Correct RPM for a 280SE

[Green74280se]

In Australia we have a few stages of getting your license and being able to drive. I've had my license for a few (cough) years so and things have changed dramatically since I got mine so I've attached the link below which explains it all.

http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/geared/licence/index.html

[Pieter Lötter]

"The prohibited vehicle condition restricts provisional (P1 and P2) drivers from driving certain high performance vehicles.
Prohibited vehicles are those with:
Eight or more cylinders.
Application for an exemption can be made at any motor registry upon payment of a fee."

I'm sorry but this sounds like a big money making scheme to me.
That's alot of hoops to jump through to get a licence

I understand what you mean with your comment about the speed, P1 max speed 80km/h, P2 max speed 90km/h.

And I thought its hard to get a licence over here

[John Hubertz]

That system is unbelievably strict!  A log book for driving while you are on your learner's?  How extraordinary.

[Green74280se]

Yes, I feel sorry for the "kids" trying to get their license today!

At the age of 17 I did my learners test at school while waiting for the bus to get me to the train station... I got 18 out of 20 questions correct so got my learners permit!!!

After a few lessons with my dad in the family car (A 5.8 litre 1970 fairlane) and then 5 lessons with a "certified" driving instructor I did the driving test and got my license.

It's a totally different story these days.

[mrkozzy]

my wife got her drivers license a couple of years back.
I opted for the "professional lessons only" ploy, as I really didn't have the time, patience, nor did I want the arguments.
gave her a "6 Pack" lessons voucher from the local RACV. (Thats our local arm of the AAA)
She passed and is now driving.
Whats patently clear from the way she drives,from the  lessons she took and the road rules she was taught, is that people like myself who have been driving 25+ years, (20 as a rep clocking 50-60,000k a year) have been left behind in the understanding of some of the current day road rules.
In the way my wife  drives, and understands the road rules its clear to me we have been taught something different or in some cases I wasn't even aware of the rule.
To clarify some of the points my wife was taught, I asked the instructor to clarify same.
It turns out a lot  of what I was taught and still adhere to is by todays standards either different or in some cases non existent.
I openly admit, if I were to sit my driving test tomorrow, I would fail.........not on my driving ability, but on my knowledge of the present day road rules.   
So now when I see some "banana" doing something I consider untoward on the road, I sit back and think......perhaps its me who's got it wrong.

[ponton]

The answer to all of my friends here in Brisbane is to fly to the U.S. for a vacation and sit the exam there (over 18 so no behind the wheel at least in WI) come back here and get it converted. Boom, done. I had my learners and had to log hours when I was 15 but the "no v8s" and speed restrictions are just idiotic. How is it safer for someone to be driving 80kph on the motorway instead of just doing the limit like everyone else.

Ian

[entresz]

I'm fortunate that in Tasmania if you are on your 'P' plates, you can still drive a V8 car. In the mainland it's not allowed. Same goes for cars with forced induction. It's really dumb because I could get a new Ford Falcon which has roughly 190kw if I wanted, yet if I wanted to drive my 450SE which has less power, that would be illegal. It's ridiculous really.

[ZCarFan]

"The prohibited vehicle condition restricts provisional (P1 and P2) drivers from driving certain high performance vehicles.
Prohibited vehicles are those with:
Eight or more cylinders.
Application for an exemption can be made at any motor registry upon payment of a fee."

I'm sorry but this sounds like a big money making scheme to me.
That's alot of hoops to jump through to get a licence

I understand what you mean with your comment about the speed, P1 max speed 80km/h, P2 max speed 90km/h.

And I thought its hard to get a licence over here

Funny that such an arbitrary measure is used "Eight or more cylinders.".  The 4 and 6 cylinder cars are now faster than most people can handle, let alone a new driver.  A far cry from when I was a young lad and a 6 with more than 110 HP was uncommon.

[Beastie]

It's ridiculous. No forced induction either. It means that NO Saab made in the last 10 years can be driven by a P plater. So if your mum or dad drove a safe, sensible Saab 9-5 - which were some of the safest cars in their class - you weren't able to drive it as a P plater because it would have had a turbo. So the "safe" alternative would be a cheap second car just for the kid... something like a KC Laser.  Yeah, those are super safe. Pfft. Don't get me started on this.

They really should have just come out and said "No Commodores for P Platers" because that seems to be the problem car for young reckless males aged 16-29. Nine times out of ten it seems to be a Commodore that gets wrapped 'round a tree or... Stobie pole. 

I don't think any amount of driver training and advanced lessons will overcome someones stupidity or recklessness. On the contrary. I think if you lead a reckless idiot to believe that he's Fernando Alonso he's even more likely to kill himself by driving into a tree because now he's drunk on a sense of immortality and Woodstock bourbon & cola.

I'm sorry, I'll have to lay off this subject because if I roll my eyes any more I will strain them.

[ptashek]

Yes, I feel sorry for the "kids" trying to get their license today!

I'm on the opposite side of the fence. Getting a drivers license should not be easy at all.

In Ireland all you needed until very recently was a provisional license (after passing nothing but a theory test) and a few hours (if any, because enforcement was/is lax at best) on the road with dad/mom/uncle/grandma, who were happily teaching you all their misconceptions about driving a car, rules of the road etc. It shows on the roads.