Essay- Matthew Sutianto
From Mod Mania
‘All P-Plate Drivers are Hoons- The Identity and Meaning of the P-Plate and the Individual’
“Almost every day a P-Plater dies on our roads. P-Plate drivers are involved in 36 percent of fatality crashes, while a P-Plate driver is killed every six days. It’s a hideous statistic and hasn’t changed in years. Young drivers still think they’re bulletproof, and yet they’re more likely to have a serious accident whilst on their P-Plates than at any other time in their lives. ”
The saying that ‘All P-Plate drivers are Hoons’ had developed during the late 1990’s and has grown ever since, and is still being talked about by the Australian community in recent times. Peter Palamara’s theory supports the fact that the growth of these teenage based statistics is rising at quite an alarming rate, therefore it is mostly the adults and residents of the community that mostly use this saying. Both parents and residents of the Australian communities are afraid and feel powerless of this continuing trend within the current young generation, that the only thing that they are doing is just continuing to abuse these current road users, saying how reckless and dangerous they are.
The term ‘Hoon’ is used to describe and generalize all the young P-Plate drivers on the roads. So as long as they see a P-Plate, they automatically assume that it’s a hoon. Hoons are usually associated with young people that make excessive noise, are uneducated, misbehave, ‘hang’ around on the streets and more than usually create trouble. Therefore, a P-Plate driver that is a Hoon carries out all of these actions stated above as well as abuse the governments road rules. They are depicted as the ‘unwanted’ group of young people in our society, where if they were to be removed or non-existent, the majority of the community would live a ‘normal’ and peaceful life. It would also just mean that the streets would be a better place without them. Because of the fact that it won’t seem as though these adolescents are controlling and over-populating the roads. Thus, resulting in safer usage of the roads and less problems on the streets.
Obtaining ones P-Plate license can quite easily be a negative and dangerous experience. If the individual thrives for attention, enjoys risk taking and showing off to their friends, stupid behavior will most likely occur. Although risk taking is apart of human behavior, there are different levels of dangerousness. Acts such as speeding and illegal racing on public roads, endangers other road users and will undoubtedly have disastrous consequences. Trying to be ‘cool’ and trying to fit in by performing stupid stunts on the roads and impressing your friends will not help in the discovery and self acceptance of your identity. As by doing so, you are not acting out of your true self, but more of the person that you think your peers want you to be.
But what obtaining a P-Plate license is really all about, is the enjoyment and excitement of gaining control, which then boosts ones self-esteem and confidence. ‘Self esteem is recognized as a powerful motivational force. It is thought to be based on a human need to be valued or to hold a positive self-evaluation. It does not mean feelings of superiority, feelings of perfection, feelings of competence or efficiency. It refers, instead, to a sense of self-acceptance, a personal liking for one’s self, and form a proper respect for one’s self ’. Therefore it holds major significance and sybolises a great deal to an individual as it gives them a sense of ‘standing on their own two feet’.
It meant that by placing the P-Plate on the car window, it publicly displays and identifies the first real sign of independence and freedom that is being experienced by the person in the drivers seat behind that steering wheel. That the individual in control of that actual vehicle is exploring the world unaccompanied by any adult supervision, which can be identified by the other road users. It is the first time an individual is able to fully and responsibly control the car and drive to the desired destination by themselves. What this does to their mentality is that it makes them feel like independent young adults that are in control of their lives and don’t have any or less reliance on their parents anymore.
This sense of control has been long awaited since childhood as it differs from being looked after, to looking after yourself. To the teenagers, the actual red P-Plate itself did not mean that you were on your probationary license for 3 years, to them, it meant that you had reached the first stage of your adult life and that you were ready to start exploring the world and making decisions on your own. That you were in control of your own life and that you didn’t have to listen to, or do things that you didn’t want to do. You were allowed to disagree on the things you don’t believe in because you now think for yourself and have matured enough to rebel and disagree. But most importantly, it meant that you had less dependence on the people around you, and more responsibility upon yourself. That you, as the individual had to make your own mistakes in order to learn from them. The guidance and base teachings from childhood life have been learnt, it’s just a matter of putting it into practice.
The P-Plates gave you a sense of character and individualism to express how you really felt. For the car you drive and the way you drive it can be related back to you as an individual and your personality. That the preference of car selection whether it be small, large, sports or four wheel drive, could determine what type of lifestyle the individual is interested in, or likes to live. For example, a young male driver that prefers a sports car because of the high speeds and adrenalin it can produce, could then ultimately lead to fast and carefree driving. This could then show that as an individual, this person likes to experience thrills in life and likes to live fast-paced. As opposed to a young female that prefers a small car just for it’s compactness in size, that she would just use and get around in for convenience. This could then determine what kind of individual she is, as it shows that she could just be the easy going type that enjoys life in a subtle and slow paced way of living.
