I’m a (26 year old) P plater. I have never had a driving infringement, no speeding tickets, have never even been pulled over. Nor have I ever had a driving accident. I also drive a turbo car.
My car is a twin turbo. It has 18 inch rims and sports suspension.
It also has more air bags than you could imagine, excellent safety ratings and very good visibility (without being an urban assault vehicle).
So what do I drive? A beige Volvo sedan, specifically a 5 year old s80. Many larger European cars are turbo powered as this is more efficient than putting in a v8.
It is, admittedly, a big car, about the length of a Holden Statesman. As I think I’ve mentioned before, my husband and I only have one car between us. Our ‘daily driver’ is a big green Mercedes that runs every 15 minutes or so. However every weekend we ferry a bunch of rowdy passengers around in comfort - our elderly grandparents who are now unable to drive.
It would not be legal for me to drive this car in NSW. If the WA Opposition has its way, this high powered abomination will be banned here too.
The fact that some idiotic young drivers have turbo cars and also have accidents does not show a causative relationship. The idiots will be idiots whether they are driving a turbo or a 10 year old Hyundai Excel. It is quite possible to do very serious damage in a small, underpowered car and you are far more likely not to make it out of a tiny tinbox alive.
While the idea of assessing cars based on a power to weight ratio is a more sensible one, it still misses the point. It isn’t the car that kills, it is the driver.
The real issue for young drivers on the road is insufficient driver education, alcohol and drug abuse, boredom, fatigue and immaturity.
When I called to renew my drivers’ licence, the operator at the DPI commented that I was eligible for a free licence for a year because I have not had any infringements in the past two years while a probationary driver. Frighteningly, she told me that I was one of very few who were eligible.
While the proposed changes won’t make a difference to me personally as I’m off my P’s in 3 days, I am concerned that the Opposition is again looking for an easy scapegoat rather than addressing the real issues.
What do you think? Am I a hoon? Or are they just looking for an easy answer?
2 responses so far ↓
1 Sunili // Jul 29, 2008 at 9:21 am
Heh. Hoon in a Volvo. Heh heh heh.
Unfortunately it seems like whenever there’s a policy initiative they’re always flogging the easy answer. For most people, that’s fine — we should look for the easy answer. But on policy matters… Duh, there are rarely times when easy answers apply there but they’re always trying to get away with it cause they need the sound bite for the 6pm news.
And on this particular issue, both parties are guilty.
Congrats on graduating off your Ps
2 Kim // Jul 29, 2008 at 5:45 pm
I agree with you - it is definitley the driver but unfortunately we can not discriminate against 17-25yr old males and as you say, they still would have the ability to turn a 1960 VW into a lethal weapon on the road.
There is no easy answer, and a definite culture of individuals who hear nothing and assume no responsibility…..
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