South Australia Introduces Special Licence for ‘Supercar’ Drivers

The South Australian Parliament has recently passed a new legislation, mandating drivers of “ultra high-power” vehicles to have a special driving licence, alongside tougher penalties for reckless driving behaviours.

This new law was initially proposed back in 2023, following a tragic death of a 15-year-old kid, who was run over by a reckless driver of a Lamborghini Huracan supercar.

The Lamborghini Huracan supercar will be consdiered as a UHPV under this new U-Class licence

Set to be enforced from December 2024 onwards, supercars owners will be required to earn the new ‘U-Class’ driving licence for “ultra high-power vehicles” (UHPV). According to this newly-passed legislation, a UHPV is defined as a car with power-to-weight ratio of at least 276 kW per tonne (1,000 KG), with a gross mass less than 4.5 tonnes (4,500 KG).

While the Huracan (left) passed as a UHPV, the same can't be said for heavier performance sedan like the BMW M3 (right)

As for how many car models will be affected by this, Drive Australia estimates that over 200 current models will fall under the UHPV category, with buses and motorcycles exempted from such, for now. For reference, the Aussie-spec Lamborghini Huracan harnesses a power-to-weight ratio of 292 kW per tonne – making it fall directly under the UHPV category. 

Meanwhile, heavier performance saloons like the BMW M3 are not considered as UHPV, as the former only comes with 222 kW per tonne of power-to-weight ratio.

The new ‘U-Class’ was introduced back in 2022 as an amendment to Australia’s Motor Vehicles Regulations 2010 legislation. Owners of the UHPV can apply for this licence, where they have to sit and complete an online training course before being given the licence.

New penalties will be implemented for supercar drivers who deliberately switched-off several safety features like AEB, TCS, ESC and more

Aside from the new licence, this new legislation also adds stricter fines for reckless drivers. Key amongst these is the new AU$5,000 (RM14,869) fine for those who deliberately disable an automated intervention system on UHPVs – which includes anti-lock braking (ABS), automated emergency braking (AEB), electronic stability control (ESC), and traction control (TCS).

Furthermore, new definitions and penalties are also being introduced for drivers who have caused death, while penalties for driving without due care have been increased from 12 months to seven years.

A viral video showcasing several supercars owners driving recklessly on Malaysia roads

All in all, it is somewhat refreshing to see a government taking proactive measures in combating reckless driving issues – which should also be done here in Malaysia. Recently, we’ve been hitted with a viral video of several Lamborghini owners caught driving recklessly, which brought unattended danger not only to themselves, but other road users as well.

Should JPJ amend the driving licence to include a special class for supercars?

With the booming of new superpowered car owners who seemed unable to grasp what their machines are capable of, perhaps it is time for the government, specifically the Road Transport Department of Malaysia (JPJ) to implement a somewhat similar licence classification as the one we saw in South Australia. 

For context, even motorcycle licences have several categories and classes that are perpendicular to the bike’s engine capacity – which shows that such a thing is doable in Malaysia, so long as there’s a demand and voice by concerned entities towards this cause.

Regardless of car types, Malaysia drivers in general need better driving education

At the end of the day, driving education is an important sector that both the government and people must strive to improve and enhance, as it plays a key role in not only disciplining Malaysian drivers, but also preventing freak accidents from happening on our roads.