Blaming the P-Platers again

So are us “older” P Platers. Driving Home from Canberra last week there was a “Red” Plater flying past everyone on the Hume in her shitty old Excel, Turned off at Gundaroo then when i got just past Marulan She sped past me again. Mind you it was raining a bit too. she must have been doing 150+.

I was doing 110 along Canberra Ave the other day during peak hour. I saw this car coming up behind me that looked clapped out, but was going like the clackers. I decided to do one of those ‘rolling blockades’ and slow her down, but she actually nudged my car out of the way to get through!

I caught up with her at the Hindmarsh lights and before I could get my window down the lights changed and she was off – almost at Ipswich Street before I reached the first dead decomposing kangaroo.

Besides the idiocy and rudeness and superficial damage to my car, the stupid bitch was doing at least 150kph with 2 flat tyres! I might find her mechanic – I want an engine that good as well!) And to bitch a bit more – ACT plates.

I feel sorry for the sensible teenaged P-Platers out there – you are getting painted with the same brush that these other dickheads have supplied the paint for…

chugger, because “rate the plate” won’t deter them.

They’ll continue to do it and will most likely cause an accident or a cse of road rage.

If you memorised the plates why don’t you go to idiotdriver.com.au or ratetheplate.com.au and vent there.

I didn’t mean subservience, I meant serve in the ‘protect’ and ‘assist’ sense, no offence meant. It shits me that assholes feel they can constantly bag the police while expecting that they will be there to watch their back at the same time

Yes, I would report it. Chugger, as per Nyssa’s last.

“those who serve us”. We don’t serve you in the type of subservient way you seem to ascribe to. We uphold the law as best we can. But next time you encounter a cop feel free to tell them that they ‘serve you’. It will get you a long way

vg, so in your opinion, should I have reported the incident? I memorised the plates.

chugger, you’re an idiot.

Thank you vg, I am so delighted to see reason in your comment, you are entirely correct… why should the police have to tell us everything? What makes the gossip-mongers among us think that we can DEMAND this information from those who serve us? I challenge you whingers to try and do a better job, or maybe just build a bridge…

A wise man once told me, “There is no such thing as an accident. There may be things that are out of your control, but nothing happens by chance”

There are very good reasons as to why certain things aren’t openyl discussed in the media from a policing perspective. Like ongoing investigations where you’d prefer the offenders aren’t tipped off etc etc.

I don;t know why I bother explaining the obvious so much though

Tremendous array of responses from people who have never investigated an accident in their life, but like to draw extremely long bows to suit their own agendas.

“with the possible exception of P-Platers who should have more points than regular drivers, not less.”

That’ll do me

God forbid the Police should espouse a message of road safety

“It’s a bit about selective reporting of ‘the news’ isn’t it. A commodore with three young people who were clearly under 18 and had to be unlicensed was stopped by the Police near my place on Sunday night. The three kids were arrested and went off in a paddy wagon – perhaps the car was stolen too from the way they’d been driving it but none of this was reported in ‘the news’ not even a mention. I was interested because it was right near my house in the quiet streets of Ngunn. We’d heard them screeching around for a couple of hours.”

Young people get locked up in this town every day. If you’d like a report on each arrest made every day WIN News may have to extend past the 30 min mark. Perhaps the car was stolen? Perhaps it was previously owned by Martians as well. Nothing like breaking a world record in leaping to conclusions.

this sort of softhead should be dragged from their car and given a stern thrashing. yet if you did that – somehow you would be seen as the bad guy.

vg, I have to ask this though.

Whilst driving along Ashley Dr (around 4:45pm today) this idiot P-plater was tailgating and then slowed down for someone to turn left into Richardson.

Her dickhead passenger pulls out one of those pump action water guns and starts shooting it at the cars in the intersection. One of the drivers abuses them and cops the one finger salute.

As the traffic speeds up the P-plater driver high-fives the passenger.

NSW plates and obviously no idea what’s expected on ACT roads.

Bonfire, I don’t believe that all accidents are caused by speed.

All I’m suggesting is that the greater risk was that the guy was (allegedly) speeding.

This whole concept of “certification” (like, getting one’s license) is a farce anyway. You pass one driving test, and you have a license for life (well, until you get medically challenged). How many less-than-attentive individuals do we all see on the roads (and I include myself as a less-than-attentive individual sometimes) that all have licenses (but maybe shouldn’t).

A driver’s license, just like a marriage certificate, is just a piece of paper (or equivalent).

Anyway… I’ll stop with this point now.

(And with full disclosure in mind, I was a moron once who has four speeding tickets to my name. 1 32km over (I was listening to “Hip to be Square” by Huey Lewis), one 24km over, one 22km over and one 11 km over.

