But I’m so good at it… so…

I just saw a newspaper from the 25th of March where a family got hit by a train in country Victoria. They were driving a large 4WD (a Nissan Navara), didn’t see the train and the driver tried to stop, left a 40m skidmark and hit the side of the train. Two family members died, the rest are in hospital.

Things I must point out:

1. Driving a 4WD will not save you - you still need to pay attention to what you’re doing. A truck, bus or train will still handily kill you.

2. Driving a smaller, lighter car would likely have saved their lives. A Mazda3 will stop from 100kph in 38 metres.

3. If the big, heavy vehicle was necessary (and it probably wasn’t), money saved on skipping ABS is a false economy. If the vehicle was fitted with ABS it would not have been skidding.

We don’t need speed restrictions in this state, we need driver education and the removal of import duty cuts on 4WDs purchased by city dwellers. They’re freaking dangerous.