Driving guides

The flashing red-and-blues of a police car in the rear-view mirror have the unique effect of making even the most innocent of drivers feel like Pablo Escobar.

The NSW Police Force's top brass, Hyundai and driver training experts joined a car crash survivor today in a plea to road users to take responsibility for their actions behind the wheel.

It’s fun to hang loose in summer but safety experts warn against wearing pluggers while driving, as a new survey compares thong wearing across Australia.

An initiative to subsidise driving lessons for asylum seekers is set to hand them much more than the keys to a car.The Wheels to the Future campaign aims to get crowd-funding for driving lessons for asylum seekers so they can get their driver’s licences, in turn providing them with a higher quality of life and more job opportunities.Ariana Driving School instructor Sajia Ariana came to Australia as a refugee from Afghanistan in 1996 and has spent the past 17 years working predominantly with asylum seekers.“I saw lots of people, especially Muslim ladies, having problems getting their licence,” Mrs Ariana said.“Some of them can’t really go with strange men in the car and that’s when I first thought, OK, if I could help them that would be nice.”The Forest Lake instructor said asylum seekers had limited finances for driving lessons and subsidising the lessons would also have a positive impact on the economy.“Without their licence they can’t take the children to school, they can’t go to the doctor (and) the transportation in Brisbane is not good enough,” she said.“Most of these people are really keen to work and once they have a licence they can easily go and find a job ... They won’t even need government support.”Campaign organiser Lisa Siganto hoped the community would get behind such a positive cause.“We felt it would be relatively easy to find 500 community supporters giving $50 each,” Ms Siganto said.The campaign is being facilitated by Communify, a Brisbane community organisation.

Ford's Driving Skills for Life program launched in Australia to improve teenage drivers' skills.

I borrowed a Jeep. Yes, a Jeep. And I'm about to learn how to drive it. Moreton Island's pristine white beach shimmers in the heat haze and sunlight bounces off the vehicles behind me. Every one of them is being driven by a woman. We are on a Dirty Girls 4x4 Weekend and there is not a husband or boyfriend in sight.Soon these trips will be run by female instructors but for now the trail masters are guys. One of them walks up to my window, eyeing off the track in front of us. It is steep and narrow and piled high with deep, soft sand. He recommends a longer run up. I reverse then grip the steering wheel with steely determination and something close to terror."Drive it like you stole it!" he says.Whoops fill the air as I floor the accelerator and hit the track at speed. Sand sprays high into the sky. I am slipping and sliding in all directions but there is nothing to be scared of. I am in control and it feels fantastic.The Dirty Girls 4x4 convoy is ready to roll. Picture: Ryan LennonI still find it hard to believe that I didn't get stuck on that track but even if I had it wouldn't have mattered. When you are on a 4WD group tour there is always someone to help you out.Organiser Bob Muller says the ladies-only Dirty Girls 4x4 Weekends came about when a group of women on a regular 4WD trip were enjoying each other's company so much they suggested a "girls only" getaway. Like most great ideas, you can't help but wonder why someone didn't think of it sooner.Some of my fellow Dirty Girls are here for a fun weekend with their friends. Others want to learn how to 4WD without a male back seat driver. For most of us it is a bit of both.I am a complete novice when it comes to driving a 4x4 so it is a relief when an instructor offers to jump in the passenger seat. The 30 minute trip from the car ferry to our Bulwer campsite gives me some much needed experience and is filled with useful hints and tips. We also stop to help the girls who get bogged. Getting stuck is treated as a learning opportunity and no one is made to feel embarrassed.It’s not called a dirty weekend for nothing. The Pink Wrangler enters the mud bath.Dirty Girls 4x4 Weekends are run by the Leo Muller Group but you don't need to be a customer to join the fun. Or the owner of a fancy 4WD. Along with Jeeps in every colour of the rainbow there are sturdy 4x4s which have seen better days and even a flat-bed ute on our trip.Age is no barrier either. Our group includes women of all ages, from a teen who is still on her Ps to a lively group of over sixties. They missed out on the last Dirty Girls trip because it booked out in two hours. This time they put their names down early.Our "glamping" accommodation is ideal for ladies after a relaxing overnight stay. Each tent sleeps from 2 to 4 people and has a toilet, shower, proper beds and an attractive wooden deck. We have time to settle in before enjoying a barbecue lunch. This is followed by a drive along the beach and a guided snorkel tour around the Tangalooma wrecks.All the crew on the Dirty Girls 4x4 Weekend at Moreton Island Lighthouse. Picture: Ryan LennonEverything from vehicle permits to champagne is included in the trip. We enjoy a glass of bubbly then pile into a 4WD bus and let someone else do the driving to North Point. The setting sun sparkles on the water and the drinks flow freely as we share tales of our adventures and wriggle our toes in the sand. An impressive selection of biscuits, gourmet cheeses and dips ensures no one goes hungry.After a raucous trip back to the campsite with the stereo cranked up loud we sit down to a three course dinner and live music from internationally acclaimed band Sons of Midnight. The next morning we hone our 4x4 driving skills in preparation for the speed run up the narrow track.Before the trip my biggest fear was getting bogged but it only happens once when we are parking on the beach near Honeymoon Bay. Once again the instructor has good advice. Should I start digging or go for a swim? He smiles and throws me a towel.Need to knowDirty Girls 4x4 Weekends start at $220 and include one night in a glamping tent, all meals plus sunset canapes and dinner with champagne, wine and soft drinks, a guided snorkelling tour of the Tangalooma wrecks, vehicle transfers and permits and a Survival Kit with a T-shirt, cap, lip balm and snacks. Boys Only and Family Friendly Jamborees are also available.The stunning scenery over Honeymoon Bay. Picture: Tiana TemplemanSee full story at Adelaide Now

