Death Rate Doubles For Teenage Drivers!

[knightrider]

i agree with you there steve i know enough mates who seem to think there invincible and tak ethe stupidist of risks blind corners etc. ive come off the worst of all my mates and although i like speed im looked upon as one of the more sensible ones, they just need 2 wise up, i spose they'll get whats coming to them

[DaveSR]

Everybody is blaming the kids where as I think it's the parents faults why kids are turning out like they are without having any respect. My dad wouldn't let me borrow his car and go out for a blast in it with my mates ..... my dad would also take my car keys off me if I was to drive around like a fool in my own car.

I also think that the coppers are to blame as well. When I see a cop car about I generally tend to slow down and drive alot more cautiously for a while ....... but they are no where to be seen and we all know where the speed camera's are now ;) !

[Gnome]

I'm split on this.

Having been on bikes before in a car, I had to go through a restricted test process.

Basically, anyone under 21 can only take the "A1" license route. You take the test on a 125cc motorbike, and for two years you're restricted to 33bhp. after 2 years, you can ride anything you want, but if you've say, 19, insurance is killer on anything over 600cc.

If you're 21 or over, you take your DAS on a 500cc (thereabouts) motobike, and can then ride anything you like.

I would say a restricted process would be ideal for new drivers, but how could you restrict a 1000cc car?

Also, I'm of the sense that you're also punishing those who are driving sensibly and aware. However, that seems to be rarer these days.

Do we go ahead and throw everyone in the same basket, or do we enfore something like the Pass Plus scheme to all new drivers?

I can't see the passenger rule being enforced, or the curfew. Besides, are accidents happening when more people are in the car, or at a certain time of night? what happens to the yuong lad or lass on a night shift - how do they get to work?

[Tegan]

Or perhaps it was the diesel or gravel on the road made you crash? Sorry, you not identifying the risk made you crash.

Im sorry but have you ever tried to identify diesel spilled on the road travelling at 30mph? That one is unforseable im afraid! :!Removed!:

But i honestly cannot see any of these measures working at all, one idea i think would be better would be to limit the engine capacity of the cars that a newly passed driver can have for say the first year or so, so they could only have a 1ltr or 1.1 etc etc, and enforce it by the taxing procedure, ie they check your licence and reg document when you go to get car tax etc etc

I think that is more enforceable than say trying to limit the number of people in the car and certain times of day when they can drive , as this is impossible to control!

Of course there would be ways round that - like re-bores etc etc

[Flat Pack]

I doubt raising the driving age to 18 will really make a great deal of odds, people will still have the same attitude when they're first let loose behind the wheel anyway. Most young people are already restricted to small engined superminis and euroboxes by insurance anyway so I doubt that'll make any difference either. Targetting any licenced, legal driver is the wrong approach anyway, get rid of all unlicenced ones first before placing any more restrictions on anyone else.

Actually spotting diesel / oil or any other sort of spillage on a dry road isn't that hard, on a wet road its tricky (but bikers manage it) :) Diesel spills are pretty rare though, they just magically seem to appear whenever someone barrels into a bend too fast and bins it and then disappear again before anyone else comes along ;)

[Plusser]

When I passed my test in my late teans, unless you earnt mega bucks and could afford that 205 GTI, you made do with a second hand car was built in an era when it was likely to break down and (unless it was a mini) be a rear wheel drive car that handled like a sack of potatos. As a result you learnt how to control the car properly, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have a very big accident, but you would run the risk of having to walk home.

Nearly all cars built since I passed my test are front wheel drive, unless of course you are talking about an upmarket car such a BMW or Merc. As a result even the most boring car will have good handling and corner very well. But the hidden danger of front wheel drive is that you have absolutely no warning that you are about to hit the limit, resulting in complete loss of control, with a high likelihood of a high speed crash as the speed at which the control is lost is much greater.

