Not the usual 4by news item

A very interesting post, Professor Grzebieta seems to have the right idea about vehicle safety. I still feel the bottom line is better more intensive training. Really earn and deserve that licence. I have written this letter to Queensland's major newspapers every year for the last 4 years and I get lots of feedback on it but nothing seems to get done. "The Road Toll
We read every day of the tragic loss of life on our roads and yet we waste a perfect opportunity to realistically do something to prevent it. We send our kids to school to learn the 3 R’s Readin’, wRitin’ and aRithmetic, I firmly believe there should be a fourth R added to this list, Roadcraft.
As humans, virtually the only thing we do in our day-to-day life that is potentially life threatening is to drive a motorcar, motorcycle, pushbike or even be a pedestrian on our roads.
If our kids are not great scholars it surely affects their future career paths but it doesn’t have the potential to kill them. Giving our kids driver’s licenses with inadequate driver training most certainly does. While our kids are at school we have the perfect opportunity to begin training in both theory and practical lessons in general driving ability, attitude and road craft. Our kids could be accurately assessed on their ability and even rewarded by reduced insurance premiums for proof of ability, attitude and temperament. The flow on effect from greater school based training would be an enormous benefit to our community.
Almost everyone amongst us knows someone who has lost family or friends to the road toll. If a crocodile attacks and kills someone, it makes front page news Australia wide and yet only 10 people have been killed by crocs in the last 20 or so years Australia wide, yet we take it literally for granted that over 3000 people will die on our roads each year and it hardly raises an eyebrow. I will repeat that, over 3000 people dead, and we don’t even hear about the 10 times that many who are badly injured or often permanently disabled.
We have not only the ability, but also the responsibility to do something about it. Our children are our community’s most valuable assets. We owe it to them to make their lives as safe and rewarding as possible.
The most worrying part of my life will be when my kids are finally given that eagerly anticipated drivers license. I wonder about the sleepless nights I will have waiting for them to come home even though I know I will have taken the extra precaution of teaching them how to drive at night, how to drive in wet conditions, how to effectively brake a vehicle in emergency conditions and various road craft survival techniques.
These elements are not required to be taught to our kids before they are given a driving license. Most people are given a license with less than 4 hours formal driver training. I imagine putting your life in the hands of a surgeon with only 4 hours formal training, yet whilst driving we are entrusting every other driver with our lives.
I wonder how many sleepless nights you as parents will have worrying about your kids, sent out to fend for themselves virtually unarmed in modern societies most dangerous environment …..our roads.

Sincerely,
Rob Berrill
Certificate IV Trainer\Assessor
Cairns Offroad Training & Tours
http://www.cairnsoffroad.com.au

And we want to be able to switch of stability control; the system would probably blow up in some off road situations.

How many Car’s come with side/ certain airbag’s as standard, I would say non except the top pf the range car’s, A XR8 or Fairmont Ghia don’t come with side airbag’s but for $60,000 you will get Side airbag’s standard in a base modal Fairlane.

The engineers improve the roads and the cars and install safety devices but the drivers take up the extra margins of safety and more through more reckless driving.

Not arguing against improvements or airbags however it has been proven that drivers feel safer because of the bags and take more risks. Go figure!

There are many fourby drives who are proud of the speed they do on unsealed raods and it is just a pity if you are coming from the other way.

There others who tow heavy trailers at speeds and in conditions that would risky even in a well set up passenger sedan.

Meanwhile the kids, especially the boys, are watching.

What I am saying is that we kill our kids through our own example and it is not on to always pass the buck to someone else. However I would hope that the substantial majority of ExplorOz contributors would set a good example or at least only have infrequent and brief moments of madness.

Fines do little to deter many motorists. I would like to see on-the-spot licence suspension as a way of reminding motorists that their licence to drive is a privilege, not a right.

There is no reason why stupidity eg tailgating at speed should not result in an on-the-spot month suspension, as should exceeding the speed limit through a school zone.

EV700

Hey, What about the media placing the fault where it lies, how many times do we see a report stating that wet weather caused or high wind caused etc etc.
Would people not think if reports read stupidity on behalf of driver CAUSED,tell the people put the blame where it belongs on the idiot drivers.
How many times have I been driving in thick fog to have some idiot fly past at a rate of knots and not be able to see twenty feet in front.
How do we stop this kind of stupidity, or the fool who overtakes on double lines and you have to be double alert not to get involved. All good points but WHAT is the answer
.I think if news media pointed the finger and named those responsable in such instances some notice may be taken,in the light of being named as the cause of so called accident.It is not an accident if SOMEBODY caused it,its somebodys stupidity.

Regards BILLS

When on a stranded beach or at the farm, I often let my 12 year old have a little 5 min (if that) drive of my car. I think its important he learn how to practically drive without the others on the road, the signs and traffic or the road rule distractions. Once he masteres the feel of the brake peddle etc, then he can go learn the rules, get his learners then the P's.

HE needs a lot more practice in the back paddock yet...

He is my oldest boy and I know he will be driving his younger brother and sister around once he turns of age...so I really want him to have some sensible early practice.

