My traffic offenders program experience.

[buddy92]

Hi all. I just feel like writing about the traffic offenders program I completed.

I was ordered to complete a traffic offenders program last april ( also known as TOIP ). I today completed and passed the course.

Even though I was ordered to do it simply because of no P plates, I was complaining about having to do it because I thought it would of been a waste of time. Lets say it was the complete opposite.

We had all the emergency association blokes come in and share there experiences with us and show full unedited pictures and videos, a complete head turner that was.

The biggest thing was a person who had came to do a speach for us, he had been in several accidents which eventually lead to being a quadriplegic. He watched his whole family die at the age of 14, killed another man by drink driving at the age of 17, was put in prison and released into a mental place for about 8 years because he couldn't cope. Was released and then decided to once again go riding a motor bike drunk, and that was his road to becoming a quadriplegic.

I learnt so much about things I never knew, such as the difference that 5km over the speed limit can do, the variances in reaction times alcohol makes. Its a real head turner when you see and hear all these things with you're own ears.

Being a red P plater and having gone through the stupid stage myself, even though I have never done anything illegal, I think I have really and I mean really learned alot from doing this to prevent things from happening in the future.

I would recommend doing the course even if you wasn't asked to if you are young and dumb like me.

Take it from a red P plater, first car is a FG xr6 and I have experience of 1 year.

You will learn a lot.

Thanks

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

[cs123]

Thanks for posting this.

Quite often we have a "won't happen to me" attitude and meeting these people can be a real eye opener.

What other topics were covered?

[buddy92]

Originally Posted by cs123

Thanks for posting this.

Quite often we have a "won't happen to me" attitude and meeting these people can be a real eye opener.

What other topics were covered?

Im glad I done the course before anything did happen to me.

And everything was covered, all the way from the legal side of it all. To road vicitims who actually come in and tell it first hand, police officers, ambos, SES, basically everything that has to do with motor vehicles. Even insurance companies view on crashes.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

[G6ET8U]

It's not nice to swallow your pride and post it in an open forum.

Kudo's for that. I'm 35, if I could go back 17 years I'd be slapping/beating myself to learn, appreciate and understand. I didn't end up with the hard lesson.

My best mate did.

He killed a pedestrian in his car. This is a lesson he will never, ever forget. Me either. I was first on the scene.

Jack

[buddy92]

Originally Posted by G6ET8U

It's not nice to swallow your pride and post it in an open forum.

Kudo's for that. I'm 35, if I could go back 17 years I'd be slapping/beating myself to learn, appreciate and understand. I didn't end up with the hard lesson.

My best mate did.

He killed a pedestrian in his car. This is a lesson he will never, ever forget. Me either. I was first on the scene.

Jack

The thing is I was in the mind state of "it won't do nothing I only got caught with no P plates"

But god I was wrong, I learnt so much its hard to explain.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

[G6ET8U]

Don't beat yourself up over it mate, there is no point. The point is, the good result is, that you have learnt a valuable lesson without actually having to learn it the hard way.

Good result all round.

The classes you took, the talks you have heard and the effects that you have now seen will be with you for the rest of your life.

Might not be straight up, remembering it, early it will be. It will effect your thinking behind the wheel. You will pick your moments better. Subconsiously.

Good result.

Jack

[buddy92]

I could write so much more but I will be here for a very long time.

I can't stress enough how much P platers have to learn.

Now I have to tell the judge and hope he lets me keep my license.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

[Madaya]

Buddy, good onya, and I hope you get to keep your licence. You are a fast learner. Hope it does you well.

[Ford_The_Win]

Originally Posted by buddy92

The biggest thing was a person who had came to do a speach for us, he had been in several accidents which eventually lead to being a quadriplegic. He watched his whole family die at the age of 14, killed another man by drink driving at the age of 17, was put in prison and released into a mental place for about 8 years because he couldn't cope. Was released and then decided to once again go riding a motor bike drunk, and that was his road to becoming a quadriplegic.

Man that is a tragic tale.

[motorcycles4eva]

i remember being on my p's back in the day and being very stupid on the roads.. i was so lucky. all my mates drove like idiots and since i've had a baby come into my world i've seriously tame everything .. (i've become a wimp...lol) i do have a mate who has never held his licence for more than 3 months.. he is now 39. still drives insane and i won't get in the car with him at all.. we're talking 260 in a 60 zone and me crapping hard core.. this is his regular driving..

some people like yourself are lucky and smart to realise the potential tragety
others are in the making unfortunately..