The problem is that many young drivers want their thrills; they see that driving fast as one way of getting one. I would much rather see inexperinced drivers given time to understand the physics on how a modern car handles in a place where they are under full supervision, before being let loose with a more powerful car on the road. Perhaps then then may being to understand that pelting down the road at top speed, especially in poor weather conditions, is a very bad idea.

[Al J]

I've got to this thread late so most of what I believe has already been said and very eloquently too, if I may say so.

My apologies for snipping some of your quotes for brevity.

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...

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.

The most sensible post I've read anywhere for a long time.

Of course, as an 'oldie' I think there's more to it than just the safety of our cars nowadays lulling us into a sense of false security. There's also the fact that there are more cars on the road so more 'targets', if you will, for the irresponsible or unaware driver to hit.

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?

There may be something in this. Alright, it will be on a more subtle level but many young people live without fear. It's partly instinctive (the young hunter and all that); partly the impetuosity of youth and partly the need for thrills - the adrenaline fix. Oh and Fidgits' comment about the lack of consequences for their actions hit the nail on the head.

When I passed my test in my late teans, unless you earnt mega bucks and could afford that 205 GTI, you made do with a second hand car was built in an era when it was likely to break down and (unless it was a mini) be a rear wheel drive car that handled like a sack of potatos. As a result you learnt how to control the car properly, because if you didn't, you wouldn't have a very big accident, but you would run the risk of having to walk home.

Nearly all cars built since I passed my test are front wheel drive, unless of course you are talking about an upmarket car such a BMW or Merc. As a result even the most boring car will have good handling and corner very well. But the hidden danger of front wheel drive is that you have absolutely no warning that you are about to hit the limit, resulting in complete loss of control, with a high likelihood of a high speed crash as the speed at which the control is lost is much greater.

The problem is that many young drivers want their thrills; they see that driving fast as one way of getting one. I would much rather see inexperinced drivers given time to understand the physics on how a modern car handles in a place where they are under full supervision, before being let loose with a more powerful car on the road. Perhaps then then may being to understand that pelting down the road at top speed, especially in poor weather conditions, is a very bad idea.

Very good points, well made. I do think though that my mates and myself were still capable of risking life and limb in the Escorts, Beetles, Anglias and minis of our day. Maybe even more so.

Talking of the physics of the motor car, it also applies to many so-called experienced drivers who have no idea how it all works. Some willl barrel down a straight, oblivious of how hard it may be to stop their vehicle but brake at the slightest curve in the road for fear of rolling it!

I'm also amazed when teaching car stopping distances as part of GCSE Science, how many youngsters think a car will stop in one or two metres, even if at speed.

[Jinxed]

If the NRA can get away with saying that 'guns dont kill people, people do' then im pretty sure we can establish that cars dont kill people either :)

maybe its just semantics but it would seem to me that education and experience are the only effective tools that are going to have any effect whatsoever. There is always a way around any method of prevention and devious people are very well equipped to exploit any potential method of defeating measures taken to stop them.... imo the best we can hope for is to maximise the use of available resources in an effort to stop needless deaths in the 'worthwhile' category of people. As for the rest that cant be educated maybe experience is going to be the only thing that works. Get to them while theyre young and impressionable .... and some initiatives are currently being aimed at this target group.... good luck to their success!

Dont get me wrong ...this isnt a holier than anyone sentiment, i have been and still am occasionally a complete pillock and i know how much education has failed to impress upon me the implications of stoving into something very hard very quickly.... actually having escaped several situations very luckilly im aware that my driving has become much more safe despite the odd lapse almost purely due to the actual act of crashing and thru the realisation of how very very lucky ive been..... might notta been here but for milliseconds and millimeters....

an evocative subject this is

[ronnyboy696]

as long as they dont hit mw when they do crash, i really dont care. i hope they do crash. its their own fault. ha ha

[Blue84]

Hmm, I am not surprised either - I also work in Motor Insurance and speak to a lot of young drivers..however not all are to blame as some older people cause their accidents too.