Ford Focus RS Drift Mode - Safety Advocates Want it Outlawed

News Reports Like This Are Why Some Australians Want Ford Focus RS Drift Mode Banned

Your thoughts on this ASH8

 

Well I agree with our laws, where hoon driving is concerned, doing burnouts, drifting or street drag racing on public roads will lead to your car being crushed are good laws.

Call me a wowser, but having features on a Ford which can facilitate in doing burn outs and or locking wheels or transmissions in gears (whatever) is just dopey to me.
It promotes abuse of said car.

I am old school (very) when it comes to new cars and how they should be used and treated, my time at Mazda had seen enough of frankly idiots spending a small fortune on changing their new cars and then burning out clutches (turbo RX-7), cooking engines, breaking transmissions.

Yes, it is your property and you can do what you want to with it, but, don't come back and say something broke and is defective because....you burnt out your clutch plate doing burnouts or broke your diff while under new car warranty and want it fixed for free!.

Love my motorsports, but never been into drifting ( I can see the attraction, but).

 

Love those words "hoon" and " wowser" Don't have those in America. Cheers to you ASH8

 

I understand that the laws are in place to protect people, and I can respect that.

What I don't understand is how the removal of a button, or locking of a feature will stop the idiots from doing what they want on public roads anyways.

You guys have burnout competitions over there and lots of drifting competitions in sanctioned closed circuit environments, so what's the big deal about having button for it? I mean Why not just ban the whole car if it's that much of a problem?

 

People will find a way - button or not. RS should keep the button. Keep the fun confined to track days or performance days at local, approved parking lots with sanctioned events. I also enjoy motorcycling - I don't dri

ve down the street doing burnouts and wheelies. I save that (and my life) for track days.

 

Putting a button on dash or promoting said features legitimizes it as being normal or approved, do what you want to do on a race track, not on public roads.

Its the morons on public roads which I do not agree with and IF you are caught in almost all states in OZ your car gets crushed, no compensation.
Some states fine you the first or second time (more money and demerit points) 3rd time car is crushed.
Its called being responsible for your actions, driving a car (having a licence) is not 'a right', never has been.

 

I completely Disagree. Though I can see that morons would come to that conclusion, and use it on public streets, morons will do stupid things in a vehicle on public roads regardless of a button on their dash, but it may make the occurences more prevalent...

I could not agree anymore.

Brilliant, as it should be.


This was never in contention. As you say, it's a privilege, not a right.

 

"Hoon" absolutely exists in my lexicon (as it does for the people that frequent TTAC, Jalopnik, and the local/regional/national sports car clubs that meet around Chicago).

To me, this discussion seems to follow many similar discussions regarding graphic video games and speed limiters. I can see why the people that advocate banning the button would do so: they think that the button encourages bad behavior and on the surface, it sort of make sense.

But I don't think it works that way and I don't think that legislation should be handled that way. I'm all in favor of harsh penalties for actually breaking the law (I wish we crushed more cars here in the States) but I shy away from things legislation that bans things that have both legal and illegal uses. There nothing wrong with legislation for the sake of public safety but it should be tempered by the idea that legislation like this chips away at freedom. IMO, it's better to address the potential problem in other ways.

 

I personally don't see any difference between a 'drift' button/mode, and a button that disables traction control/DSC etc that is commonplace on almost all newer model performance vehicles?

 

Does Australia outlaw buttons that disable traction control and stability control, too? Turn those off on your Mustang GT, and you can do burnouts all day long.

Two of three cars in my garage have Sport buttons, and the CX-5 currently sold, does have a Sport setting. My wife's Fiat 500 Abarth even makes more power, and increases max boost in sport mode. The Cayman just increases throttle response, but that could lead to hooning (with me driving, it certainly does). Maybe you guys should ban those, too.

Here's the thing:

Give the consumers the damn buttons.
If they abuse it on the streets, then take the cars away.
Not everyone that buys a Focus RS is going to drive around Australian public roads sideways.
This is the lamest slippery-slope argument I've ever heard of.

BC.

 

well well, please do not breed...the world does not need more morons..