22 May 2013

Curfews for P-platers being considered

| Barcham
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The ACT’s highest risk drivers maybe getting home earlier in the future reports ABC News.

Road crash statistics show in 2012, learner and P-plate drivers were involved in 22 per cent of all casualty crashes – even though they make up just 7 per cent of all ACT licence holders.

Inexperience is considered a significant factor in the rate of crashes involving young drivers.

The Government is considering introducing a night curfew for young drivers, passenger restrictions and a ban on high performance cars.

Changes to minimum supervised driving hours, mobile phone bans and hazard perception testing are also on the cards.

The Government says similar changes introduced in New South Wales in 2007 have reduced the number of crashes involving novice drivers.

The Government will hold a series of community meeting at high schools next month and invite public submissions early next year.

The review is due to be finished in the first half of 2014.

Might be time for me to hurry up and get my P’s.

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Its not inexperience, it’s young bravado that gets kids into accidents. Raising the age you can get your licence would work just as well.

ScienceRules said :

I’d be interested to see what percentage of accidents are caused by doddery old farts with impaired hearing, poor eyesight, glacial reflexes and high on a cocktail of assorted meds.

And also how many are indirectly caused by these. For example, when the slam their breaks on in the middle of a roundabout causing a flow in effect.

peebus said :

Yet another band-aid solution. Why don’t they actually address the problem at hand instead of ill conceived fixes. Smells like Corbell or Rattenbury behind this one. The only solution is proper teaching and an increased police presence on the roads.

Inexperience is considered a significant factor in the rate of crashes involving young drivers.
If this is the case, which is entirely viable, why don’t we start teaching proper road skills for learners. I notice Queensland has brought it in that learners now learn actual skills like crossing multi-lane roads, and merging at high speeds. If they can do it why can’t we!?

We no longer need to be taught things like reversing 30m or reverse parallel parking. We should be teaching out teenagers things like emergency breaking, emergency skid control etc. – basically everything that is taught in a defensive driving program.

If we want our L and P plate holders to be safe on the roads why not get them the best chance possible from the outset.

This…..although with less breaking & maybe some more braking…………..

wildturkeycanoe5:53 am 23 May 13

ScienceRules said :

I’d be interested to see what percentage of accidents are caused by doddery old farts with impaired hearing, poor eyesight, glacial reflexes and high on a cocktail of assorted meds.

Hear hear!! At least most P-platers have 20/20 eyesight and drive at or exceeding the speed limit, freeing up lanes for the rest of us. Some pensioners can’t keep their car between the lane markers, have reflexes so slow they stop 50m from the traffic lights in anticipation of them turning orange – or is that red – oh dear, where was I going again? Oh, here is my street, I’ll just turn right, then check my mirror, turn on my wipers and scrunch my wrinkly face up at that young whippersnapper who just cleaned up my rear bumper.

Or these morons could just ban children from driving?

P off, IMHO, is pretty much used by people who are trying to get points back as they already have lost some and their licences are at risk.

Having watched a 17 year old girl who has held a provisional licence for three weeks put her car sideways into a tree the other night, I don’t disagree with some sort of review being done.

I believe that in other states the mobile phone ban means an automatic loss of licence if caught using it while driving. I don’t think they can stop you from having one in the car, they’re required for work as well.

ScienceRules7:43 pm 22 May 13

I’d be interested to see what percentage of accidents are caused by doddery old farts with impaired hearing, poor eyesight, glacial reflexes and high on a cocktail of assorted meds.

Ben_Dover said :

How’s my daughter going to drive me back from the boozer if there’s a curfew?

I wish I had a daughter like that. 🙂

Ben_Dover said :

How’s my daughter going to drive me back from the boozer if there’s a curfew?

She can operate the pedals while you steer?
😀

DrKoresh said :

I’m in the same boat as Barcham, and the only thing that I don’t like the sound of is the curfew.

I recall stating on this forum that “any red blooded Australian male who does not get his drivers licence at the first available opportunity (i.e. one nanosecond after their 17th birthday) is indeed batting for the other team” or words to that effect.
🙂

How’s my daughter going to drive me back from the boozer if there’s a curfew?

Are there any actual restrictions on a person on the first 3 years of their driving that really warrants a P plate plastered to a car ? Looking at the ACT rego website, it seems the only restriction that requires the car to be visually marked is the restriction that they cannot tow a trailer greater than 750kg. The other restrictions relate to BAC and loss / accrual of demerit points which are licence based, not requiring marking of the car.

of the 22% how many casualty crashes were caused by unlicensed drivers, people driving illegally, drunk, speeding well over the limit. etc.

