Raise The Age For The Test?

[PopDorset]

As the Aygo is aimed at younger people, should the minimum age for driving be raised from 17 to 18 to avoid accidents?

Read this article first...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6904821.stm

The proposal by the Commons Transport Committee also recommends that people should spend a year having lessons Is this also right?

What do you think?

[James20]

I dont think raising the age by a year will make any difference whatsoever. The way I look at age restrictions is, if you try and stop someone (mainly teenagers) from doing somthing they will only want to do it more. I think 17 is the perfect age, old enough to be mature about learning (lets face it, if you dont pass the test, you dont get a liscence) yet not old enough to drink legally. Mixing the combination of suddenly being able to drink AND drive all at one age...well.

As for the year spent learning, Im fairly sure most people do spend about that long due to the costs of learning / retaking test etc. I say, leave it the way it is, im 20 been driving since 17 and never had an accident (touch wood). I am a relatively sensible driver though, and at the end of the day, its more about the person beind the wheels attitude to the road, rather than their age / experience.

[kenl]

I am a bit older now, but was delighted to pass my test at age 17 years 2 months. I (touch wood) have never caused an accident.

I do though have great concerns about the way some young people drive. We had a neighbour's garage wrecked by a young driver in what is a very residential cul-de-sac where nobody else ever exceeds 20mph.

I think something has to be done. I like the idea of reducing the alcohol limit to zero for young people. Perhaps also curfew and not allowing driving late at night until a certain amount of experience has been gained. The reason I say this is that a lot of incidents occur late at night.

Slightly off topic but I would rather see the alcohol age raised to 21 than a change to the driving age!!!

[Red Yaris 54]

The subject of young drivers is always going to be contentious.

We were all young once and generally thought that we were the best driver in the world..................That is human nature

[Mr_S]

There is good and bad in all, ive seen reps overtake up hills, old people loose control in car parks and smash in to other peoples cars, young people driving way beyond their limits, every age group has a bad driver among them.

I am now 21 still young but technically a more mature driver and i have never been involved in an accident. Every car i have owned on the road has been capable of 140mph. I believe it is more about self control. If i am driving through a town i simply do not see the point in driving like a looney, if there is a speed limit its usually there for a reason, if i cant see, i wont overtake....... its !Removed! simple!!

Personally i believe all young or new drivers should do an adavanced driving course or be made to take a car around a track, where i was fortunat enough for my family to own 65 acres of land i built my own rally course and took all my pent up "boy racer attitude" out on that and NOT on the public road!

Any way thats enough of me rambling on about crap!

[MKLightning]

I am a bit older now, but was delighted to pass my test at age 17 years 2 months. I (touch wood) have never caused an accident.

I do though have great concerns about the way some young people drive. We had a neighbour's garage wrecked by a young driver in what is a very residential cul-de-sac where nobody else ever exceeds 20mph.

I think something has to be done. I like the idea of reducing the alcohol limit to zero for young people. Perhaps also curfew and not allowing driving late at night until a certain amount of experience has been gained. The reason I say this is that a lot of incidents occur late at night.

Slightly off topic but I would rather see the alcohol age raised to 21 than a change to the driving age!!!

I am with you on that. I am considerably older than 21 (double and add a couple of years!). However, I don't think raising the driving age to 18 from 17 is going to make a big difference. I would hope that people of that age are sensible, but there are those who think that they are the next Sterling Moss or Lewis Hamilton (both excellent drivers) who ruin it for everyone in that age bracket. The number of times I have been driving at 60 on a single carriageway, when some punk behind me thinks I am going too slow and overtakes doing 80+. I have had stones fly up and crack my windscreen because of it. There are dangerous drivers at all ages and sensible drivers at all ages. I do think perhaps something along the lines of driving license levels should be thought about. The fact that someone passes their test in a 1.0 litre should not give them the licence to drive some turbocharged dragster that bears little resemblence both mechanically and visually to the original car.

It is very tough to decide what needs to be done, but something does.

