Death Rate Doubles For Teenage Drivers!

[Fidgits]

The Times has reported today that the number of deaths of teenage drivers on UK roads has doubled in the last 5 years!

Story Here

What it doesnt say is that obviously the speed camera's arnt reducing road deaths, and perhaps the goverment needs to re-think its road safety policy...

However, just remember being a 'good driver' isnt about who can drive fastest down a country lane - good driving is about always being in control of your car while fulyl aware of your surroundings

[Bibbs]

I think it's a modern "survival of the fittest" .. if you are a rubbish driver and you die, you are out of the gene pool.

This would then (after a few generations) give Britain the best drivers in the world. F1 & WRC champs ..

This is based on a few things ..

1. Driving skill is genetic

2. Chavs stop having kids before they get their driving licence

(doesn't the graph suggest more kids are being killed, but less have licences? So TWOCK'er are being killed, like I care)

[JAHill]

However, just remember being a 'good driver' isnt about who can drive fastest down a country lane - good driving is about always being in control of your car while fulyl aware of your surroundings

never a truer word spoken... "Speed without control is nothing."

You can bet that if figures went down due to vehicle saftey equipment, the government would claim that speed cameras are the main reason! ;)

[Fidgits]

Ben - I disagree with you there..

yes, the stats show while less teenagers are passing tests (due to increased difficulty and costs) more are being killed...

The fact is - not all road accidents are due TO YOUR bad driving - how many cars have you seen nearly cause and accident and pootle off down the road as if nothing happened...

I think the main reason for this statistic is, teenage drivers are less experienced, and therefore cannot react to these situations as well as those that have been on the road for 10 years...

so your survival of the fittest is nonsense - this is a serious issue that effects quite a few of our members (think how many in the last 12 months have had accidents) and i think you should leave your flippant replies for a less serious subject...

and i know all the younger drivers are reading this thinking 'yeah, but thats not going to happen to me, im a good driver' - well i'd be willing to bet thats what the people in these statistics thought too!

were all car enthusiasts, and like to drive enthusiastically - just please, know your limits, know your cars limits, and drive well within them, and stay in control, please.

[DaveSR]

It would be good to know how many had actually passed their test ........

Had their own car ie it wasn't knicked, had insurance, tax, and it not being a saxo, or nova !

[Bibbs]

My "survival of the fittest" was very tounge in cheek (I've said the same thing about a "chasing after ball" gene that I'm thinking will cause kids to run onto roads, die and then ruin cricket within a few generations, as only the lazy kids will survive).

It is a very scary statistic. Are there any details about the %age increase in the number of young drivers over the last 5 years? (not licence holders, but car drivers).

When I passed, only a few of my mates had cars .. now it seems you are in a minority if you don't.

[JAHill]

What about people over a certain age? I almost wiped an old chap out this morning when he pulled out in front of me on a roundabout when I was all of a couple of metres away (nice abs, lovely abs). He was in a metro so his chance of survival was oh, about NIL.

Worst bit was, he actually looked straight at me then pulled out!

Luckily the other lane was (vaguely) free.

[Fidgits]

My "survival of the fittest" was very tounge in cheek (I've said the same thing about a "chasing after ball" gene that I'm thinking will cause kids to run onto roads, die and then ruin cricket within a few generations, as only the lazy kids will survive).

It is a very scary statistic. Are there any details about the %age increase in the number of young drivers over the last 5 years? (not licence holders, but car drivers).

When I passed, only a few of my mates had cars .. now it seems you are in a minority if you don't.

I realised that Ben - I just didnt think the subject was the place for a 'flippant' "yeah let them go off and kill each other" type replies (cant say i saw your cricket one either).

and i dont know about those statistics Ben - although that 12 year old from newbury was caught drink driving again last week - so i think your probably right with the increase in unlicensed, uninsured drivers rising...

And that was my point JA - while you managed to react to that, a new driver may not have...

