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Legislative Council - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-02-27 Daily Xml
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MOTORSPORT

The Hon. SANDRA KANCK (15:42): Last weekend, Adelaide played host to the V8 supercar race. I think most members in this place know that I am not a fan of motorsport. To me, it represents something of a frenzy of testosterone-charged, high octane, greenhouse gas emissions. I saw the race described as having a 500 tonne ecological footprint.

I know that in the past road toll statistics have shown that after these car races there is an increase in the number of road crashes. My staff tried to find South Australia's road safety strategy on the website, and it is currently unavailable, which is a bit of a surprise. However, it is important that we are pursuing activities to reduce fatalities and serious injuries on our roads. I think it is a truism to say, 'Roads do not kill people; people kill people.' So, creating safer roads is not the be-all and end-all of road safety. In fact, some would say that, the better the road, the faster some drivers will drive. So, it makes little sense to do more than to set realistic speed limits and encourage drivers to drive to the conditions.

Making people safer drivers is, I think, the real key, and the nub of it is changing driver attitudes; engendering social responsibility on our roads; stressing the importance of driving at safe and legal speeds; and ensuring that road users understand the effect of legal and illegal drugs, fatigue and emotional stress on their driving ability. These are the challenges of creating road safety.

Last weekend, there were several hideous motor vehicle accidents or incidents: one was on track; two were off track. When we have a whole ministry dedicated to road safety, I consider it constitutes a conflict of interest that another part of government is promoting motorsport, including very fast driving, because attitudes are formed by following example. Whether someone is learning to drive and following the example of their teacher or whether they are observing racing car drivers not much older than themselves in a glamorous sport, their attitudes to driving are being formed.

The notion that good drivers can go fast, that as long as you are just under 0.05 you are all right to drive, and that running a red light is okay as long as there is no camera are all common attitudes in the community, and they need to be addressed in a consistent and aggressive manner, because the message does not really appear to be getting through.

I would like to see qualitative research on the effect of motorsport on the attitudes of drivers under 30 years of age. I would like to see the end of alcohol sponsorship of motorsport because it presents a lethal mixed message. Alcohol and driving do not mix, just as excessive speed and driving do not mix. With a post-race concert sponsored by a bourbon manufacturer, it is time to examine the involvement of the state government in sponsoring, facilitating and promoting this race event.

It was also interesting to note, in terms of this mixed message, that people who had bought a ticket to the Clipsal 500 were provided free travel on the Adelaide Metro if they presented their Clipsal 500 ticket. I would like to see a day when the weekday riders of our public transport system get a free ticket. As it is, those people who are doing their best to ensure that we are not impacting on climate change and peak oil are the ones who have cross subsidised the petrol heads to go and see this race, and it hardly seems to be fair and is inconsistent.

Similarly, there is a huge inconsistency in this government having sponsored the solar cities congress for three days of last week and two days later changing its emphasis to promoting the Clipsal—an event that has the consequence of releasing huge tonnages of greenhouse gases, plus using a precious non-renewable fuel resource. I am not a fan of motor racing. It is something that ought to go the way of the dinosaurs. It is a bit like those events in Roman times, throwing Christians to the lions: it has had its time, it is out of date and it is time it went.

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