Back off my grumpy old man box.

[Demonic Angel]

I do think perhaps something along the lines of driving license levels should be thought about. The fact that someone passes their test in a 1.0 litre should not give them the licence to drive some turbocharged dragster that bears little resemblence both mechanically and visually to the original car.

I very much agree with MKLightning.... I dont think its the age thats the problem, its the fact that a driving licence is a big responsibility and if you're young and inexperienced I believe you should be limited to what type of car you can drive.

A 1.3 litre engine limit for the first 3 years would be adequate enough.

I passed my test age 21 and I'm glad I waited as I was a lot more responsible and grown up than I ever was at 17. I bought myself a sensible car (800cc Matiz). Everyone makes mistakes on the road, errors of judgement and stuff like that. Giving 17 year olds the opportunity to razz around in a fast car only makes the situation worse - who wants to show off to their mates in a 1.0 Fiesta? And thats all it really boils down to - showing off and peer pressure...

[GIDDLEPIN]

I don't suppose for one minute this proposal will stop the tax/insurance/licence dodgers and unfortunately it won't significantly reduce the carnage on the roads caused by drivers of ALL ages.

It will however increase the coffers of the government and create a few hundred more pen pushers to process the new schemes put into place, recover even more fines for the new laws that WILL be broken and make the motorists life even more unbearable................welcome to the new stealth tax suckers!!!

Les

[Mat-O]

This Yaris TS is my first car, but I drive it sensibly, mainly because it's taken me two years to afford (with the driving lessons and insurance and whatnot) from working part-time at Tesco's, perhaps people who get given cars are more prone to be stupid. When I first passed and used my Mum's 1.0 Yaris about a year ago, I have to admit; I went through about a month of being a little bit stupid (not like really fast, but faster than I drive normally), but I think that will happen at any age when people just pass.

Also the amout of old idiots is ridiculus anyway, just as many I'd say, tearing past a line of car's in their M3's and such and such, which is more dangerous than revving a bit and general 'chavvish' behaviour, which alot of young drivers do.

[martin_longbow]

Its been said, in general people will behave the same whenever they pass. This measure will not greatly change the outcome. Has it got real support?

This is down to business interest eventually. I have heard that the long term goal of Insurers is to have the driving age increased to 21. Think of the claims that a company like AXA get from that age group across Europe. There is a long term strategy to consistently lobby to chip away at the age of a provisional, driving test standards, and eligible age for the test. The aim is to slow progress from provisional to actually being able to take legal charge of a vehicle

Having just read this, no I do not think everything is a conspiracy honestly

[sphinktar1988]

hmmmm dodge subject but i understand it

passed my test in november2005

drove mams 1ltr yaris till jan

treat it with respect

got my sr on feb 24th2006

wrapped round lampost 27th feb2006

got it bak 24th march2006

drove it with respect ever since

took being crashing, making a goon of my self, endangering my friend lifes and my own to make me realise its not clever

oh and nearly losing my lovely car £1600 of damage

but silly thing was

i was 18! so

i dont think a year makes any diffrence and i do understand why over 21's get cheaper insurance

[JappyBeast]

i dont think a year makes any diffrence and i do understand why over 21's get cheaper insurance

What he said.

I passed 3 months after my 17th birthday, thought I was a good driver and then crashed my mums escort a year later, nearly killing myself and my brother.

Gained a massive respect for safety and driving after that.

I think you need a good scare to settle yourself when you are young, you dont know how close you are to killing yourself when you are younger.

Changing the age wont change anything tho.

[James20]

I understand that some people respond positively (as far as that goes) after a serious accident. Some people do 'need' this to realise the true power and danger of a car. Ihonestly think others dont. It boils down to personality, we are all so different and no one person is the same as another. Some people actually get turned on by the danger and speed and couldnt care less who or what they hit. These are regardless of age as they are often trait behaviours (born into, genes etc etc).

