P Platers could soon be allowed to drive turbo-charged cars.

[chrisfpv]

Article link here:
http://smh.drive.com.au/motor-news/p...518-1yulp.html

Road safety authorities are re-assessing a blanket ban on probationary drivers getting behind the wheel of turbocharged cars.

The re-think has been prompted by the release of a turbocharged four-cylinder version of the locally-built Ford Falcon.



VicRoads has already overturned its blanket ban on P-platers driving turbo cars in favour of a system that concentrates more on a power-to-weight ratio that more accurately reflects vehicle performance.

And NSW could follow suit, with the Roads and Maritime Services department (formerly RTA) also reviewing its restrictions as part of a national approach to the controversial treatment of the new breed of fuel efficient cars.

Turbocharging has traditionally been associated with performance cars, but in recent years car makers have used the technology to downsize their engines and save fuel.

The new VicRoads rule was specifically drafted to accommodate the four-cylinder turbo Falcon, but it opens the door to dozens of other smaller cars that use turbos.

Cars with a power-to-mass ratio (PMR) of less than 130 kilowatts per tonne can now be driven by P-platers, if the manufacturer replaces the standard build plate with one stating the car's PMR falls beneath the threshold.

“This reduces the regulatory burden of probationary exemption requests on the community, vehicle manufacturers and VicRoads,” said VicRoads’ manager of vehicle safety and policy, Ross MacArthur.

He said a decision had not been made on moving to a system based solely on power to weight ratio.

Previously, probationary drivers needed to apply to VicRoads for an exemption to drive even small-capacity turbocharged cars such as the Volkswagen Golf 77TSI (1.2-litre turbocharged engine making 77 kilowatts).

By contrast, the 3.6-litre V6 Holden Commodore SV6 with 210 kilowatts remains free of restrictions.

Ford has already taken the step to alter the build plate on its four-cylinder-powered Falcon EcoBoost range, while several importers are set to follow suit.

German brands Volkswagen and Audi both make extensive use of forced induction engines and say they will now examine which models in their range could be re-plated to receive an automatic exemption.

Volkswagen spokesman Karl Gehling says he is “pleasantly surprised” by VicRoads’ change of heart.

“We fully support a power-to-weight ratio as a good way to identify what is a performance car,” he says.

“It always struck us as incongruous that P-platers could drive a (V6-powered) Golf R32 which is, in effect, a performance car, but still had to apply for an exemption to drive the Golf 77TSI.”

In NSW, the RMS is currently reviewing restrictions on P-platers “to reflect advances in vehicle technology”.

A spokesperson said the review would be completed by mid-year and would focus on smaller cars using turbo or supercharging for fuel efficiency. It is anticipated that the Ford Falcon Ecoboost will be among the models cleared for P-platers to drive.

Longer-term, a working group is attempting to establish a national standard for probationary driver vehicle restrictions.

“Although the working group is active, it is anticipated a national policy will take a few years to finalise and implement, primarily due to the need to establish supporting infrastructure, such as means to identify eligible vehicles,” the RMS spokesperson said.

Thoughts?

On thing that confuses me is the part where it states that Vicroads has already overturned its blanket ban on P-platers driving turbo cars in favour of a system that concentrates more on a power-to-weight ratio that more accurately reflects vehicle performance.
When did that happen? I thought that used to be the case but they changed it to a blanket ban a couple of years ago. Did they change it back or have I just been misinformed all this time?