New driving regulation in South Australia province for drivers of 'Ultra High Powered Vehicles'

[Roscobbc]

Lamborghini driver first to be fined by police for no high-power licence​

Despite widespread media coverage, one man has allegedly failed to obtain his U-class licence before driving his ultra high-performance Lamborghini in South Australia – resulting in a fine from police.
A Lamborghini driver is the first person to be fined under new 'ultra high-powered vehicle' laws, just hours after being introduced by the South Australian Government.
According to South Australia Police, a 36-year-old man was found driving a Lamborghini – believed to be a Huracan STO – at 7:30am on Sunday 1 December in Hillcrest, approximately 10 kilometres north-east of Adelaide, and allegedly without the correct licence endorsement.
Announced in mid-2023, South Australian motorists are required to obtain a U-class licence in order to drive ultra high-powered vehicles (UHPV), defined as having at least 276kW per tonne (1000kg) – with the new rules coming into effect on 1 December 2024.
Wonder if that is applied in retropect to older classic vehicles (that won't have 'nanny' systems)

Special licence for ultra high-powered vehicles introduced in South Australia – UPDATE

From 1 December 2024, drivers in South Australia will be required to get a special licence for 'ultra high-powered vehicles'.

www.drive.com.au

 

[CaptainK]

I wonder how they police that for modified cars? Like for example shoving a bigger engine in your car which pushes you over the UHPV limit. No-one would know except you.

 

[Invetterate]

276kW is 370hp, so for the average 1.5 ton Corvette the engine would need to be over about 550 horsepower to qualify. I can see what the Aussie authorities are getting at but whether answering some questions and paying a fee really helps I am not sure. Regarding mods as per Captain K, it is probably linked to insurance to which the authorities have access perhaps.

I know that the accident incidence rate for electric vehicles is higher than similar ICE vehicles due to the acceleration. A lot of people are getting themselves in difficulties due to a level of power they are not used to. I suspect they are arriving at corners, roundabouts etc at a higher speed than they expect. It has got so bad that Hertz have just offloaded 20,000 Teslas because of the accident rate and subsequent insurance costs and loss of revenue.

The point being I think is that many people are not used to performance machines and aren't building the skills needed. Perhaps this is the Oz thinking, but it could just be a jealousy tax!!

 

[Roscobbc]

Sometimes wonder if all the supposed safety (i.e Nanny) features in modern cars in certain conditions can actually cause accidents. ABS braking for example..........a great 'tool' perhaps 99% of the time.......but on loose/icy/oily surfaces not quite so clever needing perhaps more experienced driver intervention.........

 

[CaptainK]

The "nanny" lane assist can definitely cause accidents from my own experience - about 90% of the time around the country roads near me. Before I knew about "lane assist" and the other rubbish "assists", it used to drag me into hedges, oncoming cars, and even lorries on motorways. Its now permanently part of my routine when starting the new car - switching off the junk that tries to kill me.

What's worse is that if IT causes an accident, it is ME that has to pay fees / do jail time - NOT the stupid manufacturer that put this rubbish into the car.

 

[Roscobbc]

The "nanny" lane assist can definitely cause accidents from my own experience - about 90% of the time around the country roads near me. Before I knew about "lane assist" and the other rubbish "assists", it used to drag me into hedges, oncoming cars, and even lorries on motorways. Its now permanently part of my routine when starting the new car - switching off the junk that tries to kill me.

What's worse is that if IT causes an accident, it is ME that has to pay fees / do jail time - NOT the stupid manufacturer that put this rubbish into the car.

Even worse Capt. if........in the event of a serious accident where the police lab guys are called-out to investigate the vehicles involved in the RTA they will investigate the vehicle sofware and its 'status'.........makes you wonder if turned-off 'nanny crap' could potentially infer culpability?

 

[CaptainK]

Even worse Capt. if........in the event of a serious accident where the police lab guys are called-out to investigate the vehicles involved in the RTA they will investigate the vehicle sofware and its 'status'.........makes you wonder if turned-off 'nanny crap' could potentially infer culpability?

Yes, this has been in my mind and does concern me. Any excuse to get out of a claim, and apply the blame more easily on a person instead of the broken "nanny" systems that just don't work. Far easier to take me to court than take the whole car manufacturer(s) to court.