By the way, he so appreciates the little drives he is allowed when he gets them...which is not too often...I think its the only time he really listens to me.

I do find it interesting that Vic the nanny state has a high holiday road toll and they are right up ya enforcement wise, and NT properly the slackest and the only place in Australia with open speed limit’s, last I had seen a 0 fatalities go figure.

As a young person I can tell you putting adds on TV makes very little difference and even talking about it dose bugger all, the only way young people learn is to get out and see how it happens in a real car in realistic condition’s behind the wheel. So to tech them they must be in a controlled environment but with it made as realistic as possible.

You may remember that add they had on like 2-3 years ago with the blokes in the Charger going to a party and they were all dead with the line come on live life on the wild side davo as they are speeding along.

Well I can tell you we all found it a funny add, There we were flying down the southwest Hwy at 1 in the morning doing 170km/h in a done Up V8 WB statesman quoting word’s from the add laughing, So OK this is how young people act and think.

Or Saturday night to young to get into the pub, so let’s go cruising or run ally Australia (basically gunning it up and down back ally ways around Perth running a little corse.

Or fist rain’s of winter let’s go out and go drifting around corners and roundabouts

Or going down to my mates farm and doing donut’s in the paddocks and rally driving on the back property road’s.

And it was All FUN, But I have grown up a lot since then and I also learnt a chit load about control and handling from doing it.

And if you think irresponsible young people they need more education, well I had a Hard Ass Cop as a farther who would of kicked my ass if I stuffed up and also telling me on a regular basis to be careful and telling me about road accident’s and I still Did stupid stuff.

I had other friend’s who’s present’s sowed them Graphic videos about road accidents that showed interviews with people who had become disabled from road accident’s along with confiscating there key’s if they stuffed up, And guess what they still did it.

I had one friend whose parent’s just said ok he has his licence he is going to do stupid stuff I did when I was younger and I will deal with that.

Education, Tougher law’s making it harder to get a licence, will not make a huge difference, you get in a car for the fist time by-yourself and you what to see what you can do.
150Hrs Log book Ha, what parent has that sort of time free or that money spare to pay for a instructor, My brother had to do the 25Hrs thing and that was a pain in the ass.

What are we going to do make it so you need to be 25 before you can get a licence, well that just ant practical.

Just more laws for the younger people to break.

Agree or disagree with me this is how the majority of young people think and act when they first get their license I know I was one of them.

5years and like 240,000k’s later and have not had an accident, I guess I must be one of the lucky ones.

Getting a drivers license is rediculessly easy in this country. Then you can drive almost whatever you like, including a 4wd. Now I know I'm going to get howled down by pointing out that the part of a kids brain that controls agression and anger, isn't fully developed until around 23. That's 23 NOT 16 or 18 !! So we have "adults" that possibly can't control themselves, never mind a vehicle or a 4wd.
Then there's the question of 4wd licenses. Consider the poor doof doof driver who jumps into a turbo Cruiser. Do they have the skills necessary to drive it safely on or off road ? Should this be left to chance ? The first 4wd I drove belonged to work and was a series 40 Landcruiser...I was frightened to death of it. Contrast that to a mum who jumps out of a Dunnydore and into the family's new 4wd to fetch the kids from school for the first time.
I would argue that a rethink of driver training and licensing , is long overdue. And let's make that a Federal issue, never mind the states fiddling around the edges of road safety.
Sorry guys, friend of mine is an ambo driver and he attends plenty of horrific accidents. Accidents happen, but the senseless loss of life CAN, in some cases, be prevented, especially with our youth.

I know the road stats for Christmas were pretty bad but I wonder what effect speed cameras actually have.
They certainly don't stop accidents, and really don't stop speeding. You don't know you've been caught speeding until you get a letter a month or two later.
I wonder what difference it would make if all the police who were sitting at speed cameras (in Queensland anyhow), where actually on the road? I know for a fact that 1 police car on the road and everybody near it sits exactly on the limit.
With speed cameras people slow down when the see them and then take off again once they're past them.
I wear a uniform the same colour as the Queensland Police and know that whenever anyone sees me driving along the road they always drop their speed until they're sure I'm not the police, then they take off. It's amazing how many people see me in uniform and you slowly see the seat belt being slid across the shoulder and fastened.
I believe get more police in vehicles patrolling the roads and less emphasis on revenue raising speed cameras and the toll will be reduced!

The problem is straightforward - just look at the road toll and examine the factors:
- yourg inexperienced male drivers;
- Letting these young people drive Commodores capable of 200kph;
- Young males on motorbikes capable of the above
- Country roads
- and like the others say - it is way too easy to get a licence.

When my kids got their licence, I preferred to continue to treat them like learners until I thought they were OK. One lesson on country roads doesn't teach them enough.

Cheers
Phil

http://www.micom.net/oops/Sign13.jpg

check this out!!

I dont like the way they can fiddle with stats to make them say what they want. There was one in the paper re the nuclear power issue and it showed (supposedly) that more poeple preferred it than not. The small print needed to be read to see that the majority percentage was in the above 50yrs age group surveyed and the 18 -49s all were against it but the way they presented the figures made it look like they supported the papers opinion.