New Licences For 4WD Owners

[mikeys toy[RL]]

i would have ran the bitch down

i hate that shit

it's people like that that make my car look like shit :)

[Redwarf]

The owner happened to be walking up to the car at the time....

[Super Jamie]

you know what i really f@$king hate? even more than misdirected rage at 4x4 owners? people in pathetic little cars like a daewoo matiz, driving around with obvious carpark damage

 

like deadset, if you don't have the spacial skills to pilot something smaller than my ke25 at 10km/h, you really shouldn't be driving at all. someone like that is a million times more dangerous than any 4x4 driver

[coln72]

While any license holder can drive a vehicle up to 4.5t why should a special license be required for 4wd's.

 

My Commodore wagon is 4.9m long, 1.8m wide and weighs 1700kg unloaded. Apart from weight it is close to being the same size a Nissan Patrol. Should I be made to have a special license to drive it. My old HZ ute was longer than my fathers Nissan Patrol but I would not have to a a special licence to drive it.

 

Instead of targeting a special group, all drivers need to be tested properly. At the moment it seems if you can complete a written test and reverse park you can obtain a license.

[Super Jamie]

it's not far off the paj. mum's was 2.08 tonnes on the weighbridge with trailer and me in it

[crazy_bunny]

i think a 4wd licence is BS, its not our fault that theres so many dickheads in 4wds that don't take them off road.... theres more dangerous cars ont he road, that are unroadworthy.

 

We don't take our 4wd off road all that much, don't have the time. but it does get off road every 2months atleast for a week or two. and we can't afford to keep that registerd then pay for a third car for my oldman to drive.. so he drives the 4wd..... People say we need to understand what we are drive, that its a larger vehcle.. i sure as f@$k pay ALOT more attention when i drive it..

 

its a 100series landcruiser....2800kgs...

[Fayt]

last friday i was walking down the footpath and I see this lady in a steel tray ute coming out of a carpark on the side of the road

 

now, tell me if you get this....

 

she is parked outside a company, the company ute is behind her ute, there is no car in front of this lady, its a one way main road, and as I'm watching her while walking closer to her, here she is, trying to reverse, and I'm like :S , then as shes frantically looking at her mirrors trying drive out of this car space, she then jams on the acceletator, and fully pounds the f@$k out of the ute behind her, smashin its right indicator and bending the whole grill and front end, she the realises she hit the comany ute, she then saw me going ;) , then sped off, and I'm like, " YOU NASTY FU*KING COW!!!!" I then got her plate number, and the dude who was running the company came out, I then told him the plate number, he was all friendly and in the end actually knew who I was, and then it was all done

 

should she need a license for driving a ute? YES!!! Like I mean honestly, why the f@$k did she reverse when all she need to do was to put it in 1st gear, wait for the traffic then drive off?

 

weird...

 

and for a more on-topic reply, I think there should be some kind of test for people driving heavy, large vehicles, cos if there is a person who aint that knowledgable of what heavy vehicles can and can't do, then i wouldnt want them on the road,

 

lets say theres me driving in my ke10, then theres this unco retard person driving a large landcruiser with a bullbar on it, whats gonna come out second best?

[Redwarf]

They already have a license for it. It's called light truck for anything over 4.5 tonne.

 

It's your choice to drive a KE10. You'd be just as bad being hit by a Kingswood as what you would be being hit by a 'Cruiser. If not worse. At least Cruiser's have ABS, power steering and decent brakes, and God forbid, crumple zones.

 

Perspective.

 

I have a 4WD and I personally don't consider myself inline for extra training for it.

 

They already have a license for it. It's called light truck for anything over 4.5 tonne.

 

It's your choice to drive a KE10. You'd be just as bad being hit by a Kingswood as what you would be being hit by a 'Cruiser. If not worse. At least Cruiser's have ABS, power steering and decent brakes.

 

Perspective.

 

I have a 4WD and I personally don't consider myself inline for extra training for it.

 

I also understand that the new Prado can out brake a lot of "family" sized cars these days, too.

Edited December 27, 2005 by Redwarf

[ancullen]

I've always said that I think the current basic licence covers too great a weight range. I think that with the basic licence you should only be able to drive a vehicle of maximum weight of about 1800kg. Even this I consider a bit heavy. I have driven LandCruisers (100-series) and felt extremely uncomfortable with trying to judge distances and also with the braking ability. The 1800-4500kg range should probably be broken up into two categories, but where this should be broken up, I'm not entirely sure.

