Wait for the calls to ban "high powered" cars

[Outbackjack]

AN unlicensed 17-year-old driver was lucky to escape death when his high-powered vehicle rolled and crashed into a tree in a Palmerston suburb yesterday.

The incident occurred on Kakadu Parade, at Gunn, about 2pm when the orange Ford Falcon XR8 the youth was driving failed to negotiate a corner.

Police said it appeared the driver lost control and the car mounted the kerb and ran into an electrical distribution box before landing on its roof next to a tree in a resident's front yard _ only metres from where a two-year-old was sleeping inside.

Police, Fire and Ambulance crews attended the scene. Power and Water workers also were calledto the scene to render the area safe.

The youth was taken to hospital by ambulance suffering minor grazes and bruises, but was released last night and taken home by his father _ the owner of the car.

He will be summonsed for driving unlicensed.

Police investigations will continue, but at this stage it is not known whether speed was a contributing factor.

A resident, who wished not to be named, said she was vacuuming her house when she heard a screech and bang, and rushed outside to see if her daughter was OK.

``It was a pretty loud bang and I was worried about my daughter,'' she said.

``Hundreds of little kids are always riding or playing in this street.''

``It's unbelievable to think if the tree wasn't therehe could have crashed straight into the lounge room of that house where a baby was sleeping.''

She said the neighbourhood was looking at getting a petition organised to get speed bumps in the street as the bend was a blind spot.

[Brutus]

Youth, inexperience and lack of common sense.

Combine that with any vehicle and your looking at a recipe for disaster!

At least he got away with a few scrapes and bruising. Think what it would have been like if the youth was in a smaller vehicle!

If that ‘high powered XR8’ was driven by a responsible licensed driver (The owner of it) then this wouldn’t have happened!

Ban low performance drivers, not high performance vehicles!

Enough said.

[RavenLS1]

Youth, inexperience and lack of common sense.

[Keepleft]

This is NT, in a built-up area speed zone.

An unlicensed driver.

Standard fare.

[blueoval]

Maybe they should look at restricting high powered cars to inexperienced people insted of banning the high powered vehicles altogether. remember its not the cars fault, its the person behind the wheel.

It's not really fair on other car owners to ban high powered vehicles just because some twit thought he was 'vin deisel' or try and impress some mates.

DRIVING TRAINING SHOULD BE MANDATORY IN ALL STATES FOR NEW ROAD USERS!!!

[drugfooked]

You can kill yourself in a camry if your skilled enough they should stop pickig on fast cars, it ruins it for everyone else who is responsible and dreamed all their lives to have a nice car

[gozza]

being unlicensed doesn't necessarily mean you can't drive

[Outbackjack]

Originally Posted by gozza

being unlicensed doesn't necessarily mean you can't drive

I think that it did in this case....... Lucky the sleeping 2 year old didnt get hurt. As a father of three, youngest 5 oldest 15, this kind of story makes my blood freeze.

['63Deluxe]

I've exceeded the posted speed limit on my bicyle many times and I don't have any kind of high power motor. :nutsycuck 92km/h in a 60 yeeehaaa

Where there is a will there is a way. :

However - I don't condone dangerous driving especially where kids could be on the street.

[antoni]

Maybe they should charge the boy's dad for leaving the keys to a leathal weapon laying about. If it were the keys to a rifle cupboard they wouldn't be so careless.

Although I'm being a little sarcastic there is some truth to what I'm saying. The parents should be a bit more responsible too.

It wasn't like some peer pressure thing where his mates dared / convinced him to take them for a spin. He has done this of his own free will.

I know that many people will disagree with me on this issue, believe me when I was on my P plates I would have disagreed with myself too.

But while drivers are on their probationary period (at least) they should be banned not only from driving of high power to weight ratio cars, but V8's, turbo's and anything else that when you have the means or the feeling of something high performance in your hands puts yourself, any passengers with you and everyone else outside of the car at great risk of being injured or worse killed.

Driving something like a turbo or a V8 "gees" up many people. Especially young drivers.

That said I have driven a lot of different cars and I can say I did the most stupid things in a 4 cylinder Laser and a V6 Commadore, all while on my P plates, that could have killed me or worse someone else at the time.

However I've also known many people that get something like a WRX, GSR, RX7 etc. (which I believe comes in under the limits of the power to weight ratio here in Victoria) and boosted the hell outta the things all they way up to some crazy numbers. Almost all of these cars were written off and one mate has been seriously injured. All of these cars were purchased by their parants or with their full knowledge. How many teenagers have got that kind of money to buy cars like these. So it can be the parents fault too.

I hope they don't ban high performace cars for everyone though like in the 70's, that's just the government looking for a quick band aid fix without doing much except angering the enthousiasts that are responsible.

