Teach them young, says legend | Northern Rivers News | Local News in Northern Rivers

LEGEND: Motor racing legend Allan Moffat signs an autograph for John Boyle, of Ballina.

AUSTRALIAN motor racing legend Allan Moffat wants kids as young as 12 to be taught to drive at school.

The four-time Bathurst 1000 winner said that the more kids were familiar with how a car works, it is hoped they won’t try to ‘take corners at 100km/h’ when they are driving at 17.

Moffat was in Ballina last Saturday for the opening of the Tyreright store in the Southern Cross Industrial Estate.

He said adding driver education to the national school curriculum was an opportunity to ‘influence young people at school’.

It’s all about saving lives, he said.

He said he envisaged giving youth a few hours a month on driver education at school.

“It gives them the feel for the machine they’re about to get into,” he said.

“Driving is not an automatic action.

“(Youth) are not taking the time to drive and learn what a car is all about.”

A survey by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) shows that 72 per cent of the organisation’s members want driver education to be compulsory in secondary schools.

And 80 per cent of members believe that driver education would have a much greater impact on cutting the road toll than increasing the driving age.

CAMS wants the Federal Government to back the idea.

Meanwhile, Moffat reflected on the highlight of his motor racing career while he signed autographs in Ballina, and that was the 1-2 win by Moffat and his Ford team-mate Colin Bond at Bathurst in 1977.

He went to the mountain 19 times – the first in 1969.

But, with four wins, he said that meant he had 15 failures.

“It was win or nothing for me,” he said.

Moffat retired from racing in 1989.