[buddy92]

Originally Posted by motorcycles4eva

i remember being on my p's back in the day and being very stupid on the roads.. i was so lucky. all my mates drove like idiots and since i've had a baby come into my world i've seriously tame everything .. (i've become a wimp...lol) i do have a mate who has never held his licence for more than 3 months.. he is now 39. still drives insane and i won't get in the car with him at all.. we're talking 260 in a 60 zone and me crapping hard core.. this is his regular driving..

some people like yourself are lucky and smart to realise the potential tragety
others are in the making unfortunately..

Ive also had a mate like that and he gets the ***** when I won't go with him, hopefully after I tell him my experience it might make some difference. But unless those kind of people see and hear it themselfs I doubt it will make a difference.

Also the videos they show us, are full un edited videos that ambulance officers have and have rights from family to show. Pretty nasty stuff seeing a bloke get cleaned up doing only 40km, seeing it all.

Also tought us stuff about kids. Example: there playing with a ball and it goes on the road, there main focus is getting that ball back and not there surrounding, which is just how kids work you can't stop that.

Thats another thing I didn't realize until today, which I have actually seen but only jolted my brain today how serious it can be and it effects everyone not just yourself or the family.



Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

[motorcycles4eva]

if your mate is anything like my mate, only when it is too late will he wake up..

his latest car is a supercharged bmw v10..i think m5? we drifted from st.marys all the way to minchinbury the last time i went in the car..(sydney) to pickup a pizza.. by the time we came back i made a pizza in my pants 10 times over...
never again...

[FGII-XR6]

Glad the experience was a good positive learning one for you. I have presented at the traffic offenders program in Windale ( Newcastle) when I worked as a counsellor covering the alcohol and other drugs component . I found most participants were genuinely interested in the course and they are the ones less likely to reoffend. you did of course get the bogans there too and you could pick them in the break, they would form their own group and all they seemed to be interested in was getting to the pub after the course . The organiser of the course I was involved In told me that 86% of participants didn't reoffend ( drink driving) that on it's own makes this program worth the effort

[stazza]

That's great, most young dudes would scoff at that and how 'uncool' it is.

A little off-topic:

I've been working in the mining and oil and gas industry for about 7 years, and while I've always been very safety conscious, I see so many "hero's" that are not. And because you're surrounded by the older more experienced and very influential workmates, you almost sometimes ignore safety. And admittedly, I sometimes find some safety procedures a little over the top. But I watched a video recently in a Gorgon Project induction about a guy called Charlie Morecraft who was seriously burned. A truly sad story, and definitely cemented in the fact of how precious life is, and that it takes just the smallest of occurrences to possibly change your life forever.

[GTPete]

The traffic offenders programe should be part of the learn to drive process, Im sure it would have far better effect if all new drivers were made to attend it.

[usernametaken]

Well done. I have spoken at a few of these from a RAR perspective and for every guy that 'clicks and get's it' there are 10 that stare at the desk in front of them bored out of their brains.

At least it won't be you that get's cut out of a car.

Thanks for posting.

[MercurySilver]

Originally Posted by GTPete

The traffic offenders programe should be part of the learn to drive process, Im sure it would have far better effect if all new drivers were made to attend it.

this is what i was going to post
also safety driver education where you do that course and learn to control your car when you lose it
i myself have always thought that me and the misses should do something like that

lets face it
its pretty easy to get a licence but kids have no real idea how to get out of situations or what kind of trouble you can get people and friends into by doing stupid *****

[Ben73]

I have a mate who done it recently. He is hopeless. Lost his licences once, been fined a number of time and almost lost his licence a 2nd time, but they made him do this course. So maybe he wont lose it now.
He has only recently off his P's So no idea if this course will wake him up. Probably not.

Out of all my mates, this guy has the slowest car. 0-100kmh in 21 Seconds we tested. But he is the most dangerous driver I have ever been with. It's definitely the driver not the car.

[Full Noise]

While I agree with most of what the OP has written, don’t get sucked into their BS propaganda about being 5 kms over the limit causing more deaths than Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin combined.

You’re lucky you weren’t killed. Next time wear your P plates. Sarcasm off.