.. at least until they have completed a driver competency test, according to a leading road safety campaigner.Russell White, who developed the national Fatality Free Friday (FFF) initiative, urged parents to get involved with their children's driver education. His call comes as 182 student drivers and the same number of instructors and cars bunny-hopped their way to a world record for simultaneous driving lessons in 10 venues around the nation yesterday. The world record driving test was held to launch this year's FFF on May 28."What we wanted to do was launch FFF as a campaign, not just a one-day event," he said. "We also wanted to highlight the need to focus on training as an important part of the road safety solution. It's not high enough on the road safety agenda."The road safety author and former boss of the Holden driver training school at Norwell, south of Brisbane, called for a higher standard of professional training and for parents to get involved."Unless parents work on their driving every day they will develop bad habits and then pass them on to their children," he said. "It's important that they keep refreshed and go back and learn. They should also sit in on at least one of their children's professional driving lessons to reinforce what's being taught to their child. I would like to see parents banned from teaching a young driver until they have completed a competency test. At present we're asking non-trained and possibly incompetent drivers to sign off on learners' log books. Driving instructors are saying that half the good work they do with young drivers is undone by parents."Learner driver Rhiannan Woods, 17, of Burpengary, who particpated in the lesson, agreed with White that parents shoud be more involved."When you drive with your parents you pick up their bad habits without realising it," she said. "Your parents don't tell you what to do like the instrctors. They don't know what to say. Definitely I would like one of my parents to come on a lesson so they would be able to help teach me."The world's largest driving lesson was held at two venues in Brisbane and Melbourne, and one event each in Townsville, Darwin, Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra. White said the launch was a "great success with no hitches".Drivers who wish to take part in Fatality Free Friday can register their interest online at www.fatalityfreefriday.com.

An overwhelming 87 per cent of people think current levels of training are inadequate, with 30 per cent of those also believing government bodies should subsidise extra training.The support for more training is revealed in an exclusive online Carsguide poll triggered by a recent spate of deadly crashes involving young and inexperienced drivers.  Given four choices, with all but one pointing to inadequate training, only 13 per cent of the 2000-plus people in the poll say today's training is sufficient.The poll is ongoing but, based on the latest results, 47 per cent say driver training is inadequate, a further 30 per cent believe government bodies should subsidise more training to solve the inadequacies, while 10 per cent think the cost should be borne by parents.The response to the poll is no surprise to engineer and road safety expert John Cadogan.“It’s great to see that so many people acknowledge the inadequacy of driver training,” Cadogan says.“The current training system is inadequate in everything except the road rules – I think our young drives are fairly well-versed in that regard.”  Cadogan says current training concentrates on how and where to park instead of teaching drivers how to avoid crashes.“The main thing ignored in training is the imperative to mitigate risk,” he says.  “It’s quite possible to emerge from our graduated licensing scheme and not know that 50 per cent of road trauma occurs at intersections.“Wouldn’t you think it might be useful for drivers to know that people sometimes crash into stop signs and red lights? If young drivers were given more information, road trauma would be reduced dramatically.”Cadogan agrees with the 30 per cent of poll respondents who say governments should subsidise the extra training, rather than putting more responsibility on parents.  “There’s no question that there’s a government responsibility to both regulate the roads and ensure they comprise a safe system,” he says.“It’s fairly difficult to expect parents to train their children – when they haven’t been properly trained themselves. And it’s not a matter of household income … most parents spend a lot of money on their children, for very worthwhile causes.”Cadogan says funding for better training could come from the vast pool of road fines revenue, and would save the government in the long run.  “If you get driver training right it funds itself because of the reduced cost of road trauma, which is about $20 billion annually -- twice ass much as organised crime,” Cadogan says.“But there is also a good argument to spend some of the income from fines. And there’s enough of it. I’d be very surprised if speeding alone wasn’t a billion-dollar business – it’s $300 million in New South Wales alone.“The motorist is the golden goose. We collectively buy 20 billion litres annually of petrol that’s taxed at 50 cents a litre _ that’s 10 billion in taxes. Add to that the yearly registration fees for 15 million vehicles on the road.  Money keeps adding up incredibly – and it generally doesn’t get returned to the road or the user.” Cadogan says the other side of the driver coin is the cost of road trauma and death.  “Every life you save probably returns more than a million to the community,” he says.  “Every time there’s a death, there’s an inquest, the cost of calling out the fire services, the police, the reporting system … it all adds up."He also says the extra training is not about creating a national of drivers with super skills.  “We’re not talking about advanced driver training. Just fundamental concepts," he says.“We need to change the emphasis of the driver training from rule compliance to risk management.  It’s very easy to comply with road rules – what we need is training to avoid the road risks.”