It’s a bit about selective reporting of ‘the news’ isn’t it. A commodore with three young people who were clearly under 18 and had to be unlicensed was stopped by the Police near my place on Sunday night. The three kids were arrested and went off in a paddy wagon – perhaps the car was stolen too from the way they’d been driving it but none of this was reported in ‘the news’ not even a mention. I was interested because it was right near my house in the quiet streets of Ngunn. We’d heard them screeching around for a couple of hours.

Similarly a young man was bashed senseless at Belco on Tuesday night and remains in a coma in Canberra Hospital with major head injuries, but this wasn’t reported in the media either.

The media are so obsessed with P platers that they miss the real stories. What happened to the three kids? And…did they catch the mongrel that kicked the young guy almost to death at Belco? Makes me concerned about going there at night.

Makes me concerned about how ‘the media’ choose to prioritise what they’re reporting on .

Anyone incapable of getting and keeping a license I don’t trust on the roads, with the possible exception of P-Platers who should have more points than regular drivers, not less.

And for those wondering, I have a full licence with a full set of points and have only been done for speeding once, and that was in Victoria, and was 12 kmph over.

All the talk about mitigating the dangers of young drivers (who will tend to drive faster than they should) goes out the window when you’ve got a yahoo who can’t be arsed going through the existing training and testing regime.

swissbignose.

speed may not be the CAUSE.

he may have had bald or crap tyres.

in a corner, tyre adhesion helps you maintain control.

he may have had crap suspension.

in a turn, bodyroll and suspension response helps you maintain control.

see what im saying?

speed is but one variable.

i know you may have swallowed massive doses of the social engineering propaganda shovelled at you over the years and believe youre right, but
theres a range of variables in this crash – and speed is but one.

Can you kill someone by driving without a license, but adhering to all other road rules (apart from the one of having a valid license)?

Doubt it.

If, by unfortunate circumstance, the guy wiped himself out, the headlines wouldn’t have read “19 year old dies because he didn’t have a license.”

I take your point that everyone should abide by the law and have a valid government-issued document that confirms that they’ve been given permission to legally drive a motor vehicle on public roads.

What would the argument have been if the guy was 34 years old instead, and that he’d been driving for 15 years but for one reason or another, hadn’t renewed the license. Yes, he is breaking the law by not getting permission from the government to drive on the road, but it’s not the dangerous activity here.

Speeding is, though.

I meant are you seriously so deranged as to think speeding is more serious than driving without a licence?

Is this the effect of consuming too much Wil Anderson?

No. Seriously. I meant “guy was unlicensed”.

You’re joking right?

First sentence, “guy was unlicensed”. Not “guys was unlicensed”.

The excessive speed is the greater crime here, not that the guys was unlicensed. One can drive unlicensed and not cause an accident. As mentioned before, having a license doesn’t mean that one automatically knows everything they need to know to drive on any road, much less a city road. Learning how to drive comes with experience, and you can only get so much experience from sitting behind the wheel with L-plates and a licensed (presumably more-experienced) driver sitting next to you. To get a license, one must pass a test. Big deal.

One demonstrates that for one hour, one is most conscientious and diligent and courteous and conservative.

The topic of the press release was matter-of-fact. Two young, inexperienced guys each had an accident because of speed. That’s it.

If the L-plater had driven within the speed limit, and to the conditions, as he may have done many times before, we wouldn’t be talking about this now.

(Or would we not be talking about this (in this way) had the guy been licensed and on his P-plates?)

I’m with you johnboy – the connection was clear, P-platers were being tarred with the same brush as L-platers driving without appropriate supervision.

A P-plater (licenced to drive on their own, so long as they’re not drunk or stoned) driving at an excessive speed (within or ove the speed limit) is an absolutely totally different thing to an L-plater driving without a suitabley licence driver sitting beside them in the passenger seat supervising their driving, notwithstanding the speed at which the L-plater is travelling (again, within or over the speed limit).

DS Chew is not helping things wit his choice of language – he should not have been lambasting the L-plater for speeding, but for driving without a suitable supervising driver in the first place!

“Of all the variables involved here i think speed was not the CAUSE of the accident. driving idiocy is the CAUSE of the accident.”

Speed is often NOT the cause of the accident, but a major factor in determining the severity of the resultant accident. In some instances the speed causes the accident (eg loss of lateral traction), but most accidents are driver error. Greater focus on responsible driving, with speed as a contributing (but not domicating) factor, would, I think, provide better results in the reduction of accidents.

btw JB – youre only as old as the woman you feel.

ACT Policing’s head of Traffic Operations, Detective Superintendent Michael Chew, expressed his concern that this was the second major collision involving a young, inexperienced driver in less than 24 hours and in both serious crashes, excessive speed was clearly a mitigating factor.

“Police examination of the Haydon Drive collision scene today indicated the driver lost control of his vehicle at high speed,” Det Supt Chew said.

“Speeding is a matter of serious concern for police and for the community. We need to remind not just young drivers, but all road users of the potentially tragic consequences of excessive speed.”