If crash stats are to be believed and driving at 50 as opposed to 40 will greatly cut the risk of death, how then can we have so many on road cycle lanes, isn’t that the opposite of safe?

How will passenger restrictions work when there are 18 year olds p platers with 3 kids?

There is also a huge sample bias.

If someone has a major accident / caught drink driving/ major speeding, they lose their licence and then have to apply for their licence again they are back on their P’s despite not being a ‘new’ driver.

the 7% figure, looks like it comes from an average lifespan of (3.5 years of P/L plates ) / (70 years – 17 (age to start driving))

The figure of 17 is clearly wrong. The average would more likely be 22ish.. (I would guess that not everyone would get their licence as soon as they turned 17.
The figure of 3.5 comes from 3 years on P plates plus 6 months on L’s … I’m sure many L platers would be doing it at least 18 months.

Taking into account the likely to be more accurate stats its more like 10% of Canberra drivers are on P or L plates. So the figure of 22% is also more like fudged too!

Younger drivers are less likely to have new cars, so would have less safety features too, are more likely to drive longer distances, spend less on car maintenance and be working later hours than older drivers.

Personally I think they should have more non undercover cops on the roads. Most of the ones I see are going to or from the mall.

And half decent roads and lighting would also help!

thebrownstreak694:29 pm 22 May 13

To significantly improve road safety we need to implement measures that will be invasive and expensive and will annoy a lot of people. And the road toll will never reach zero until we have self driving vehicles on roads physically separated from pedestrians and cyclists.

Put in a number context, approximately 2 or 3 of the average fatal accidents in the ACT involved a P-plate driver. As a percentage of the total number of P plate drivers? Probably a very very small number.

The statistics also do not say whether the P plate driver was at fault, or if there were other contributing factors, such as alcohol.

On this basis, the government has a pretty piss poor reason for introducing more restrictions on these drivers. Fair enough about needing to improve driver training, but providing proper instruction in all situations, including at night and with passengers, is the way to do it rather than banning them.

The main problem with the NSW system is that it is a knee jerk reaction and has only created a generation of more inexperienced drivers which will increase fatal accidents in the 20+ years age group.

Outrageous discrimination.

And if ‘mobile phone ban’ means not having one in the car at all, that is a very unsafe thing in the event of a breakdown, or the young person being threatened by criminals. Letting parents know of changes in plans is important too.

Barcham, you are thirty with no licence? Do you expect people to drive you around a lot?

I’m in the same boat as Barcham, and the only thing that I don’t like the sound of is the curfew.

A curfew? considering they have said that inexperience is a significant factor, how is preventing them from driving in all conditions going to help the issue?
I don’t like the passenger restrictions either, because it takes away from having a designated driver and encourages people to drink drive as an alternative.

Yet another band-aid solution. Why don’t they actually address the problem at hand instead of ill conceived fixes. Smells like Corbell or Rattenbury behind this one. The only solution is proper teaching and an increased police presence on the roads.

Inexperience is considered a significant factor in the rate of crashes involving young drivers.
If this is the case, which is entirely viable, why don’t we start teaching proper road skills for learners. I notice Queensland has brought it in that learners now learn actual skills like crossing multi-lane roads, and merging at high speeds. If they can do it why can’t we!?

We no longer need to be taught things like reversing 30m or reverse parallel parking. We should be teaching out teenagers things like emergency breaking, emergency skid control etc. – basically everything that is taught in a defensive driving program.

If we want our L and P plate holders to be safe on the roads why not get them the best chance possible from the outset.

Captain RAAF4:05 pm 22 May 13

Start with P platers driving white Commodores and I think the stats will show that is all that’s needed!

Zeital said :

If not how are they going to police it when you don’t have to display your plates

Might as well ask, how are they going to police it when someone on P- or L-plates just takes them off the car? How are they going to police it when people drive without a license?

If there are are severe enough consequences for being caught, most people won’t be stupid enough to run the risk, even if the chance of actually being pulled over is low.

The silly is strong with this one.

So, deciding inexperience is a causal factor they further reduce the hours p platers can drive. That will help. (is there a sarcasm font here somewhere…).

Are the ACT road accident stats published showing detail like age and experience, time of day, contributing factors, etc? I had a quick look and found a reference in the Light Rail report, of all places, saying how accident rates are dropping. Are p-plate accident rates actually that high and / or are they rising?

So what are they going to do about people who have done P-off? this is something that NSW doesn’t have, will they have lifted conditions as well as the extra points and not having to display the plates? If not how are they going to police it when you don’t have to display your plates or are they going to ditch that service because they want to put these restrictions on?

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