Xr6t Speed Limiter

[KEN 24T]

Given that speed limits appear to cater to the lowest common demoninator, e.g., Turbo6man's comments ... how about this:

Individual/personal speed limits based on driver experience, car, road conditions, etc.

For example, my 19 year old son, driving a tx3 laser on the M5 can drive at 80 klms/hr, whereas I (46 yo) driving a XR6T on the same road can do 130 klms/hr. Administrative nightmare, I realise, but interesting none the less don't you think?

... and before I'm howled down in a sea of "don't be so stupid, ya old git", I'm just thinking out loud here, ok.

[Velvet Glove]

Well up until this bit I was enjoying your post but I think you've got a bit carried away here with where the line between what is legal and what is safe is drawn.

Doesn't the NT have all those aforementioned critters?

I'm sure the NT roads aren't THAT much better than some of the freeways we have in the other states but which are limited to 110kph.

Maybe I didnt explain it well enough. Legally u cant go over 110 in Australia in anywhere but NT. If you are going 240 in the NT you are legal (supposedly) but I still think an idiot.

If its 110 everywhere else I dunno why its not 110 there but the laws the law up there.

Very cliched but I think my point is speed kills. Now people will jump up and down and say no it doesn't, its drivers, roads, blah, blah. Spend a year working in a Police Accident Investigation Team and I guarantee your opinion will change.

Ken that's not a bad point but, like u say, an administrative nightmare. Here's one I'd suggest though. Anyone on their 'P' plates not being permitted to drive anything about a 4 cylinder car, or at least limited in power output (like motorcycle engine sizes). I shudder every time I see an 18yo driving a V8 or a WRX-type car.

Even better still make it damn hard to get a licence. Not just some 30 minute drive around the block. Get out on a track/skid pan/obstacle course and test what really happens when people drive. Reaction times, differing conditions, etc etc. Also make it a lot easier to lose your licence. When people have respect for it we'll all be better off (and I have copped fines in my time so I'm definitely not perfect)

[plonky]

Turbo6man, looking at your signature I have to say that you have some very nice cars....I really dig the Capri and the Eskie !!!

[Lumpen]

As a (Red) P plate driver I am the first to say that the Licenscing scheme here in NSW seems inadequate and non-representative of actual driving conditions. Fair enough, the L's test HAS to be all theory but my P's test like it was said above to less than 1/2 an hour.The most important thing it seems when driving is being able to Parallel park correctly.

The Green P's,which I am yet to go for (laziness mainly)seems to be a cornerstone of the new licensing plan! Apparently a Two Dimensional Computer Generated TOTALLY unrealistic program is just as useful and handy to gauge a person driving skill as a skidpan or even a Semi Advanced Car-Control Course.

Being a country boy 'n' all I learnt to drive out on the farm and by driving age I had be learning to control power slides (in a 245 Valiant, a powerful XA falcon and psycho stripped down Corona) in BIG open paddocks without anything withing 200 yards.I learnt Mud Driving and brake application without locking up etc. A few of my friends and I setup a little Infinity Course and we had time trials and improved our driving that way.

I do not claim to be a top level driver but I do believe that I am a sensible one, with more awareness than most of my peers. I abhor Tail Gaters and NEVER tailgate regardless of how close Mr X is behind me, I NEVER slow down->Go through stop signs and I avoid going through Amber Lights as much as possible...Im no saint, I occasionally speed but only when im on my own and in the backroads without anyone near me (not an excuse but whats what is MY fault, no one else's).In fact I was amazed the other day when my friend was describing how surprised he was that his cars dynamics felt different because he had four people in the car!!!!!!That wans't in the leaners manual.

I dont know how the problem of Youth deaths in cars can be solved until the government realises that profiterring from Chopped down rainforests is no where near as important as teaching car control and varying car dynamics etc.

On the point of restricting cars to licenses Im not to sure on this.

Personally I cant stand little cars..My family has owned (since my birth) a 1967 Jag Mk 2, 1966 Jag S Type, CL Valiant, XA Futura, XC GXL, EA S Pac and an EB XR8.The only little car we've had was a 66 BMW 2000 TiLux(which was BMW's 2L racing homogolation for that era).

