Fast Car Drivers Down Under Will Soon Need a Super License
Owners of high-performance vehicles in the state of South Australia will be required to take an additional test—the first of its kind in the world.
From December 1, 2024 drivers of so-called Ultra-High Powered Vehicles (UHPVs) will need to pass an online course in order to continue to drive their cars. A UHPV is defined as having a gross weight of up to 4.5 tonnes (9920 lbs) and a power-to-weight ratio of 276 kW per tonne or more, which equates to 0.17 hp/lb. Buses, motorcycles and trikes are excluded from the new rules, but modified cars are not, and it is their owners’ responsibility to know if their cars fit the new class. The penalty for driving a UHPV without the correct license is a fine of AU$2500 ($1700).
South Australian drivers whose cars exceed those limits will have to undertake an online education course which concentrates on the additional risks posed by UHPVs, the unique features of such vehicles, the dangers of risk-taking behavior, new laws, and the penalties for disabling driver assistance systems.
Drivers will face fines of up to AU$5000 ($3400) and up to six penalty points just for switching off driver aids including anti-lock brakes, automated emergency braking, electronic stability control and traction control systems. Causing death or serious harm by careless vehicle use could result in a jail term of up to seven years. Police also have increased powers to suspend drivers’ licenses in the event of an accident.
The rules have been brought in after a 15-year-old girl was tragically killed by the driver of a Lamborghini Huracan in 2019, and it is drivers of such supercars that are the main target of the new legislation. However, there are plenty of EVs that will also fall foul of the rules such as the Porsche Taycan Turbo or Audi E-Tron GT.
There’s no practical element to the new license, however. Rather than improving the skills of drivers the emphasis is on making drivers aware that with great power comes great responsibility. The test only costs AU$81 or $55 and takes 45 minutes to complete, so Down Under supercar owners won’t have any excuse not to take it.
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This is a great idea because this requires drivers of supercars or performance cars to understand how to handle the power and speed, can help make roads safer for society, and would also benefit for sport and performance bikes too
Now I hope that they do more than a 3-point turn and parallel parking
This is another over reach by the Australian government. A video is nothing to teach anyone anything. Now attending one day at drivers school at a track is what is needed and would be fun.
Second turning on and shutting off systems is up to the driver and there should be no law on that.
Just more nanny state government.
Yes…Australia is turning back to a penal colony
Australia, home of the Covaids Internment Camps. This is a way for them to look like they are doing something while also monetizing this for government waste programs and actually doing nothing for the problem.
All you have to do is google something like ‘wreck leaving cars and coffee’ to see that something like this is probably warranted. A lot of people buy horsepower as a status symbol with no real skill in applying it properly. Most of them may be the type that do 50 in the middle lane in their supercar, but that one time the bug gets them to jump on it, something bad is going to happen.
One thing I’m happy to see is that apparently they don’t have a problem with disabling the lane assist warning signal. I usually disable it when I drive on oil and chip country roads with no markings, since I’ve had the lane warning activate when it misreads worn rut marks in the road as lane markings and warns me that I’ve drifted out of a non-existent lane.
The real issue here is maturity. Some folks are not mature enough to drive a powerful car. The car is not at fault and many of us have the sense to know where and when to do something.
The ones we see now are often immature and end up crashing a their cars. Most cars today are as powerful or more powerful than the cars of the 60’s. even many 4 cylinders are 300 HP today.
It has concerned me that the Chargers being used are cheap and powerful. Now we see week after week car chases on TV and many crashes due to people making bad choices. Yet those of us who behave pay the price too.
To be honest I have generally driven my most powerful cars carefully. One not to crash it and Two not to get pulled over. Cars like my Corvette is loud and Torch Red. You do not make a wrong step in that color. My Chevelle had two carbs sticking out of the hood. That often drew attention of the police. After time they understood I was not going to be stupid so I never had any issues.
Now my first car was a 63 Ford sedan that looked like grand pa’s car. I was a terror in it back in the day. No one payed attention. But I learned from others around me that being stupid leads to crashes so I backed off.
The worse thing I did was I over steered the Chevelle pulling out one night. I got sideways in the intersection and could not steer out due to no power steering. Humbling so I never did it again.