I finally read the entire thread through, and I agree, if there is a certain demographic that are causing more damage, then there should be harsher penalties imposed to coax them into better driving habits.
More penalties and more frequent driving test for the elderly is necessary too, because some of it is insane (straight from a motorway onramp at 40k then across 3 lanes of motorway traffic, f**king stupid)
Too many people think they own the road, until someone dies.
Speeding is f**king stupid, sometimes it is necessary I guess (like passing on the open road), but when sustained, it should be slapped down big time.
ONE OTHER THING that no one ever mentions though, and off topic... pedestrians should also be liable for fines for running across roads in dangerous situations. A month ago some idiot ran out in front of me and I clipped him with the wing mirror, after asking him if he was ok he nutted at me, so I punched him in the face
ONE MORE OTHER THING... people on the open road who drive half the rated speed of the corner in the twisties (remember, rated speeds are tested with basic spec vehicles, so are comfortable for any road legal vehicle, as in not in sh*t condition) then speed up to the open road speed limit on the straights should be nailed by fines BIG TIME! It creates impatience from other drivers and reckless passing maneuvres.
I have a 13 year old sister who I am going to teach to drive. I am going to force her to take defensive driving courses as well. She loves my car so I am going to buy her one, probably a GS as a first car.
I want her to be safe on the roads, and it won't be nice, but I want her to see what can happen with speed related accidents, so I will be showing her any and all videos of accidents and cleanup that I can find. I will take her in my own car to Ruapuna and get into a scary spin or something, if she can get the sobering experience at a young age, hopefully she will be put off driving like an idiot.
I will do the same when I have kids too. Unfortunately, my father had a heavy foot all through my childhood (never round town though), he liked to cruise ~130 kph or so on the open road. I think parents have a huge influence on the way kids drive when they finally get their L or P plates.