P-plate drivers should be banned from Queensland beaches
Teen drivers don’t have the skills, experience or maturity to head straight on to Queensland beaches. After a number of tragic crashes, it’s time to keep P-platers off the sand, writes Peter Gleeson.
Peter Gleeson
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P-platers should be banned from driving on Queensland beaches because they don’t have the defensive driving skills or emotional intelligence to deal with tricky situations such as undulating beach situations.
It follows the tragic death of 18-year-old Harrison Payne on Bribie Island on Sunday. Initial police investigations indicate the alleged driver, an 18-year-old P-plater, lost control of the car before the crash. It is not the only recent tragedy on our beaches with 18-year-old Tyreece Pilot killed in a beach accident last year.
Burpengary Forensic Crash Unit Officer-in-Charge Sergeant Greg Price said the matter was being treated as a criminal investigation.
Sgt Price said police were investigating the manner of driving in the moments before the crash, how and why the car rolled and how the passenger was ejected.
The tragic incident has prompted calls from the community for tougher restrictions and P-platers to be banned from driving on beaches.
A Facebook poll conducted by The Caboolture Herald attracted 361 votes with 300 people voting in favour of banning P-platers from beaches.
As a society, we must protect our most vulnerable and teenage drivers fit into that category. They lack experience and have a mindset — particularly the boys — that they are immortal. This is not a video game. This is real life. They should be immediately banned from going onto beaches and only those aged 21 or over should be given special beach access permits.
And while we’re on the subject, can we please have mandatory defensive driver courses introduced into the school curriculum.
Teenagers are ill-prepared for the vagaries of the road when they get a license. Instead of teaching them the woke rubbish they get now, surely a three-day intensive driver training course is a much more suitable tool.