[Jinxed]

Must admit that im pretty unconcerned by that news.... and the measures they suggested to combat it!

ban youngsters from driving late at night - 12pm-5am or summat - very effective measure.... stop them driving at imo the safest time of night for everyone else(we're in bed) and force them to just drive in traffic conditions(when we're not in bed thereby risking our safety) .... mmm nice

make them limited to 2 passengers -hmmmm yeah this'll work .... 5 youngsters in one car = 1 car, 5 youngsters with limit = 1 car with 3 people and 2 people in one car = 2 cars with youngsters... overnight the number of cars driven by young people goes thru the roof... why am i sceptical of these measures?

the roads will never be a nice safe lovely cushy environment in which anyone can get in a car drive craply forever and get away with it.... there will always be dangers..... thats part of the unwritten agreement a driver undertakes when they buy a car and start driving.... you put yourself at some risk.

and then theres all the other idiots cos the youngsters arent always the cause of accidents....

[Bibbs]

I know when I passed (I was 17 or 18) out of about 20 mates, I'd say only 3 had cars (and yeah, we all used to get in those three cars).

I got my first car when I was 22 .. so I was really rubbish (12 lessons, 5 years before, you get the idea). But now you have a lot of kids who drive. I wasn't even insured on my parents cars (having 3 IG20 cars on the drive didn't help).

I know they always say you'll stack you first car, just seems that the "kids today" are stacking harder.

So what's the cause?

Too little experiance (the test process should be longer?)

Too many passing (but the tests are harder!)

Just a bending of the figures as there is a larger quantity of teens on the road?

[Moffmo]

My "survival of the fittest" was very tounge in cheek (I've said the same thing about a "chasing after ball" gene that I'm thinking will cause kids to run onto roads, die and then ruin cricket within a few generations, as only the lazy kids will survive).

It is a very scary statistic. Are there any details about the %age increase in the number of young drivers over the last 5 years? (not licence holders, but car drivers).

When I passed, only a few of my mates had cars .. now it seems you are in a minority if you don't.

And that was my point JA - while you managed to react to that, a new driver may not have...

I had to react to that last week, old bloke with a FULL car, a metro (was it a red one??).

Just decided to go on the rounabout just as i was approaching him, it was clear for like half an hour, and he set off when i was on it :ffs:.

When i pipped him he didnt even look at me or see what the horn was for!

[Jinxed]

Just a bending of the figures as there is a larger quantity of teens on the road?

and as im sure you and nearly everyone is aware.... you can show anything by warping statistics.

is this the first time the officials didnt warp the figures to fit what they wanted to say? I seriously doubt it

heres a sobering thought i found... what can any of us do about it? nada, nich, Bosch

[mikeb]

That graph is slightly misleading though - neither y axis starts at zero. Look at the figures in context, 19 deaths per 100,000. That's must be lower than the number that are killed through alcohol realted violence, suicide, and lots of other causes. Note that the death figures (presumably) include unlicenced drivers and scooters - who else is driving at the age of 16?

I'd say part of it is due to cars feeling safer, making people more complacent, and the whole detachment from the road thing makes cars feel slower than they used to.

Although the number of licences issued to youngsters has gone down, it seems that many of the ones that do drive, are the kids with well off parents who buy them (relatively) decent cars. When I learnt to drive (not that long ago), most of my friends were driving beat up old things - partly because it was the only way to get insurance at a resonable price. Now insurance seems to be expensive for a young driver whatever car they are driving, so they might as well choose a newer, faster car.

On top of all that, could it be that the roads are actually a more dangerous place for the uninitated. Driving styles in the country are so aggressive, and most new drivers are on a rapid learning curve to cope with it. The figures don't say how many of those 19 deaths are actually caused entirely by the young driver, perhaps it's all the other, more experienced idiots on the roads that are partly responsible?

[Karma Supra]

I totally agree!!!!! there is not enough sense of danger anymore in modern cars... safety cells, abs, traction control, airbags....

