Australian elf ‘n’ safety want the Ford Focus RS Drift mode BANNED

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The new Ford Focus RS is just starting to hit Australia, and their safety organisations are calling for it to be banned unless the drift mode is disabled.

We like to think of Australians as a bit out there, risk-taking outdoor lovers with a thirst for life and adventure. But it seems not.

In fact, it seem Australian safety organisations are so scared for their consumers that they think the Drift m,ode on the new Focus RS should be illegal, and they’re calling for the RS to be recalled and the Drift Mode disabled.

It might seem a bit of an extreme reaction by safety groups in Oz, but their calls are pretty much in line with Australian lawmakers’ attitudes to anything remotely adventurous on the road, with huge fines, car confiscations and bans for any sort of ‘Hooning’ in most Australian States.

Ford say they have this covered with a disclaimer which appears on the dash if you try to select Drift mode telling the driver it’s only suitable for race tracks, but that’s not good enough for the elf ‘n safety bods.

Australian Road Safety Campaigner Harold Scruby said:

A disclaimer is not going to stop an idiot from trying this on public roads,” said Mr Scruby, the head of the Pedestrian Council of Australia.

We urge Ford to reconsider its decision, recall these vehicles and disable this driving mode.

Ford cannot absolve itself from its duty of care to road users and its customers with a disclaimer in the dashboard.

Australia already has previous for this sort of thing, banning the new Mustang’s Line Lock (which locks the front wheels so you can burn out the rears), so if they make enough noise they may succeed in taking Drift mode away from Aussie Focus RS buyers too.

And we though our elf ‘n safety were a pain.

2016 Ford Focus RS Driving Modes Video

Source: News.com.au