.

The only way to stop so many young drivers from causing accidents is EDUCATION!!!

put them through driver training as a pre-req for getting ur P's. put them through all conditions in a closed environment (i.e. skidpan) to learn how the car responds to different conditions..

The only way to stop these accidents is making sure that when things go pear shaped, these people know how to respond and avoid fatality.

to me a power restriction wont be as effective as you'll still lose a Toyota Echo in the wet if u dont know how to handle the car...

[Merli]

The best thing to ever happen to me was when I moved into a powerful car.

280rwkw is a lot to handle, and it teaches you to be EXTREMELY careful where, and when to plant that throttle.

Before, I had slower cars (Mazda Astina V6, Proton GTi, etc) and I found myself wringing the neck out of those bastards because I had something to prove... Nearly every traffic light I'd take off with vigour.

When I moved into the Skylines, I had nothing to prove, and my driving became much more sensible and mature.

Racktrack experience also helped more than I can stress, because it shows you the limits of your car, and when happens when you exceed those limits.

I agree with Tosh in that much more driver training is needed to gain your drivers licence. Did you know you could easily get your P's without ever driving in the rain or at night? That's utterly ridiculous.

Also, I took my driving test in an automatic. My Learners and Provisional licences were restricted to automatic cars only, but as soon as I got my Silver Licence, they removed that restriction. Apparently driving an automatic car for 2 years gives you the ability to drive manual cars

Nothing beats experience and that's what Learner driver training should give you. At the moment, it doesn't give you sh1t.

[Nismodified]

any car is capable of killing.

but i have thought it may be a good idea to have resticted power/weight ratio governed cars, but it would be hard to enforce.

[Morgs]

I think you need to learn to swin before being thrown in the deep end.

I am glad I did not have a powerful car when I was on my P's. By the end of it I was driving a V6 commodore which had enough power to get you into trouble/danger.

I agree with Merli that you become more sensible over time, you've got to build up to these things. If you've just started driving, in my opinion, a Skyline, or any other relatively high powered vehicle, is not the car for you. Not only do you lack the experience in situations that you have not encountered, in many cases there is a fair bit of attitude in having something to prove.

Tosh, true you could lose it in a Toyota Echo, but put the same person in a car with tripple the power output, a non linear power curve, mix this with the lack of experience in certain situations on our 'roads'* and you've got a dangerous ****tail.

My opinion is based on nothing but my own experiences. It pissed me off no end having to wait for a decent car, but I've got no regrets about the way its worked out

At least, in general, those who want to buy a performance vehicle know how to look after it, and do go to lengths to learn how to drive. I'd say most people out there travel on the roads to commute. I saw Australias worst driver. Those people are out there... yet nobody does anything about them :crazy:

* (thats something else all together... not only is the licencing system inefficent, but we get to drive on fantastic quality roads..)

[2BNVS]

my 1st car was and still is a turbo r33 and i know that if i be stupid its gonna stuff me up bad, but its true any car can kill u, unfortunately 6 months ago my mate died in an accident when he was drivin his crx a bit too quick, and that made me realise to be more careful. but i agree with the driver training thing like

SW20-GT said, if u get to know ur car and how it moves in certain situations it is a great advantage...

cheers...ben.

[Staunch]

2BNVS: I've seen pics of your 33 before, nice. I noticed the red P plate....well soon thats gonna be me, so i was wondering if you could give me a run down and how it was registering it, insurance and stuff like that?

[Terminal]

My first car was a V8 and my 2nd a turbo, and i had no problems in either of them, sure i was picked up by the cops every weekend while driving, P plates stand out like that. but the thing about driver training is a good on, i had it unofficially in my paddock until i turned 17, and i learned how to control the car that much more. people who freak out when its raining or night or busy need to get something done, they're the ones who cause accidents, and training at a young age is the only way to get it to stick in my book

[antuanstylar]

theres only one way to solve this problem, get rid of the p plate business and go onto full lisence, is that how you spell lisence or is it license? and can the .05 limit and have everyone at 0.0

[redline2003]

here in meblourne we hav the power to weight rule limiting a p plater from driving any car wif 125KW @ the wheels. the r33 is above this by bout 3 or 4 KW. but still i c p platers driving wrxs, r33s, 180s, 200s, even a yellow lambo at auto saloon.... im turning 18 in 2 months, i will either by a r33 S2, 200sx or 180 afta i get about 3 or more months expierence wif my current car. the rule doesnt bother me as it is bs and is not enforced(most of the time anyway). if it does get enforced i will probably move interstate. in theory aiight it seems like a good rule but fast cars will only b fast when they r PUSHED, i currently hav a 2L celica and for a NA it does go aiight, it dont matta wat car u driving but the ego u hav. u c many accidents wif cars being wrapped around poles but when u think bout it was the driver driving sensibly? i think the death toll will unfortunatly b less then it is, the govt is beating a dead horse by lowering speed limits etc. people will die on the roads, anywhere in the world. in other countries u can go 300Km on the freeway so i think the rules r strict enough here

[2BNVS]

Staunch: im insured with suncorp metway, but its used as a car for my parents business, it was virtually impossible for us to get a decent quote if we privatley insured the car and i think the cheapest quote we got was 6650 from just cars, and at least they gave us a quote, not many companies accepted us since my age, again with registration it all came easier due to that fact, if u need any more info jus pm me and ill be happy to explain other things...