I rememerb JC s theroy of halfing the amount of road accidents... "replace the airbag with a big metal spike"

[DaveSR]

That graph is slightly misleading though - neither y axis starts at zero. Look at the figures in context, 19 deaths per 100,000. That's must be lower than the number that are killed through alcohol realted violence, suicide, and lots of other causes. Note that the death figures (presumably) include unlicenced drivers and scooters - who else is driving at the age of 16?

I'd say part of it is due to cars feeling safer, making people more complacent, and the whole detachment from the road thing makes cars feel slower than they used to.

Although the number of licences issued to youngsters has gone down, it seems that many of the ones that do drive, are the kids with well off parents who buy them (relatively) decent cars. When I learnt to drive (not that long ago), most of my friends were driving beat up old things - partly because it was the only way to get insurance at a resonable price. Now insurance seems to be expensive for a young driver whatever car they are driving, so they might as well choose a newer, faster car.

On top of all that, could it be that the roads are actually a more dangerous place for the uninitated. Driving styles in the country are so aggressive, and most new drivers are on a rapid learning curve to cope with it. The figures don't say how many of those 19 deaths are actually caused entirely by the young driver, perhaps it's all the other, more experienced idiots on the roads that are partly responsible?

You could well be right ........

But i'd have a guess that around 9/10 haven't even passed their test :ffs:

[Bibbs]

I totally agree!!!!! there is not enough sense of danger anymore in modern cars... safety cells, abs, traction control, airbags....

I rememerb JC s theroy of halfing the amount of road accidents... "replace the airbag with a big metal spike"

Playstation Generation?

Kids too used to flipping their cars 13 times down the high street on Need For Speed, and then realise there isn't a "reset" button in real life?

[Jinxed]

Kids too used to flipping their cars 13 times down the high street on Need For Speed, and then realise there isn't a "reset" button in real life?

The button at the bottom right side of my steering wheel isnt a reset button :o oh man your joking ....gotta go n check it right now as i didnt try it yet as i was doin so well :( Please tell me I still have an anti car on roof button.... I couldnt live without being able to get my car back on its wheels when ive rolled it at the push of a button.... how seriously wrong would that be?

scarilly i think Bibbs might be onto something with this rofl

[Fidgits]

Actually, I think Ben's close, but not quite on the spot...

You cant blame games/movies, as we had outrun, sega rally etc when we were young...

I think the problem is a lack of consequence in the country at the moment..

I dont know about others, but I was brought up with a very firm idea of if i did something wrong there were consequences. If you got in trouble, your parents would side with the teachers, police etc... infact, there was double punishment, you got detention at school, then got home and were grounded for getting detention...

Whereas, nowadays, kids seem to get away with murder, if they are held in detention, parents go and have a go at teachers and take them home...

They havent been brought up to be aware that life has consequences... so they take bigger risks, they dont think as much and are more reckless... theres no respect, and as such, they are more likely to overstep the mark...

[Bibbs]

Nice one Ian .. back to the "this country is going to the dogs" thead :D

And I hardly think Outrun (or even better Pole Position) were even close to the "realism" of modern games (where your car caught fire and you got "Game over" .. now your car flashes, re-rights itself and you get extra Kudos points .. far more realistic).

[Fidgits]

Nice one Ian .. back to the "this country is going to the dogs" thead :D

And I hardly think Outrun (or even better Pole Position) were even close to the "realism" of modern games (where your car caught fire and you got "Game over" .. now your car flashes, re-rights itself and you get extra Kudos points .. far more realistic).

why is it we always end up on that subject!

But seriously, i do think it comes down to awareness of consequence, and i was agreeing sort of - after all, your original playstation generation post hinted towards that, that in these Need For Speed games the only consequence for smashing into other cars and the scenery is you lose a few seconds, whereas in the real world, people die.

[Karma Supra]

I always liked the auto repair button in the carmageddon games..