[steve.zissou]

I did one many years ago - had they guy come in who stacked his bike and was now in a wheel chair.

said how he and his mates were always driving and riding crazy and finnally he hit a car pulling out of a street - he was doing 150 maybe.

all very sad but I asked the question - did his accident slow down any of his mates?

he said for a couple of weeks but they are still the same.

we also had this old bird come in who was involved in a big accident - she was dead set like hellen love joy from the simpsons. wont some one think of the children.

I would say 90& of the guys there for drink driving of speeding couldnt give 2 hoots and that 90% of the presenters didnt connect with the attendees.

young males are genetically programed to push boundary's - go faster, fight, drink more, etc. its how we evolved.

you just have to steer it in the right driection - not try and stamp it out.

Females dont seem to understand that - and my course was run by and predominately presented by females.

[xisled]

The problem about these course as above post said they only change a person for a small amount of time. The courses are run for a few hours and no follow up happens.

IMO a course that is ran over 2 or 3 years in school would be better. Maybe in year 9, 10 and 11.

Before anyone says anything. I have done the road trauma course here in Victoria, got caught burnouts, I have also broken my back and spent some time in a wheel chair and learnt to walk again after breaking my back in a motor bike accident. It is only now that I have grown up have I started to get my attitude in check.

I have heaps of friends that are idiots, I always question them when they do stupid stuff.

IMO more education is the only thing that will stop this. Not just a day or week course but an ongoing program that runs over a year.

When I was in high school (private). We did not do 1 hour of road education. The only talking to we got was when one of my class mates dropped the clutch in his VN in the driveway.

[Full Noise]

Originally Posted by xisled

I have heaps of friends that are idiots, I always question them when they do stupid stuff.

IMO more education is the only thing that will stop this. Not just a day or week course but an ongoing program that runs over a year.

There’s an old saying, you can’t put brains in a monument.

Education may help but only if the knucklehead on the receiving end is prepared to learn. Until that time, you are wasting your breath.

[MattsDisturbed]

Well done for admitting your limits and seeing that no one is immune. Unfortunately it took a prang on my P plates for me to workout how not to drive, and hopefully you never have to go through anything like that.

[Neale]

Thanks for sharing, hopefully you telling your story may change someones attitude to driving & you never will know but could save someones life.

I hope you have told your mates as well!

[dannyxm]

Ta for sharing.

Im a solicitor, I refer clients to the program all the time.

A mate of mine from school, he became a client unfortunately, mid range PCA, sent him to the program.

Mate: 'arhhh mate I feel outa place there, the place is full of gronks'

Me: 'Mate you got behind the wheel ****ed, you are a gronk.'

Idiot, unfortunately I got him off and he felt 10 foot tall and bullet proof.

[Peuty]

I used to deliver these course for a while back in the day and I can tell you, that for every person like you buddy92, there were five that treated the course with contempt.

I too, however, don't buy into the whole every k over is a killer thing, but when it pays the bills....

[fpvgeetee]

It's scary that someone's loved ones could get killed by an idiot on the road...nothing can bring them back. It's just chilling. Can't believe these idiots don't stop and think "what if someone hit my parents, girlfriend, wife or kids doing stupid things?" morons.

[Iggypoppin']

Originally Posted by Full Noise

While I agree with most of what the OP has written, don’t get sucked into their BS propaganda about being 5 kms over the limit causing more deaths than Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin combined.

You’re lucky you weren’t killed. Next time wear your P plates. Sarcasm off.

Will have to agree with you here. That arbitrary number on a sign isn't a safety net nor is it the be all and end all of motor accidents. Suddenly going 61 in a 60 zone won't cause you to veer into other lanes, veer onto the sidewalk or kill a baby/seal/bus full of nuns etc.
this course sounds like a better way to deal with problem drivers than slapping them with fines or labeling all and sundry as "hoons". It would need to be presented correctly and by a range of people, including some representing the younger males and car enthusiasts.

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by Iggypoppin'

Will have to agree with you here. That arbitrary number on a sign isn't a safety net nor is it the be all and end all of motor accidents.

QLD/NSW is a good example of this.

In QLD (the 'every K over is a killer' state) the speed limit is 100. In NSW the limit is 110.

By QLD's reckoning you should die within minutes of you crossing the border

[dexter69]

well done by completing the course mate. I have had a few accidents myself *not serious* but i have learnt alot from just driving experience. makes us all better on the road once we've learned and understood our behaviour.