It’s only an online course, not a driving test, meant to educate drivers on the heightened risk their way-quick car poses
- Anyone driving a supercar in South Australia will need a Class U licence, starting December
- The government defines an ultra-high-powered vehicle (UHPV) by its power-to-weight ratio—and includes modified cars in that category
- The course that gets you the new licence is online only, and doesn’t involve an actual driving test
In Canada, you can pretty much get behind the wheel of any car on a regular driver’s licence, but that’s no longer going to be the case in the state of South Australia. Starting on the first of December 2024, anyone driving an “ultra-high-powered vehicle” (UHPV) will need a corresponding “U Class” licence to do so.
It won’t involve driving it around to show the authorities that you actually know how to handle the car — which would no doubt disqualify a considerable number of people, and judging by what we see on the roads here, might do the same for a fair number of folks in lower-powered grocery-getters, if it was implemented in Canada. However, South Australian drivers who want to pilot supercars will have to take an online course to learn about the vehicle’s driver-assist technologies and they face penalties if they drive with them disabled.
You already need to have a regular driver’s licence in South Australia before you can qualify for the U Class version. The regular licence uses a graduating system: in it, applicants have to be at least 16 to get a learner’s permit, and they must have “L” plates on the car; no blood concentration of alcohol or drugs is permitted; a qualified driver must be in the passenger seat; the driver can’t exceed the speed limit by 10 km/h (6 mph) or more, nor exceed 100 km/h (62 mph) at any time; and can’t use any mobile phone function, including Bluetooth, music, or navigation.
Moving to the next provisional level requires a minimum 75 hours of supervised driving, including 15 hours of night driving. There’s one more provisional level before you can apply for a full licence, and because of how long the previous levels last, the driver must be 20 years or older.
Now comes the new ‘U Class’ of licence for UHPVs. South Australia defines a UHPV by its power-to-weight ratio: anything at or above 276 kW (370 horsepower) per metric tonne (1,000 kg, or 2,204 lbs). That goes not just for anything you’ve bought from a performance-car dealer, but also anything that’s been modified for extra power. According to the state’s transport department, it’s the driver’s responsibility to know if the mods put it over. That means putting it on a dyno to see what it’s putting out, and then doing the math with its weight.
Once the law comes into effect in December, it’ll be illegal to drive a UHPV without a U Class. If you get behind the wheel without one, the first offence carries a fine of up to AUD$2,500 — and that’s about CDN$2,313, or $1,692 in U.S. greenbacks. If you’re caught again, it’s jail-time for a year.
South Australia defines a UHPV as anything that offers 276 kW (370 horsepower) per metric tonne (1,000 kg, or 2,204 lbs) or more—that also goes for anything that’s been modified for extra power
The online course teaches drivers how to operate the vehicle safely; the risks involved with driving one; and features including automated intervention systems such as emergency braking, electric stability control, traction control, and anti-lock brakes.
Anybody who’s caught driving an UPHV with an automated system disabled receives demerit points and the possibility of a fine up to AUD$5,000. And if they get into a crash with the systems turned off, charges could be laid of causing death or serious harm “by careless use of a vehicle.”
Those who own UHPVs got notices from the South Australian government early in 2024 about the new licence. Anyone can apply, even if they don’t own a supercar — and are willing to pay the AUD$51 to take the course. Once you start the online test, you have a year to finish its three sections and then pass the overall test.
If you get any of the questions wrong on that final test, you keep getting another question to try until you get them all right, without a need to take the course again. From there, there’s an application and another AUD$20 fee to get a replacement licence that includes the U Class, and from there, the road is open.
Should an actual behind-the-wheel test be part of it? We think so, but at least it’s a start to getting drivers to understand that there’s a lot more to driving a UHPV than just being able to afford one. And, of course, that goes for every vehicle on the road as well.
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