That and the "cunning stunt" bonus for running over a line of pedestrians in one long sustained drift...

it was very politically correct though, you could run over people in wheels chairs and on zimmer frames too

[Jinxed]

in these Need For Speed games the only consequence for smashing into other cars and the scenery is you lose a few seconds, whereas in the real world, people die.

Nooo u also hafta foot repair bills and in some you hafta put up with driving around in a banged up car till its fixed with the money you got from doing missions that are often illegal in some respect... the shame.... far better to die j/k like

im with you both... to an extent... im not gonna label all younguns as having no respect, discipline, awareness of consequence however it gets termed but there are some who id suspect leave childhood with the view theyre untouchable and then struggle to adapt to being an adult with all the responsibilities that entails... i think genuine dificult to avoid accident situations and other peoples lousy erratic driving aside, this group probably makes up a larger percentage of the current statistics. lawless kids becoming lawless adults. Still think the government will never fulfill the ideal of having a zero bodycount on the roads.... the inherent problem being its an ideal.

on the flipside... though im sad at the thought some of these muppets take others with them ... im in fact not bothered remotely about lawless kiddy/adults wipeing themselves out... id give them bonus points for doing something worthwhile with their lives

[Flat Pack]

However, just remember being a 'good driver' isnt about who can drive fastest down a country lane - good driving is about always being in control of your car while fulyl aware of your surroundings

Remember that and you won't go far wrong :)

They havent been brought up to be aware that life has consequences... so they take bigger risks, they dont think as much and are more reckless... theres no respect, and as such, they are more likely to overstep the mark...

Indeed, people refusing to take responsibility for their own actions is becoming a real problem (and not just on the roads). Just this morning someone at work told me how a MINI had come round the corner in his street, crashed into a parked car and then stopped. He'd thought they were going to leave a note or something, but they just checked around to make sure nobody had seen and drove off. Luckily they didn't notice him and he has their registration, so hopefully they'll be learning a lesson in responsibility and consequences quite soon.

Then there's the number of times I've heard people recounting crashes they've had and saying 'It wasn't my fault, it just skidded / wouldn't turn in / came round on me, there was nothing I could do'. Cars don't 'just' do things, they happen because at some point you made a mistake. Or perhaps it was the diesel or gravel on the road made you crash? Sorry, you not identifying the risk made you crash. Sad thing is, if you can't take responsibility for that you won't learn from it and it'll happen again. Some people keep 'just' having crashes.

I've even heard of people crashing into parked cars and then denying it was their fault!? I mean come on... you crashed into a stationary object and that's somebody elses fault?

[Demonic Angel]

Although the rate of teenage deaths is horrible.... we live in a world where kids can do, pretty much whatever they like.... with little or no comeuppance. As Jinxed has mentioned, there's no discipline or respect for anything.

Confidence on the road is great, but its when it turns to c0ckiness that problems start arising, showing off to ones mates etc etc

Personally I think the age limit to drive should be raised to 18 - in many cases a 16 year old is not mature enough to apply for a licence and a 17 year old is not mature enough to be responsible for a heap of metal that could kill someone (or themselves).

I think people should be made aware of that before they're given the keys to a learner car and told to do turns in the road.... people always think "That'll never happen to me" and statistics prove that more young, new drivers are hurt or killed in RTA's than any other age group....

Maybe I'm just another statistic, but it still taught me a valuable lesson, that as lovely as cars are, be in the wrong place at the wrong time... and you're time is up!

[stevetubbyturbo]

Why am i not surprised by those statistics

The amount of young drivers i see on the roads every day charging along with noise be produced by subwoffers the size of a small country and wheel spining there tyres at every junction and overtaking on blind corners and blind hills total.

I dont know how you can stop a teenager driving like a numpty (not saying all teenagers are numpty drivers) as have you ever tried telling a teenager anything and get them to listen and take notice as the marjority of them are more intrested in impressing there mates on now much BHP their car has got and that they think they are the best driver in the world.