:

[qwigybo]

i have to agree with you there antoni, i only got off my p plates last year and i owned a v8 that came in just under the power ratio, but i have a few mates still on theirs who have skylines running 18psi turbos pulling 13 sec 1/4'z, but according to vicroads are still able to drive them because in standard form they come in under the p/w ratio. i believe turbos should be banned on probationary periods just because of how easy they are to make a "weapon".

[EFIwindsor]

No license---not his car....Hmmmmmm
can somebody please tell me how banning youth from driveing hi-performance car would have prevented this accident.

clearly if somebody will drive unlicensed then they will be willing to drive a car they aren't supposed to drive??? if the Gov did ban hi-po cars!!!

[qwigybo]

Originally Posted by EFIwindsor

No license---not his car....Hmmmmmm
can somebody please tell me how banning youth from driveing hi-performance car would have prevented this accident.

clearly if somebody will drive unlicensed then they will be willing to drive a car they aren't supposed to drive??? if the Gov did ban hi-po cars!!!

clearly this is one example of a complete ******** who wouldn't be phased licensed or not.
But most people wait till they are licensed and then because there is no ban on their cars they take them over the current restrictions and get away with it, how easy is it for a cop to tell if a v8 has been modified ? alot easier than a turbo being boosted

[Psycho Chicken]

No law on high powered cars could of prevented this. He was breaking the law in the first place by driving unlicensed, so why would it bother him that he was breaking some minor law?

[MO]

Originally Posted by Keepleft

This is NT, in a built-up area speed zone.

An unlicensed driver.

Standard fare.

Got your back!!!!!!!spot on.

[Van D]

I think both the son and father should be punished, so to speak.

The father probably wasn't too strict on the son driving the car, therefore it's his fault as well. They should both be counseled etc IMO.

Oh, and it's not the cars fault. Sure the alure of power can be tempting to inexperienced drivers.. But the kid driving in a laser could of done the same thing.

[zetec]

Originally Posted by Outbackjack

_ only metres from where a two-year-old was sleeping inside.


``I was worried about my daughter,''

``Hundreds of little kids are always riding or playing in this street.''

``he could have crashed straight into the lounge room of that house where a baby was sleeping.''

Geez they really dusted off some old faithful journalistic sensationalism there to make it a bigger story. For ИИИИ's sake, at least try to partially cover up that it was nothing more than a lone burnout on a dark street in an abandoned estate.... ten bucks says it was at least 1km away from the nearest dwelling...

Ban low intelligence journos and low performance drivers.

[Van D]

^^Ha, when I first read it, I thought it said 2am.. Then thought, what the hell is this crazy lady doing vacuuming at 2 in the morning with her kid outside on the street!?

[MITCHAY]

Well the government would'nt exactly want to ban high powered cars. Think about the tax they get from sales of performance parts, plus the fines they would get from defecting some people. Double dipping at it's best.

A big call would be that they make more money from these sales/fines than what they would spend on cleaning up the mess from such accidents. I don't have any proof to back this up so I'll leave it as a big call, not as fact.

[MO]

Originally Posted by popinfresh

^^Ha, when I first read it, I thought it said 2am.. Then thought, what the hell is this crazy lady doing vacuuming at 2 in the morning with her kid outside on the street!?

Don't skim...read.

[MO]

Originally Posted by zetec

Geez they really dusted off some old faithful journalistic sensationalism there to make it a bigger story. For ИИИИ's sake, at least try to partially cover up that it was nothing more than a lone burnout on a dark street in an abandoned estate.... ten bucks says it was at least 1km away from the nearest dwelling...

Ban low intelligence journos and low performance drivers.

And when you let go of the grip on yourself and get a grip on reality...you will know that Palmerston is not an abandoned estate....albeit many would wish this were the case!!!!!!!!! and nowhere was it said that it was a burnout out of control!!!!!!!!

[EvilChief]

it doesnt matter what car you drive, any car is a potential weapon to youself and others. I started driving with 6 cyl, the car i learnt in, and pretty much every single car I have owned ever since, and some of them werent too slow either.

My point being is I have actually been driving faster in a NA 4cyl diesel than in my 6cyl ... That was in BMW on the autobarn. Shows it doesnt matter what car it is, just a case on how far u r willing to push it.

Even a ban on hipo cars for young drivers would have not prevented this accident from happening. The you youth didnt own the car nor did he have a license, yet he had access to drive it. This can and will happen again and again. When a car is given to a driver, it is his personal responsibility to take all measures neccessary that the "weapon" is kept safe from any potential misuse.

I would have never ever dared to take my parents car a without permission or when i was unlicensed. Just simply out of respect to my parents but also I knew the consequences of doing so. If a youth is not capable of knowing these consequences it is alsoa fault of the parents of not educating their children.

A car is and will always be a weapon in the wrong hands and as the owner of a car you should ALWAYS ensure to limit the possibility of misuse, otherwise you should be held just as accountable as the offender.