Terminal: i agree 100%, some of the ppl i seen driving when its raining n shit drive so cautiously its beyond the joke, of course u slow down if its pretty dangerous but i seen ppl on a freeway panic so much when they drive there bound to cause an accident..those are the ones authorities should worry about...

thanx...ben.

[IOWNU]

In Victoria the cops don't care about the power to weight ratio unless ur in a V8. I've seen P Platers in r33's 34's some GTR's STi's and EVO's. The matter of the fact is, there is a loop hole. The cops will stop a P plater in a V8 (about the power-weight rule), but not in a little jap econo box that would eat the V8 and spit it out.......Thank God.

[Talej]

As I have said before, I agree with what tosh said.... but I still think power/weight restrictions should apply... at least for red P platers...

I have seen so many P platers driving dangerously (not just dangerous to themselves, but to others) in powerful cars and it is just wrong. Nobody that has only been driving for a year of less would have enough experience to be able to handle a big car (say v8 for example) safely.

Fair enough there is possibly exceptions to this but in most cases I think it would be true.

[redline2003]

id hav to disagree as my mates who just got their Ps hav vr ss's and VT ss. ive seen p platers driving the new xr6(non turbo). none of my mates hav been hassled. on my block there r like 4 v8s on Ps alone.

[carlo]

Merli got it spot on.

My first car was an Auto Pulsar, and I drove it hard. Then I got a 99 celica and drove that hard. Both of those cars where not powerfull, so you push them alot harder.

I started to do some driver training in the celica and realised how easy I could get into trouble. I learned how to start to handle a car which was out of control. (Well getting it back anyway).

After that my driving has gotten alot better, I have not had a speeding fine since and I drive alot more carefull in the skyline. I respect that my car whilst not a huge KW beast (yet) is still a fast car, and should be respected.

Trackdays are fantastic too, I have learned so much about driving this year, and I am more confident about driving on the road. However there is still the other people on the road to worry about.

I almost had a lady in a Lotus Elise smash into my car the other day on epping road. I had to brake hard and did so very smoothly and pulled up in time. She was not watching and slammed the brakes, now if you lock up a car your not going to stop in a hurry. Needless to say I was worried about this lady and her car becoming a fixture of my skyline.

I think education is a point which needs to be pushed, and we are all capable of this. My sister is going to start to drive shortly and I will teach her all that I know. Then I will pay for her to go to do Level 1 and 2 advanced driving with Aaron McGill. Driving training costs less than most of us pay for insurance, and has a greater potential to safe your life, someone elses life or your property.

[akeenan]

ok lets clear a few things up..

here in meblourne we hav the power to weight rule limiting a p plater from driving any car wif 125KW @ the wheels.

this is not correct.

a p plater can drive a car which is 125 kw at the wheels?? the actual rule is a p plater cannot drive a car which has more then 125kw(engine) per tonne of weight.

and secondly

In Victoria the cops don't care about the power to weight ratio unless ur in a V8. I've seen P Platers in r33's 34's some GTR's STi's and EVO's. The matter of the fact is, there is a loop hole. The cops will stop a P plater in a V8 (about the power-weight rule), but not in a little jap econo box that would eat the V8 and spit it out.......Thank God.

sorry dude, this is the biggest bit of bs i have read in a long time.... i think you may have it the wrong way around. a couple of months ago the police were out to get modified and p platers driving powerful cars eg: japanese cars....

corrections made

[redline2003]

yeh but would u say it is enforced FULLY? if it was the govt would b even richer. if the cops wanted to they could b real pricks and give p platers a 105$ fine for simply driving a car deemed too powerful. and believe me i know alot of people who own r33s 180s, SS's, supra TT RZ and when i ask em if they ever been hassled by the cops bout the power to weight rule i hav to explain to them wat it is. most of em havent even been defected or even pulled over more then once or twice and they r on their Ps.

[akeenan]

dude, you didnt even know what the rule was, trust me if cops spot you especially at night you will most likely be pulled over unless they have another job which takes priority.

your friends are just lucky for not getting pulled over.

read the forums, why most people dont like the police, especially why p platers dont like the police...

[IOWNU]

sorry dude, this is the biggest bit of bs i have read in a long time.... i think you may have it the wrong way around. a couple of months ago the police were out to get modified and p platers driving powerful cars

Mate, I'm a plater I should know. If u drive a V6, and the P plater next to u is in a V8, the cops will always stop the V8. i agree with redline2003. Yes they will stop Jap cars, but not all the time at night. U describe it as if u cannot get from Point A to Point B without being hassled. There are not enough police, or resources to pull off such a feat. Please, stop being so self-righteous, unfortunately, u cannot always be right.