Could Power-To-Weight Ratio Be The Next Addition To Graduated Driver License Restrictions? Probably Not.

I often remind parents of the huge difference in vehicle and roadway sophistication that has taken place since they first learned to drive. Most any vehicle built before the 1990's had sufficient noise/vibration/harshness issues (remember wind noise at higher speeds?) that told the driver that they might want to be a little more careful as speed increased. Couple that with roads that were slightly less than smooth, and the driver received plenty of sensory feedback.

I've also commented on the continuing increase in power with new vehicles. This article from Autoweek talked about this topic in relation to insurance rates.

The net result is that new drivers today have a much greater ability to get into problem situations faster with less warning signs along the way. They can easily exceed the personal and vehicle limitations governing vehicle control. For this reason, a restriction on vehicle capabilities for inexperienced drivers makes sense.

I was reminded of this when I read this article about Australian Graduated Driver Licensing that is tied to Power-to-Weight vehicle ratios. Some countries in Europe have had this type of restriction for a while, limiting new drivers to slower vehicles until they gain experience.

Given the substantial differences in approach to teen driver training here in the United States, it would be very difficult to add such a restriction here, especially since the requirements are independently mandated by each state.

Ford Motor Company, with their MyKey program, is somewhat addressing the issue by allowing parents to physically impose speed restrictions and providing audio warnings as speed increases. It does not address the temptation of too much power available up to the programmed maximum that can get inexperienced drivers into trouble.

GPS monitoring devices are available that will report on events and speed, but that is after the fact.

The best answer is judicious parental choices in vehicle availability to the newly minted driver that reduce the temptation to "see what it can do".