Thread: Isn't it time to get serious and start cruching cars?

Originally Posted by Sleepy

Can you enter a round about and complete a 180 degree turn? Or is this completing a U turn in an intersection?

Of course you can.. well I do anyway.

I am not in support of any idea that it's OK for any government to destroy or take property that does not belong to them when it was legally purchased by an individual.

Apart from the fact that I think it sets a very unsettling precedent, if you look at the demographics here, putting a young bloke into the red for a car that he no longer has but owes money for sets him up for a fair bit of hardship. Some guys put in this position might learn their lesson straight away, others will take more time and others still will keep digging themselves a hole without learning a thing. It's these guys who can become a greater burden on society than they already are, and STILL not change the original problem.

I'm a strong believer in not sugar coating things. Make them spend time doing volunteer work in a situation where they get to see what happens when "fun" goes wrong. Taking away property does not do anything to really join the dots. It's a colossal smack in the head without making it explicitly clear why they are being smacked. Young folk can be plenty dense - we've all been there. Think about what would have really communicated rather than aggravated.

For serious repeat offenders, I think imprisonment should be closer than it is at the moment.

I hate people who indercate into the roundabout if they are going straight as it congests the roundabout and causes confusion. especialy if they then dont indercate out of it.

Originally Posted by jerryd

I personally think that the young "hoons" as you call them should be restricted to small engined cars with a high insurance policy, which reduces with every good year of driving, ie. "no claims"
Why should a new driver be allowed to drive such powerful cars with no experience ??

In my youth and a need for speed I did it on a race circuit or go karting, as a member of a car club we did an exercise with the local police, advanced driving.

I also think that Australian roads aren't really built for speed, I can recall zipping along at 140+mph in england but I wouldn't dare do it over here

How would High insurance premiums work? seriously?

I haven;t had insurance on a motor vehicle for 5 years, I was null and void for most all that time, from my driving record, I was actually null and void since I was 18, but kept a policy for others driving my cars, I've towed cars and car trailers through city traffic, I've driven alot of kilometres, but I can assure you, once the policy price is "out of reach" you will not have a policy....not the answer

+1, and why the hell should insurance companies make money out of what is a fairly significant social and public safety issue.

Originally Posted by JohnF

I do doubt that a zero blood alcohol limit would cause businesses to close. A zero limit would just boost bus and taxi services as people would still drink.

Tote, as far as your post on page 3 of this thread. A zero limit is alread enforcable on Aeroplane Pilots, Bus and truck drivers, and on P-plate drivers.
So it would not be a nightmare for the government to enforce a zero alcohol limit.

If you are going to take a lot of alcohol containg medications or eat those Rum Balls, you would then need to catch a Bus or Cab, or have a designated driver.

Point taken, however what benefit does a zero BAC provide over .02 which is in most cases less than one standard drink? Fatigue would be a much greater risk than that concentration of Alcohol and the cost of prosecuting cases combined with the loss of productivity in the community as people lose jobs etc is not worth the gains in my opinion.
In a workplace you are playing with a different set of rules where there is no expectation that alcohol would be consumed on the worksite and my experience of Northparkes Mine is that employees are encouraged to ensure that they are under the limit when they start and are given the opportunity to ensure that they are before commencing shift. If they are positive for Alcohol they are given the opportunity to not start work, a very differnt approach to Mr Plod if you blew .01 in a car and were at a zero limit.
In NSW only L and P plate drivers are zero BAC, all others are .02 or .05 and it could be argued that the majority of L and P plate derivers are probably under 18 and shouldnt be drinking anyway.

Regards,
Tote

Regards,
Tote

[QUOTE=rovercare;1163588]How would High insurance premiums work? seriously?

The young driver would have to produce his/her insurance policy everytime they wanted to pay for the rego sticker. No insurance policy no rego sticker.
After 12months their premium drops if they had no accidents, after 2 years it drops again and so on until they reach maximum no claims discount.

1 in 5 drivers are involved in a crash during their first year on the road

male drivers under 21 are 10 times more likely to have a car accident than male drivers aged 35 and over

young drivers have a higher proportion of crashes at night than older drivers

1 in 8 british drivers are under 25, but a quarter of drivers who die in traffic collisions are in this age group

in 2007, 40% of passengers killed or seriously injured - meaning lost limbs, paralysis, brain injury and other life-changing injuries - were in a car driven by a young driver


Maybe the police or goverment should promote better driving for youngsters once they've passed their test, eg. night driving, motorway driving, car control, all weather driving. Maybe a certificate could be gained which could reduce their insurance premiums. Surely education would be the way to go for most new drivers.

jerryd, I still can't see it making a lick of difference. They will just drive cars registered in someone elses name to get around paying for the high insurance. I also agree with posts above, why should insurance companies increase their profits this way?

At the end of the day it is difficult (impossible?) to control behaviour with legislation.

I agree that driver training is a huge issue, but it will never change (in my opinion) because the changes required would be unpopular. Governments don't like to take unpopular steps, it means they lose the next election!