Young Drivers

A couple of weeks ago now, it was Fathers Day.

I was lucky enough to receive bacon, eggs and a steaming cup of coffee from my family. But there was another family whom
instead received news that their son had been killed in a horrific car “accident”.
I cannot begin to imagine the pain that boy’s family felt and is still feeling. My heart goes out to them. They have my sincerest condolences. No parent should ever have to bury their child. Ever.

Tragedy is something we can’t avoid. I knew a girl back many years ago, who for her twenty first birthday present, died from the cancer that had rapidly riddled her body.

Tragic accidents and events occur every day.
They are unavoidable. But tragedy as a result of pure selfish stupidity is not an accident.
It is negligence.

I would like to think that the boy was driving in a manner to suit the wet conditions and undulating road. That he had not had a drop of alcohol all night. That he wasn’t doing double the speed limit.
That he was taking all necessary precautions possible and doing his best to ensure the safety of his four friends as he controlled the vehicle.

But we all know what happened by now. The speeds that were reached. That caution wasn’t exercised.
And the price that has been paid.

Also spare a thought for the motorist who found the wreckage. No doubt he still sees it sometimes when he closes his eyes. And the police officers that have to attend these crashes time and time again. To try and remain calm and objective in the face of a scene that most people of this era don’t often, if ever, have to deal with. And then there is their unenviable task of informing the families.
Think also about the medical staff, from the ambulance officers to the surgeons and nurses, who have to try and work miracles and repair damage that should never have been done.
.
So how best to avoid this in the future? We can’t implant experience in to young drivers. It has to be gained themselves. And that’s dangerous. I don’t think the new and well overdue “high power” vehicle restrictions for learner and probationary drivers is enough. As far as I can tell, it just means that new drivers cant have a turbo or supercharger, nor an engine of eight cylinders or more. It is fact that a four cylinder standard Corolla can exceed 130kph, and that when it does it certainly isn't handling well. So it would still be dangerous and a crash waiting to happen in the hands of an over confident, fearless P plater. There needs to be definitive engine output restrictions also. Nothing over 90 odd kilowatts, perhaps?

Now, yes, this reduces the choice of vehicle for a young person just starting out in the world and spreading their wings. So then why not use some of our registration and stamp duty taxes to have speed limiters fitted to “P” plate cars as another option?

Automobile manufacturers have been fitting them for years where an engines performance is beyond the handling capabilities of the car itself.

And if Stevo’s older brother happens to be an auto electrician who could take it off for a carton of beer, then the penalty for illegal tampering with a limiter should involve jail time.

When the kid passes another test later and is handed their full license, then they take the car to the RAA or wherever and the limiter is professionally removed.
It’ll cost money, but don’t we value our kids more?

Perhaps I sound too harsh and out of touch. Maybe. But my son is on his “L” plates and I trust him completely, but I would have no hesitation were these restrictions applied to him. In fact, I have applied restrictions within our home in relation to his driving arrangements. We have raised him to be responsible and to respect the fact that a motor vehicle is not a plaything but a dangerous, deadly weapon if misused. the same as my old man drilled into me back in the day.

I trust our son but there is no way in Hell that I’d let him behind the wheel of a V8 Commodore until he has a lot more experience under his belt.

Our kids have to be responsible for their actions in the end, of course, but it’s my responsibility now to make sure he doesn’t even get the means to drive at 180kmh at his age.

It’s my responsibility to have at least some idea where he is at 4 ‘o clock in the morning.

It’s my role to love, to teach and to guide our son into adulthood.

And I feel truly awful for the parents who have just had that ripped away from them...