P-plate backlash
BY NEIL MCDONALD | 23rd Nov 2005
The company is at the forefront of an importer-led protest over the NSW rules, which could be used as a template for other states.
The managing director of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles, Horst von Sanden, last week sent a two-page letter to the NSW Minister for Roads, Joseph Tripodi, calling for the "illogical situation" in NSW to be addressed.
"Mercedes-Benz would be more than happy to facility industry-wide consultation on this issue in view of the fact that many other brands share the view that the current basis for the prohibition list in NSW is flawed," Mr von Sanden wrote in the letter, a copy of which has been obtained by GoAuto.
"We will be writing to other manufacturers and importers formally this week and look forward to meeting with you in an open and honest fashion to develop a safer and more relevant list of cars that novice drivers should be restricted from driving."The move side-steps the automotive industry’s peak body, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, which as GoAuto reported last week had come under fire from some importers for not doing enough to tackle specific issues.
Mr von Sanden told GoAuto this week that the FCAI had taken a position that it was not its responsibility to coordinate any industry-related protest.
"I’ve got to respect that," he said, adding that he did not want to waste energy in discussing the issue with the FCAI when the car manufacturers could organise their own protest.
He also said one manufacturer had offered its support even though it did not sell supercharged or turbocharged vehicles.
The FCAI is on record for hitting out at the NSW ban, which its chief executive Peter Sturrock this week described as "clumsy and hastily cobbled together".
The chamber has also renewed its call for a national approach to licensing laws elated to learner drivers.
However, Mr Sturrock took issue with some importers who believed the FCAI was not doing enough.
"It’s been widely discussed at board level and among the importers and we have circulated all the material related to the issue to all members, manufacturers and importers, since it arose in June," he said. "Nobody disagrees with what we’ve done."As a result of GoAuto’s report last week, the FCAI has re-distributed all relevant material on the P-plate issue – and other matters – to its members.
Mr Sturrock said it was often the case that government bureaucracies moved slowly and some importers, used to quick commercial decisions, neglected to realise that the government process "does take a long time".
In addition to Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler, importers Volvo, BMW and Audi are known to be supportive of an industry-wide discussion.
Last week, the FCAI raised the issue of P-plate drivers in a submission to the Victorian government on road safety at a transport ministers meeting in Melbourne.
Among its key recommendations were a curfew on night-time driving and longer licensing processes for learners.
It also made it clear that it did not favour bans on the type of vehicles provisional licence-holders could drive in Victoria.
Mr Sturrock said the NSW ban was implausible and hastily put together and ignored the fact that many supercharged and turbocharged vehicles often had other safety equipment like antilock brakes, airbags and electronic stability control systems.
"The FCAI thinks that there are a range of technologies on newer vehicles, particularly in the last four or five years, and it would be grossly unfair and unwise to be saying that young drivers should not be able to drive those more recent vehicles with these features when the alternative would be to force them to go back to older vehicles," he said.
"It would be folly to be contemplating some of those vehicles and forcing people to go and find another vehicle that could be older and far less safer."Mr Sturrock also described the power-to-weight ratio method Victoria employs to classify banned cars for P-platers as not ideal.
As a result of ongoing FCAI concerns, the NSW RTA and NSW state government had been receptive to requests by companies to consider altering the banned vehicleson the restricted list, he said.
Already some have been exempted, like most DaimlerChrysler-imported Smart models and the two-seater turbocharged Daihatsu Copen. However, the RTA’s exemption process has widely been criticised by importers as bureaucratic red tape.
"We had said that it was very clear the list was developed by a bureaucratic process that has given little thought to logic or common sense and that the catch-all concept that NSW had put in place was clumsy and unfair," Mr Sturrock said.
The FCAI supports a national approach to learner driving protocols, rather than often conflicting state-based regulations as well as higher skill sets and training.
The Government’s discussion paper said that it favoured various measures including extended learning periods for P1 and P2 licence-holders, "which we think is entirely fair and reasonable", Mr Sturrock said.
However, the FCAI was concerned about one Victorian government view that it did not favour limiting passengers or late-night driving restrictions.
"Despite the fact that again in the paper it clearly says that there have been positive road safety benefits in Canada, the US and New Zealand where there has been a restriction on passenger numbers and late night driving," Mr Sturrock said.
It was unacceptable for the government to consider issues of this type based on clear evidence but then say "we’re not going to use it because it doesn’t suit us", he said.
"In our view you cannot have it both ways. You can’t be seeking evidence and basing your restrictions on clear evidence, and if you like, market information by saying it doesn’t suit us." The FCAI is now seeking a meeting with the Victorian Transport Minister, Peter Batchelor, to discuss its submission.