The high-risk driving act Australia needs to do something about now
Our lax driving laws are allowing motorists to put themselves and others at a fatal risk and it's time to take action, writes Adam Lucius.
Putting a driver of a standard car into a high-powered vehicle is like handing a weekend horse rider the reins to Winx and leaving them to it. Too much horsepower – literally – and not nearly enough experience to harness and handle the extra grunt.
Yet the lax driving laws in Australia allow anyone with the money to purchase one of these powerful beasts and drive among us without question.
It's as stupid as it is dangerous.
Just because you've got the money to afford a luxury car, like a Lamborghini, Maserati or Ferrari, or a range of the other "supercars" or "hypercars" on the market, doesn't mean you should buy one.
These are specialist cars that need to be handled with extreme care after intensive training.
Their price-tag doesn’t include road smarts as an optional extra.
Nor does it make you bulletproof.
Every vehicle on our roads, in the wrong hands, is a potentially deadly weapon.
And high-powered cars are not immune just because they cost a fortune, even with the most responsible of driver at the wheel.
South Australia authorities have gone some way towards addressing the growing problem of high-powered cars being driven by ill-equipped drivers following a tragic fatality in 2019.
Teenager Sophia Naismith was killed after an out-of-control Lamborghini mounted a footpath and struck her.
From December, any SA driver wishing to drive a high-powered car will be required to acquire a special U-class licence after undergoing specialised online and practical training.
An ultra high-powered vehicle (UHPV) is defined as any vehicle – other than a bus, motorbike or motor trike – with a gross vehicle mass of up to 4.5 tonnes, that has a power-to-weight ratio of 276 kilowatts per tonne or more. There are said to be around 200 makes of vehicle in this category.
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Mark Butcher, managing director of Melbourne-based Performance Driving Australia, has been educating and training drivers for 27 years.
He shakes his head at some of our loose road rules.
"It is crazy to think that people can obtain a licence in a small hatchback and then drive anything they like – day, night and in all weather," he told Yahoo News.
"The existing licence standards and testing fails to measure a driver's ability to drive – rather just measures their ability to pass a test.
"With today's modern electric cars and ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) vehicles, we are seeing the average driver often behind the wheel of cars with similar performance to that of ‘supercars’."
He said the main difference between a conventional car and a high powered or supercar is that they have the potential to "lose traction under acceleration" and "arrive at corners going too fast".
"Most of the modern 'supercars' have many driver aids that help keep the car stable and I believe a large part of training is to educate drivers on the potential outcomes of switching them off.
"The aids should only ever be switched off at a racetrack in a controlled environment and, even then, only when the driver can fully appreciate and manage the vehicle without the driving aids."
Training is the solution for road fatalities, expert says
Butcher said the SA initiative was "a small step in the right direction towards creating safer drivers" but more needs to be done to bring Australia's shocking road toll down.
He pointed out: "There is no training for drivers at all post learner standard.
"Training is the solution to most of our road deaths and injuries. Nearly all crashes can be prevented by drivers being more situationally aware and by applying defensive driving strategies.
"Nearly all defensive driving providers in Australia offer training (to cover) the knowledge and skills gap.
"Further education for all drivers would be beneficial."
Luxury car drivers should not be given a free ride because they can afford a vehicle worth two years' salary.
A good start would be for all states to take on SA's idea and adopt U-class licences. But maybe all drivers just need a refresher on the rules every now and then and further training years after they pass their original tests.
We should all be willing to do whatever's necessary to bring down our horrific road toll.
You simply can’t put a price on road safety.
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