P-Plate High Performance Vehicles

[h100vw]

I like the old system myself.

Get an old 998 Mini for spares or repair. Repair it, using lots of sheet steel and acetylene. Total outlay £200. Be glad that you no longer have to ride your 125 in the rain and your girlfiend can get to places without 'helmet head'.

And I was the one that got it easy out of my friends.

You can get into plenty of trouble in a Mini, with 1/4 of the power of a GTI is what.

You can be as sensible as you like but there's no substitute for experience at the end of the day. Which you cannot buy anywhere.

I hope you can prove yourself to be a safe driver.

Gavin

[Swallowtail]

I like the old system myself.

Get an old 998 Mini for spares or repair. Repair it, using lots of sheet steel and acetylene. Total outlay £200. Be glad that you no longer have to ride your 125 in the rain and your girlfiend can get to places without 'helmet head'.

And I was the one that got it easy out of my friends.

You can get into plenty of trouble in a Mini, with 1/4 of the power of a GTI is what.

You can be as sensible as you like but there's no substitute for experience at the end of the day. Which you cannot buy anywhere.

I hope you can prove yourself to be a safe driver.

Gavin

LOL... now THAT brings back memories Gav. We are showing that we are old though...

[GTI2708]

I have to say i agree with you on the point of there needs to be laws.
That's why i pointed out that the USA has no restrictions but we do need them.
All i'm saying is that there needs to be a better system. Because although it may be hard to enforcew due to lack of police numbers and knowledge or for whatever else it may be, The fact that right now i could just swap the GTI for an r32 MKv and have no problems is just plain stupid.
Oh and elisix dw i know your not...there are others though. \
So YES, restrictions are clearly needed as there is far too many innocent deaths...but at this point with these rules, it is not near perfect and should be improved.

[GTI2708]

Oh and i'm almostr 100%$ sure that there is no law that L's and P's can't go past 80 in their first year of each. I am past my first year of L's anyway, but i'm pretty sure you can go past 80.
We do have passenger restrictions however...which i think is a very samrt rule on behalf of vicroads....One of their much better ones.
Easily enforceable and will hopefully ahve a huge impact on road deaths caused by P platers.

[schoona]

Little rich kids, I know a few, and certainly they have an "adjusted" view of the world sometimes but on the whole they are alright.
The gentlema "has" a mk6 GTI, take that as all that matters, maybe he can get to (when he's old enough) ytour Melbourne monthly and he'lll be a good kid.

I had a mkv GTI for my L's in NSW, and I loved driving it every minute I could. I learnt the most in one day at Oran Park in the wet, but by all accounts I'm still an inexperienced driver.

I then got a W201 Benz which was good fun, and now have my Mk3 VR.

As Swallowtail said them, them's the rules. Everyone has to abide by them. By not following the rule and what it is deisgned to do, you demonstrate the same behaviour as what the trubo laws are trying to break, "hoons".

In saying all that, I don't think it's fair. I view it as a form of "discrimination".

I don't have a squeeky clean record either, I liked the victim card when I was 17. I'd like to think I have matured a great deal since then.

Keep your chin up kid, don't rush into things (like wheels and chip). You cna have more than enough fun in your standard car without spending 2k. You have recieved good guidance as far as your wheels go. We are here to help when you don't know.

I don't think anyone was lampooning you, but some comments could have been viewed as cocky.

All the best

[The_Hawk]

What is very interesting is that the NSW RTA has clearly listed that L platers have a speed limit of 80km/h (P1 is 90km/h and P2 is 100 km/h), the VIC Roads website doesn't seem to say anything like that.

There are a bunch of little differences I noticed, but I thought this one was worth mentioning since it shows how clear one can be and how much interpretation the other has (neglect the P/L thing, they all say the same):

VIC:
You must display red P plates at all times (plates measuring approximately 150mm square*with a white letter P on a red background) which are clearly visible from a distance of 20 metres.

NSW:
Have L plates displayed conspicuously at the front and rear exterior of the car (or an L sign on the roof) when driving. The letter L on the plate must not be hidden.

It's amazing how often I see people with cut down plates, even to the point of having tripped off everything but the P itself... Saw a green P plater the other day like this in a white van for a company like Pete's Painting Service with the green P cut out and stuck over one of the P's... barely noticed it Also seen a red P cut out to only the red and stuck on a red car.. same result. Gotta love the Victorian version, clear and unambiguous.

[Tim]

Restricting the speed of L and P platers is just silly! Turns them into an obstacle!

[ricksterrr]

That's a good point aswell.....i am driving the GTI and although it is a veryyy quick car it does have a safety rating better than almost all other cars that P platers drive and the power to wieght is under the required amount.

...yet you want to flash it to make it more powerful.

Although you say you are a sensible driver, you have to realise that you are still young with very little on the road experience under your belt. Many young P platers get into fatal accidents because of a combination of naivety, lack of experience, over confidence and peer pressure.

Case in point - your mate that suggested you mod your car with ECU flash this, blow-off valve that... suggestions that you are actually planning to take on board.

When that same mate sits in your passenger seat and eggs you on to push it, I sure hope you can display enough maturity and not give in.