 

As to the story of the Celica/Prelude, have any of you ever driven a current model Celica (ZZW241)? Try doing a check over your right shoulder. That's right, you can't see anything due to the f@$king rear pillar. It sits above you and is so thick and angled that it blocks your view entirely. This is the case with many sports cars. Sure they look great from the outside, but trying to reverse is an absolute bitch. Now I'm not trying to justify what the woman in the carpark did, but just remember that light sports cars have issues too. Oh, and that women should never be allowed to drive (kidding :S).

 

Basically what I'm saying is, licencing shouldn't really be changed to a special licence for 4WD's. It would be far too difficult to categorise, unless the Department of Transport went through and made a list of all vehicles you need the special licence for - not going to happen. It should be based on the weight of the vehicle as this is one of the main problems with 4WD's, but also with many other vehicles.

 

And as for reversing issues with 4WD's (due to tailgate height), it should be put in the Australian Design Rules that all new vehicles with a tailgate over a particular height (let's say one metre) must have reversing camera and a mirror angled from the rear of the roof point toward the ground so that driver have greater ability to see what's behind them. As well as these, it might be worth making parking sensors on the rear mandatory on these vehicles as well. And truck-like reverse noises (can't remember the name) would be a good idea too.

 

EDIT: Redwarf, as to the Prado outbraking a lot of other cars, I considered this statement in making my argument, and I also think that there should be a minimum braking distance built into the ADR's. This minimum distance should probably include three components - minimum braking distances from 40, 60, and 100km/h. I don't know what these distances should be exactly, but it would improve a lot of new vehicles on the road in one foul swoop. The problem with using ADR's is that they don't have much of an effect until they've been in place for five years minimum (due to the slow change over rate of people buying new cars).

Edited December 27, 2005 by ancullen

[crazy_bunny]

with the comment on brakeing. Our 100series will stop f@$king quick. Obviously not as quick as some cars but it could beat a fair few of the older models out there. Weve had the test the brakes on a few occasions and it pulls up well..

[ancullen]

I agree that the 100-series will stop faster than quite a few other cars. But I didn't feel it was quick enough. They are f@$king heavy bastards and get quite big momentum as a result.

[Corolla_Gurl]

Oi! leave the daewoo matiz outta this (i own one)

4x4 owners should have there own liscene that requiers a few hours training time and a test....you have to for everything else you drive on the road.

And as for carpark damage on my matiz if i find the prick who keyed my car 3 days ago ill chop there finger off with a spoon!

Sum people just have no respect.

now my car is f@$ked it has to get a repaint.

 

 

Back to subject....

there is a majority of people out there who can and know how to drive/control/ handle a 4x4...but trianing should be involved becasue of the small number of people who have no idea.

Edited December 27, 2005 by Corolla_Gurl

[Redwarf]

there is a majority of people out there who can and know how to drive/control/ handle a 4x4...but trianing should be involved becasue of the small number of people who have no idea.

 

But don't you think that covers all drivers? Are you trying to tell me that it's only some 4WD owners that have no clue?

 

Improved training should be across the board. Don't pick a scapegoat because it's convenient, and a minority.]

Edited December 27, 2005 by Redwarf

[Super Jamie]

there are alot of drivers out there, full stop, who have little spacial conception around them

 

i see old women all the time, in some piss tiny little car with huge windows and great visibility, with a massive ding in the hatch because they've reversed into a pole. THOSE people should be made to do to a specific license, not just anyone who buys a certain type of car

 

what about a rwd ford territory? that's a large heavy raised vehicle but isn't a 4x4, should you need a special license for that? it's essentially a falcon with a lift kit and big tyres anyway. should you be made to have a license to drive a falcon?

 

put a family of people and a boot full of holiday gear and luggage in a BA falcon and you have a car that weighs over 2 tonnes. do the same to a crappy old kingswood and you'd probably just brake 1600kg. nobody is going to argue the falcon is a safer car, it's got huge brakes and crumple zones and airbags and non-frayed non-30-yearold seatbelts. but under your weight scheme, you should need a special license to take your family on holiday in your new safe family car, but any old person can jump in the old kingswood and drive across the country in it

 

as for braking distances. hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahah. no wait, i'll say it again, HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA! compare a little 710kg drum brake ke10 (or f@$k even a disc brake ke25) to ANY 4x4 regardless of abs or age, and i'll bet us corolla drivers would be left with egg on our face

 

4x4 isn't the issue. weight isn't the issue. unsafe cars and unsafe drivers are the issue

[Redwarf]

4x4 isn't the issue. weight isn't the issue. unsafe cars and unsafe drivers are the issue

 

I'm hearing you Brother!

 

Using 4WD's as a scapegoat for people's driving inadequacies :S is the sort of thing I expect from A Current Affair, not from informed discussion.

 

Proper training and experience for all is the key. Education is a wonderful thing if done correctly.