One of Australia’s most successful racing drivers, Mark Skaife, recently put his reputation on the line to promote his views on improving driver behaviour. He aired his thoughts a couple of weekends ago on Channel 7′s quasi-tabloid television program Sunday Night.

Skaife’s three main steps to safer roads include accredited driver training, in a bid to prevent parents from teaching their kids bad habits; improved road infrastructure, as well as more consistent road signage; and government incentives to encourage the purchase of newer and safer cars for young drivers.

This is a massive issue and one that can’t be satisfactorily resolved on this humble blog. Some of Skaife’s views have genuine merit, while some are a little ill-considered. For example, while an increase in freeway speed limits might be worth considering if certain measures are in place first, Skaife should have known that mentioning anything with 140km/h in it would send self-righteous critics into an absolute tail spin.

After all, we live in a country where an international advertising campaign from BMW featuring a car sliding around at low speeds in a closed warehouse was banned for fears it would encourage hoon behaviour. At the same time, so long as you’re advertising flavoured milk, it’s deemed okay to speed down a country road in your ute while your girlie is hanging out of the window and your mate jumps on to a truck.

Anyway, you can watch Skaife’s original piece after the break. And, if you can bear the sight of Mike Munro, there is also a follow up interview featuring Skaife and current member of the National Road Safety Council, Wayne Gardner.