Also, more recently popular amongst the young drivers, is the personalization (modifying) of their vehicles. This whole new lifestyle of creating an image and individualism on the roads throughout their cars is a form of presenting who they are as an individual. For example, choosing the type of color of the car, getting personalized number plates and decorating/ modifying the interiors and exteriors of the cars are all apart of the individual’s personality. Which is basically about portraying who they are and what they like on the roads (represented by their personalized vehicles), to develop their individuality and uniqueness. This then relates back to becoming and developing into their own person and trying to be different from everyone else or could also be apart of being accepted into a specific social group of “coolness”.
‘ …it referred to a conscious sense of individual uniqueness, at another to an unconscious striving for a continuity of experience, and at a third, as a solidarity with a group’s ideals. In some respects the term appeared to be colloquial and naïve, a mere manner of speaking, while in others it was related to existing concepts in psychoanalysis and sociology. ’ ‘Erikson’s Theory of Adolescent Identity Formation’ speaks about the modern adolescents, that as teenagers, they begin to discover who they really are during their development from their teenage years to adulthood. Usually the teenage years is the time for experimenting new things for themselves and by being influenced by the many factors around them. Whether it may be their peers, family or cultural background, any or all of these factors may have a contribution on the final decision made by the individual. All in the search and development of their identity and trying to be different from everyone else, but yet, still fit in at the same time.
‘Adolescence has further been described as: a long period during which maturity is attained: a period of transition between childhood and adulthood; a period during which an emotionally immature individual approaches the culmination of his physical and mental growth; a time of “rebirth.”’ As discussed by Erikson, his theory is associated with the way of thinking, that this significant period where a teenager develops into an older and more mature individual, they are being reborn/ formed into a new person. So now, at the age of maturity they are ready to apply what they’ve have been taught, the life experiences they’ve been through and the knowledge that they’ve adopted throughout their lives, in everyday life.
In his work entitled Identity: Youth and Crisis (1968), Erik Erikson views adolescence as a significant stage in life in which young people focus a great deal on issues of self- definition and self-esteem. Through various factors associated with physical change, social choices and expectations by parents and peers, the adolescent learns to make the positive and negative choices in life, in which they draw upon in part of searching for ‘ones- self’/identity.
‘Self-concept is a multifaceted psychological construct, reflecting the essential ingredients of individuality within society. As a construct it includes both conscious and unconscious components. Furthermore, it clearly has strong implications for motivation, self-esteem and psychological well-being. It has been argued that the nature of self-concept during childhood and possibly, early adolescence provides the foundation on which identity formation is based. Whether or not one accepts this notion, identity formation and development are thought by many to be the central developmental task of middle and late adolescence.’
Identity, therefore is not formed exclusively in adolescents. As each of our individual identity changes everyday it is merely impossible to know our ‘exact’ identity. Rather, identity continually transforms during the period of life. Adolescent identity begins at birth and develops further on into adulthood. Thus, in the search for identity, the adolescent is continually shifting back and forth in an attempt to find the ‘real me’.
Through obtaining a Probationary license is one way of discovering ones identity. The whole experience of being in control and driving unsupervised is a learning period of self discovery and individualism. It is also the first stage for a teenager to undergo a developmental stage into adulthood which comes with responsibilities amongst all the freedom and independence. The car you drive and how you drive it is all related back to you as a person and your lifestyle. Experiencing driving by yourself and on your own is a beneficial process where an individual can learn many things about themselves and learn many valuable lessons of life.
There have obviously been a number of proposals in order to try to reduce the teenage road/ car accident rate as well as the myth of the teenage hoons during the past few years. Proposals such as night-time driving curfews, limits on the number of passengers, reducing speed of vehicles via satellite and banning powerful cars have all been attempted to be used but have not yet been fully introduced. These quite extreme measures in order to try and reduce the statistics is very understandable, and some of these measures have succeeded slowly and progressively, but this does not mean that we have resolved the issue. There will always be ways in which people find a way in order to try and avoid the system, but it’s mainly up to the government to find a way to crack down on these road abusers and create a safer community for everyone.
As for my opinion on the saying that ‘All P-Plate Drivers Are Hoons’, I believe it to be just a generalized statement. I believe that there is good reason as to why the general public would hold such negative views towards the current P-Plate drivers (due to recent rising statistics) and many accidents caused by this group of people, but it cannot be applied to all P-Plate drivers. Sure, the majority of road/ car accidents involve P-Plate drivers, but full licensed drivers can also be considered as hoons just as easily. Their aggressive and impatient behavior influences them to drive like hoons which makes them hypocrites about the current generalization of P-Plate drivers. The P-Plates are about experimenting and self acceptance which is all apart of the developing of one’s identity and the growth of the individual from an adolescent into adulthood.
