Car power rating system flawed, says RACQ
The RACQ believes the existing method of establishing a vehicle’s suitability for new drivers is flawed because it fails to take account of the vehicle’s actual performance capabilities and built-in safety features.
And it wants the system replaced by a more holistic assessment that includes the vehicle’s power-to-weight ratio and safety features.
RACQ vehicle technologies manager Steve Spalding said provisional licence holders under the age of 25 are currently restricted from driving vehicles designated as high-powered/performance vehicles.
“While strongly supportive of Queensland’s graduated licensing system overall, we have reservations about the system currently used to determine which vehicles a new driver is allowed to operate,” Mr Spalding said.
“In many cases vehicles deemed to be high powered actually have lower power outputs and offer less performance than similar models that a young licence-holder is allowed to drive.”
Mr Spalding said the current evaluation method was based on certain attributes of the vehicle that may or may not deliver actual high performance outcomes.
“The current restrictions are based around such things as the number of cylinders a vehicle has, whether or not it has a turbo or super-charger, the engine’s kW output and whether the engine has been modified,” he said.
“The selection process appears to be based on a perception of the vehicle’s risk rather than any objective measure of its actual risk.”
Mr Spalding said there were significant anomalies under the present system that resulted in P-platers not being allowed to drive cars with high levels of standard safety equipment simply because, for example, they had turbo-charged engines.
“Increasingly, car makers are using turbo and super-chargers to achieve better fuel efficiency and lower carbon emissions rather than to create a high-performance vehicle” he said.
Mr Spalding said some vehicles with relatively modest power-to-weight ratios and high levels of standard safety equipment that P-platers were currently banned from driving included Volkswagen’s new petrol-powered Golf range, Saab’s petrol powered 9-3, Toyota’s RAV4 (V6) and Kluger, and much of the current Toyota Landcruiser range.
“These are the sorts of cars typically owned by ‘Mums and Dads’ and are common family vehicles,” Mr Spalding said.
“Clearly, these couldn’t be considered performance vehicles, yet they are currently off-limits to young drivers on P-platers.
“For the Department of Transport to continue to rate vehicles using a system which simply excludes a vehicle from the list because it has a turbo-charger is flawed thinking.
“A far more accurate way of assessing the risk posed by a particular vehicle is by considering its power-to-weight ratio together with its safety credentials.
“Ideally, a vehicle should be evaluated with the aim of lowering its crash risk in the hands of young drivers. We should be making access to late model, safe vehicles as easy as possible for new drivers.
“While we acknowledge that assessing all the vehicles that new drivers are likely to want to drive would be a considerable undertaking, we believe that this would produce the best safety outcome for them.”
Mr Spalding said the RACQ had raised its concerns about the current vehicle performance rating methods with the Department of Transport.