Of all the variables involved here i think speed was not the CAUSE of the accident. driving idiocy is the CAUSE of the accident.

the afp guy is a cliche spouting clown.

Mitigate, whose central meaning is “to lessen” or “make less severe,” is sometimes confused with militate, “to have effect or influence,” in the phrase mitigate against: This criticism in no way militates (not mitigates) against your going ahead with your research. Although this use of mitigate occasionally occurs in edited writing, it is rare and is widely regarded as an error.

This is typical of the ‘speeding is the root of all evil’ fearmongering that we see from the police and media. Never mind that what we have is a kid who doesn’t have license and hasn’t passed an appropriate test doing something illegal. How would he know what an appropriate speed is if he hasn’t gone through the licensing process yet?

Oh, and if excessive speed is a mitigating factor, perhaps someone needs to check the definition of the word ‘mitigate’.

So why mention the other accident at all if not to create an impression VG?

You might not be into that degree of nuance but the media unit most certainly are.

…and no reference to P-platers either. Plenty of young drivers not on Ps, plenty of old one’s who are.

I see nothing more there than reminding everyone, but particularly young, inexperienced drivers, that speeding can cause accidents. Of course every expert here will tell me that its not the major cause of accidents, but it is one of them.

Seems like nothing more than selectively picking apart a media release. Very trivial. And I’m not just saying it to defend the AFP.

Here’s the whole release:

“A 19-year-old male learner driver from Kaleen will be issued with a series of traffic infringements after his Toyota sedan skidded over a median strip, across two traffic lanes, then struck a street sign, a light pole and a tree in Bruce early today (Thursday February 8).

The man had been travelling on Haydon Drive with a 20-year-old unlicensed female in the front passenger’s seat of the vehicle when he lost control around 3am today. The vehicle was extensively damaged, the light pole was torn from the ground, and debris from the collision was scattered over a radius of 35 metres.

Both occupants of the car were conveyed to Calvary Hospital by ACT Ambulance

and treated for minor injuries. A screening test on the driver for the presence of alcohol was negative.

ACT Policing’s head of Traffic Operations, Detective Superintendent Michael Chew, expressed his concern that this was the second major collision involving a young, inexperienced driver in less than 24 hours and in both serious crashes, excessive speed was clearly a mitigating factor.

“Police examination of the Haydon Drive collision scene today indicated the driver lost control of his vehicle at high speed,” Det Supt Chew said.

“Speeding is a matter of serious concern for police and for the community. We need to remind not just young drivers, but all road users of the potentially tragic consequences of excessive speed.”

Not a mention of P-platers

But with no other judgments made, comments passed, or comparisons drawn.

that would explain why it was given priority in the press release (as in being the first item mentioned).

My point is he wasn’t licensed to be driving at all.

Thousands of people were speeding in Canberra over the last two days.

Two of them had an accident and both of them were young, but for mine the being unlicenced is a much bigger deal than the speeding and my understanding is the statute book agrees on that.

I’m with NTP here. In your excerpts I don’t see the phrase ‘P-plater’ anywhere.

The emphasis is on speeding for both the young and the old, but the example just happening to involve youth. I would have thought that was more than obvious. Maybe I just can’t read the ‘hidden’ messages that the AFP apparently sends out

young, inexperienced driver actually JB. Seeing that L platers are generally young I cant see a problem with the language he has chosen.

The AFP have put out a strange media release (a day late as usual)

The AFP media releases on the website are a bloody nightmare. Nothing appears for a week, and then suddenly a dozen appear, dated anywhere from yesterday to a week before.

Competency based assessments ?

Who would have thought such a thing? I agree that the ability to drive should be a fundamental requirement for a driving licence.

and being able to drive is actually supposed to be a requirement of a driving licence (but not of getting L-plates)

because dear NTP, the other accident was a P-plater and “young driver” is his euphemism to link to things which should be viewed separately..

Everyone except bonfire knows speed is dangerous and he’s no youth.

There was a word missing in my last comment.

“… just because you have a license, it doesn’t mean you can drive.”

well that’s an issue to take up with the licencing system

Not to mention that just because you have a license, it doesn’t you can drive. It just means that you’re legally allowed to drive.

And I stuffed my tags as usual

I see no mention of P-Platers in the media release but it does state clearly the Detective Superintendent Michael Chew, expressed his concern that this was the second major collision involving a young, inexperienced driver where excessive speed was clearly a mitigating factor…
and that, as you quoted,
“Speeding is a matter of serious concern for police and for the community. We need to remind not just young drivers, but all road users of the potentially tragic consequences of excessive speed.”

Seems to me obvious and that DS Chew is just informing people that your more likely to end up in a dangerous situation if you speed and that inexperienced drivers are more likely to come of worse when they do this. I don’t see how common sence is putting the boot into P-Platers nor how this is even overly news worthy?

Am I missing something or are you reading in personal bias that isn’t in the text?