I've got no problem with P platers such as yourself getting a GTI but until you get more real-world experience under the belt I'd suggest not adding performance mods, for the safety of yourself and others on the road.

[Tim]

P platers need training not lectures.

[h100vw]

1. P platers need training not lectures.

Absolutely.

[schoona]

Many young P platers get into fatal accidents because of a combination of naivety, lack of experience, over confidence and peer pressure.

This is true. There are quite a few loose canons. I have donte some naughty things, as has everybody out there.
It has been said a thousand times before, education and practical experience are the key to sorting us young fellas out.
We pay a higher insurance premium, no matter which vehicle. This covers the vehicle, not lives though...
Point to note is the "target market", there are that many loose P-plate FEMALE (worms) drivers that get around also. The obivous distractions (phone, makeup, radio) are influential resulting in not looking when merging, tailgating, late braking resulting in rear enders...

This is certainly not meant to offend anyone, I have had a couple of young people close to me fall as a result of fatal car accidents. This "over-representation" is a bad judgement to make. As a percentage of the total population, the number each year is not that high.

If legislators are going to put htis much effort in, do it once and do it right, tougher licencing, more extensive training. The conditions vary that much over this large land mass NSW training is not going to cater for WA (though how many times does that happen, point being not familiar with conditions).

The amount of old beaters available to do skids, thrown sideways etc that normal P-platers have access too are still capable of killing. I dont see the difference, if its the speeding thing, restrict the vehicle (whatever that may be) to 80/90/100 for the duration of the licencing scheme. And reduce the insurance premium also.

[Golf Houso]

P platers are bad drivers and should not drive anything that even remotely resembles fast.

/thread

[GTI2708]

This is true. There are quite a few loose canons. I have donte some naughty things, as has everybody out there.
It has been said a thousand times before, education and practical experience are the key to sorting us young fellas out.
We pay a higher insurance premium, no matter which vehicle. This covers the vehicle, not lives though...
Point to note is the "target market", there are that many loose P-plate FEMALE (worms) drivers that get around also. The obivous distractions (phone, makeup, radio) are influential resulting in not looking when merging, tailgating, late braking resulting in rear enders...

This is certainly not meant to offend anyone, I have had a couple of young people close to me fall as a result of fatal car accidents. This "over-representation" is a bad judgement to make. As a percentage of the total population, the number each year is not that high.

If legislators are going to put htis much effort in, do it once and do it right, tougher licencing, more extensive training. The conditions vary that much over this large land mass NSW training is not going to cater for WA (though how many times does that happen, point being not familiar with conditions).

The amount of old beaters available to do skids, thrown sideways etc that normal P-platers have access too are still capable of killing. I dont see the difference, if its the speeding thing, restrict the vehicle (whatever that may be) to 80/90/100 for the duration of the licencing scheme. And reduce the insurance premium also.

That is a verry smart response in my view.
I do believe we need extra training., When i said tht i am a good driver i by no means mean that i think i'm as good as schumacer. I just meant tht i understand the rpoad rules and know to drive fairly competently compared to others my age. My sister, for example, whom also drives the GTI is a horrible driver. I fear to get into the car with her. Now this isn;t just girls that are bad drivers....a lot of my male freinds are quite hopeless as well. I believe that the idea of more experience is definatley key but the only way to get experience is to do the activity. I like the fact that there are laws for our roads. we need them...a lot.
There is too many hoons and i for one resent the image they have given ydrivers. I was only planning on chipping the car because yes it does improve performace but it also does reduce fuel usage and emmisions. I would like this for the fact that i save money on fuel and i am wanting to take it on some track days in the years to come. I'm sure many of you people would like to do the same thing.
The ecu is being put off as i have called vic roads and there will be absolutley no chance whatsoever of driving the car on my P's if i do do it.
They say that i do have an opportunity to drive the GTI but there will be extra rules. I.e. ifi get caught doing any hoonish behaviour i will recieve double demerits...which will incurr a loss of liscence on your P's as im pretty sure you only get 4 points, and i will no longer be able to drive any high performance vehichles until i get my full liscence.
And thankyou guys very much for all the info you have given me. It is veryyy helpful as i am infact very young and unkowledgable when it comes to this kind of stuff. I just dont like being called a spoilt rich kid when i worked really hard to get the car.

[GTI2708]

P platers need training not lectures.

VERY TRUE.
Lectures go in one ear and out the other. I think that it should me MUCH harder to get your P Plate liscence. I don't believe 120 hours is enough, i have done 187, and the actual driving test shouold be much harsher than it is. This being said, people learn things quicker than others. Although my sister may have done 95 hours of driving, she is still quite bad at it. She needs professional training rather than just intructing by my dad.
I think that there are courses being made available to P platers but these are optional...maybe they should be made cumpolsury.

[GTI2708]

P platers are bad drivers and should not drive anything that even remotely resembles fast.

/thread

That is a fair point and i respect your vopinion on that. Unfortunatley, i don't think that is going to happen anytime soon. Peoplealways find a way around it. Like the company car loophole or the exemption i'm trying to use.
But still, fair point.