Safety experts in Australia are up in arms over the Ford Focus RS’ Drift Mode, a drive mode which allows drivers to initiate and hold a sustained drift with help from the vehicle’s electronic stability controls.
According to a statement by Ford, Drift Mode is intended for track use only and a disclaimer will appear on the instrument cluster when changing modes, and that typical Ford Focus RS customers “will understand the need to deploy these features under controlled and safe conditions such as during a track day.”
Road safety campaigner Harold Scruby said he is “absolutely stunned” the technology was approved for use in Australia. “A disclaimer is not going to stop an idiot from trying this on public roads,” said Scruby, the head of the Pedestrian Council of Australia. “We urge Ford to reconsider its decision, recall these vehicles and disable this driving mode,” he added.
Ford Australia was required to disable the Line Lock feature in its Mustangs due to strict anti-hooning laws in the country, and the furore surrounding Drift Mode functionality in the Focus RS makes the hatchback the next Ford model to come under fire for features that have attracted negative press in Australia.
“Any sustained loss of traction on public roads is illegal,” said Jack Haley, senior policy manager at Australia’s National Roads and Motorists’ Association. More from outside the motoring industry have chimed in: “they’re obviously marketing the car to young people who are interested in that type of driving. The problem is most people don’t have access to a race track. Without a race track it’s inherently dangerous,” says former president of the Australian Medical Association, Professor Brian Owler.
Australian motoring website Car Advice offers a counterpoint: “closely following Scruby, Owler had the most stupid comment of all three, suggesting that Ford is only marketing the Focus RS to young people and that buyers of this car don’t have access to race tracks, ever,” says Paul Maric, senior road tester at Car Advice.
“They are suggesting that each person that buys this car will switch on drift mode each time they head to the shops, or while they pass through a school zone. You know, much the same way that anybody that uses a steak knife is likely to knife people at random, or how drivers with SUVs aim to run everybody down.
“Why else would you use a steak knife, or drive an SUV? The same nonsense reasoning is being applied to the Focus RS, which was built by Ford to use as a daily driver during weekdays and as a track car on weekends,” Maric continues.
“The other thing conveniently neglected in all (local Australian) coverage of this feature is the fact that almost any car that sends torque to rear wheels in some form is likely to be able to drift. By disabling stability or traction controls and standing on the throttle mid-corner, you can just as easily drift,” he adds.
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Australia has become a nanny state. 60km/h for most roads (exceed by 1km/h, $194 fine), strict 1.30am lockouts at hotels and bars, and now you can’t even drift?
What 60km/h…? I drive only 50km/h limit in town. You obly have chance to burn your gasoline extra when light turn Green, see who cars fastest…
Ostolia should banned RWD all together to curb “hooning”
#nannystate
With all the stupidity being reported in Malaysia, it is sometimes refreshing to read about the idiocy in other countries.
Good one. Cheers.
tulah aussieland pun nanny state syukurlah malaysia masih aman damai
What’s the big deal on this? A driver can always pull the fuse out for the esp, traction control to deactivate the system to drift. Nobody can stop a driver from doing this to his car. You can also pull the fuse out for the airbag if its one of those that can kill you more than safe your life.
really hope ford malaysia brings this in, after 4 years saving i’m ready to make this my daily driver
Accusing Australia for being a nanny state, when our own politicans low-key trying to turn this country into an Islamic country. Just wait and see when our case have Halal or Haram badge attached.
inb4 someone says BNGov bodo for not enforcing law to remove LSD from AE86, Silvias, A31cefiros, 180sx, skylines, chasers, mark 2 & X, mx5, rx-7 & -8, and other drift RWD cars. If Party Hard takes over, they will bring in laws to castrate all these “unsafe” RWD cars to plotek rakyat.
So u see, Party Hard really takes care of rakyat unlike useless BNGov.
How many RWD cars are there on the Malaysian market? How many of them are performance variant? And the question is how many rakyats can afford them?
Even when castration takes place, how many rakyats would it actually affect? Bngov never act in the best interest of rakyat, at least the opposition do (minus PAS). Car prices are still sky high and lack of regulations cause us rakyats to suffer. Cars in the market are relatively spartan in terms of safety equipment – one of the lowest adoption rate of safety devices in the whole entire world. In order to cover up P1’s incompetency like how the gov do to a specific segment of the population, we rakyat truly suffer with sky high taxes (where’s the 30% reduction in price?). Couple it with you tak suka you keluar sentiment, i’m sorry to break the news if you don’t already know that our society is regressing.
U dare persoal Party Hard, I tell Albert come potong kepla lu! Kasi up his talibarutness.
Australia should ban drive thru liquor store to stop idiots from drink driving.
A disclaimer would not stop an idiot.
Wasn’t Lewis Hamilton fined for drifting a C63 AMG a few years back on a Melbourne public street (around the weekend of the Aussie GP). Doubt that car had a drift mode. Maybe they should ban people from leaving their house. That will solve a lot of social ills.
Precisely, and those huge Commodores and Falcons with V8s do wheelies and skidmarks effortless as well….
Precisely.
We don’t need a “drift mode” to drift.
Hell, I even get all sorts of tail out malarky driving a FWD car.
Ozzieland is quick becoming a nanny state. Too much free time on their hands now for this to be even a problem.
I want buy a unit, Malaysia when?
Anytime you have a quarter million bucks you can march over to NAZA. They will get you a unit. Post here again when you get the car. If you get the car.
Okay, noted with thanks.
Now everyone can do Gymkhana with this.
Or they should take notes from Nissan, with their GPS tracking system that would remove limiter when in circut tracks, apply it to their Drift Mode when select.
Win-win situation.
Nissan JDM GPS will alwiz tell u, ur in jepunisland
IMHO this drift mode increases safety. Otherwise, people who want to drift will simply deactivate stability control completely, even when they don’t have the skills and experience to actually drift. Then they lose control and crash. At least this drift mode lets them drift without losing control.
Cukurlah ada Kerajaan BN……Rakyat all very happy becoz we have cheap Proton cars…..