My 2cent

[zetec]

Originally Posted by John McMaster

And when you let go of the grip on yourself and get a grip on reality...you will know that Palmerston is not an abandoned estate....albeit many would wish this were the case!!!!!!!!! and nowhere was it said that it was a burnout out of control!!!!!!!!

I was using a little thing called exaggeration, in his own style. Now you see what I mean. I am sure it was a true location, but I was simply pointing out that the hundreds of kids bits and the sleeping babies was a bit much. Hundreds of kids at once playing on the streets? Yeah... right... Maybe if half the article wasn't filled to the brim with fresh steaming molten bullИИИИ then it might actually sound credible. His hyperbole destroyed the believable parts of the article.

[MO]

Point taken.

Originally Posted by antoni

Maybe they should charge the boy's dad for leaving the keys to a leathal weapon laying about. If it were the keys to a rifle cupboard they wouldn't be so careless.

Although I'm being a little sarcastic there is some truth to what I'm saying. The parents should be a bit more responsible too.

It wasn't like some peer pressure thing where his mates dared / convinced him to take them for a spin. He has done this of his own free will.

I know that many people will disagree with me on this issue, believe me when I was on my P plates I would have disagreed with myself too.

But while drivers are on their probationary period (at least) they should be banned not only from driving of high power to weight ratio cars, but V8's, turbo's and anything else that when you have the means or the feeling of something high performance in your hands puts yourself, any passengers with you and everyone else outside of the car at great risk of being injured or worse killed.

Driving something like a turbo or a V8 "gees" up many people. Especially young drivers.

That said I have driven a lot of different cars and I can say I did the most stupid things in a 4 cylinder Laser and a V6 Commadore, all while on my P plates, that could have killed me or worse someone else at the time.

However I've also known many people that get something like a WRX, GSR, RX7 etc. (which I believe comes in under the limits of the power to weight ratio here in Victoria) and boosted the hell outta the things all they way up to some crazy numbers. Almost all of these cars were written off and one mate has been seriously injured. All of these cars were purchased by their parants or with their full knowledge. How many teenagers have got that kind of money to buy cars like these. So it can be the parents fault too.

I hope they don't ban high performace cars for everyone though like in the 70's, that's just the government looking for a quick band aid fix without doing much except angering the enthousiasts that are responsible.

:

Well this statement makes me think Your right and i have a son of 13 and I always leave my keys on the bench ,I owned a gun when my oldest child was 5 but would never leave in anywhere it could be seen .
Should I start hiding my keys ,as my death machine is always at home ?
Makes me think !

[LTDHO]

Originally Posted by popinfresh

I think both the son and father should be punished, so to speak.

The father probably wasn't too strict on the son driving the car, therefore it's his fault as well. They should both be counseled etc IMO.

Oh, and it's not the cars fault. Sure the alure of power can be tempting to inexperienced drivers.. But the kid driving in a laser could of done the same thing.

Very true, the parents should be more resonsible.

Look at it from this perspective. (hypothetical)
"I am 17 and about to clock NFSMW. I'm driving my supercharged Mustang, when i take a corner at WOT the tail goes out a bit and I clip the wall the the car keeps going.
I then grab the keys to dads XR8 and see if I can get the tail out. I end up taking out a power station and ending on my roof.
Why?"

Do you think this would contribute to these acidents? I'm not suggesting baning these games but it still relys on the responsiblity of the parents.

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by LTDHO

Very true, the parents should be more resonsible.

Look at it from this perspective. (hypothetical)
"I am 17 and about to clock NFSMW. I'm driving my supercharged Mustang, when i take a corner at WOT the tail goes out a bit and I clip the wall the the car keeps going.
I then grab the keys to dads XR8 and see if I can get the tail out. I end up taking out a power station and ending on my roof.
Why?"

Do you think this would contribute to these acidents? I'm not suggesting baning these games but it still relys on the responsiblity of the parents.

If someone is stupid enough to take even some of their driving style from a computer game such as NFS: MW and use it on the road, then they need a new brain and shouldn't be allowed to drive a car. Just like if you play a first person shooter and go out on the street and emulate that by shooting people. The computer game and the real world are 2 separate things. 1 allows
you to do things not possible in the real world, so you don't need to try it for real.

[henry 351]

Unlicensed ******** driver - YES
Vehicles fault - NO

Game over.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by henry 351

Unlicensed ******** driver - YES
Vehicles fault - NO

Game over.

Yes but cars don't vote, unlicenced dickheads do....

[tex]

" The XR8 failed to negotiate the corner........"

Jesus I wonder when my XR will learn how to negotiate corners, only just this morning it still required me to turn the wheel !!

Bloody pimply faces gettin in there old mans cars.... it must happen to a fair few Xr8's 'cause I know of two other cars that have been written off in the same circumstances down here in Tassie.

Insurance premiums anyone.......