My first car is an XF Falcon which is a nice BIG car...cruisy and comfy and all I can afford at the moment.With its massive 250CI Six it manages an A in iefficiency, with 98.5 KW and 300Nm of torque.Many buzz boxes can cane me all day long so a limit to 4 cylinders mightnt be the quick fix it appears.

Also I was reading on the 1980's Maserati BiTurbo.It only has 137KW but does 0-100 in 6.5 and has a top speed of 240 KMh.It is also available for less than 20000 today,easily obatainable for a prudent 21year old! So a horsepower rating may also be a step sideways.

Its a prickly question but all I ask is that I have my roomy gas guzzler until the time I can afforrd the BZ XR6 Turbo.

[Zeke]

Find myself nodding in agreement at most or all of what you've said, XFwannaBA. I also learned the basics of car control in a ute on a farm at age 13 (40 years ago).

We need better driver training for youg drivers - and that means practical car skills. Anyone with half a brain knows that.

What bothers me a bit though is the inevitable danger stage when the "nervous learner" suddenly starts to think they've got it sussed and becomes over confident. (Before coming back down to earth an realising that driving in the real world is full of unpredictable hazards). It's the only thing stopping me from making zeke jr do an advanced driving course.

(Though I probably will anyway!)

I reckon the problem is attitude. As we get older we want to increase our safety margin in almost everything - we just get more conservative.

Maybe I'm wrong, and I'm sure a lot here would disagree with me, but I'd rather be a passenger with a nervous, relatively unskilled driver, driving at 5 tenths or lower than a super confident, more skilled driver at 10 tenths.

Sure, the skilled driver has a better chance of getting out of trouble, but they're more likely to get into it in the first place.

All the factors need to be there to make a good driver (and that means a safe driver!). But I have to put attention first, then the attitude that it's appropriate to leave a big safety margin when driving on public roads, then car control skills.

Well, that's my order of priorities and I'm open to constructive disagreement. I've also got my asbestos suit on in case I get some destructive disagreement.

zeke

And if anyone reckons I'm saying car control skills aren't important, read the post again. I'm just saying they're only part of the picture and can even have some bad effects in the learning stage if over-confidence results.

[spadnium]

Attention and attitude! Couldn't have put it better.

Back in the AU, in a blue shirt and tie, I saw a girl driving a lunchtruck get her newspaper back out and continue reading it on the steering wheel when she realised I wasn't the Law. Driving down the middle lane of Parramatta Road.

All the car control skills in the world won't make a difference if you don't realise you're in trouble.

[Turbo6man]

Turbo6man, looking at your signature I have to say that you have some very nice cars....I really dig the Capri and the Eskie !!!

Yeah Grant, it's taken me a while to do some housekeeping on my sig - everyone else has had the info there for all to see, but I just never got around to it before now.

They are still damn quick cars and fun to drive 'cos you just get so much noise. The noise lets you know exactly how the car feels about what you are asking it to do - modern cars sometimes make it harder to explore their limits as they mask their behaviour a great deal. Then the limit arrives very quickly, driver almost unwarned, and for anyone inexperienced this can lead to sudden disaster.

I'd like to see the young drivers not only learn proper car control before getting their licence, but also limited in some way as to what they can drive in the first three years. Older cars might be the answer for some of the reasons I mentioned above.

[sixfan]

Well, it's been four months and I'm still alive, good luck? good management? Or perhaps driving fast doesn't neccicarily mean your going to die?

Maybe I didnt explain it well enough. Legally u cant go over 110 in Australia in anywhere but NT. If you are going 240 in the NT you are legal (supposedly) but I still think an idiot.

Sorry, VG you may think me an idiot but; You ARE legal at 240 in the NT, I'm still here, un booked, unconverted to a black / red streak on the road and unrepentent.

There is plenty of the hwy up here I wouldn't do 130 over, let alone 230, but, there are also stretches I would do 230.

Driving beyond your abilities....Idiot

Driving beyond your cars limits.....Idiot

Driving beyond the conditions.......Idiot

But Driving fast when its safe to do so? Not an Idoit.

that's what I think anyway.

[NT TURBO]

Idiot or not, hows it disconnected, hmmm APS 307?? Come on shed some light.

[Guest Gundi 201]

230 kph !!!!! That is around 61.5 meters per second. Not much time to react.