An age increase of 2-3 years will do little to change these personality traits, however a serious life changing event can. Im not saying put every new driver in a crash and make em suffer. But exposure is key. Ive never had a crash myself, but ive been in one. The thought of the sound made by one car crunching another is enough to haunt anyone. Why not use scare tactics? For those of you who cringed at the thought of car crunching, you will understand. Hazard perception on a test is so unreal and artificial, put new drivers in a simulator and show them speed and danger. Costly, but in a perfect world (run mostly by me) i think it would work. haha.

You also have to consider that we are all on a forum for a relatively new car. It is unlikely that any of us would want to put our babies (cars i mean) in danger. Little chav mcchaverson down on the estate driving his clapped out saxo might have different ideas however. Too many considerations, age is merely the tip of the ice berg. I say aim deeper look for changeable variables like car type, cost of car, engine size, modifications etc.

Quick note on modifications, psychology has shown links between car modding and peacocking (showing off your feathers). Is this also linked? Should kids be allowed to drive cars with spoilers, alloys. So much to consider.

[crizzle]

I think that there should be more training such as night time driving and motorway driving. None of these are covered in the driving lessons. Is there an easy way to get these experiences without having to pay huge fees.

[MBK]

age is irellevant, mal adjusted attitudes are the issue which is very difficult to get out of someone whilst learning to drive, saying and proving to someone they are not as good a driver as they think they are is very hard until the overconfident person has his/her 1st crash

whilst learning should be made more difficult it will still be hard to remove the "i can do whatever i want, ive passed" or "im invincible in my car" perceptions most new drivers have, unfortunately this is just human nature and is more present in some drivers than others

[Alex Burns]

I must say I agree with previous comments made that making the drinking and driving age the same could have serious consequences, so I think that the driving age should stay the same. I passed my test at the age of 17 and I felt then as I do now that I was responsible enough to drive a car.

When you look at some drivers you begin to realise that people who have recently passed are the least of our worries!

[MKLightning]

Quick note on modifications, psychology has shown links between car modding and peacocking (showing off your feathers). Is this also linked? Should kids be allowed to drive cars with spoilers, alloys. So much to consider.

I would agree with that. People automatically think that cars with spoilers and kit on it are automatically faster. In my opinion some of the spoilers I've seen look ridiculous, but that's another story - each to his own. I am sure there is something psychological about this. When I have give my car a really good wash, polish and clean on the inside, I always think it runs better than it did when it was dirty!

I don't believe raising the driving age by a year will do anything. Maybe raising it up to 21 would - not sure. I would also agree there are many "senior" drivers who are also dangerous. There was a case in Los Angeles about 5 years ago where an elderly gentleman panicked and mistook the accelerator pedal for his brake pedal. He ploughed through a street market in Santa Monica killing a number of people.

I think the root of this, and many problems in today's world, has to do with the new society we live in. Many of the kids today just don't have the respect for others. Some have no respect for their teachers or families so why would they have respect for the rest of the public on the road.

[Ed_Shek]

Raising the age is a good idea I think but changing the attitudes of young drivers is even better. I do believe that the lack of respect of the younger generation might have something to do with it though. Is it that there seem to be more accidents on the roads nowadays compared with a few years ago. Also drug driving seems to be something relatively new too.

[gar]

Raising the age is a good idea I think but changing the attitudes of young drivers is even better. I do believe that the lack of respect of the younger generation might have something to do with it though. Is it that there seem to be more accidents on the roads nowadays compared with a few years ago. Also drug driving seems to be something relatively new too.

Don't think 'age' is the issue, it's 'attitude'. Most younger people are still not that mature, even though they would disagree. In 20 yrs time, they will understand this. Most accidents ARE caused by young drivers aged between 17-25. This is borne out by statistics. It is usually put down to age but is more to do with experience, the less you have, the higher the risk and young drivers are much more common then 30 years ago, when you needed to be older to afford cars.

I think it would be better if everyone spent a year on a moped/motorcycle before driving, to get more road sense and skill.

As for advanced lessons, pass plus is not really that expensive, especially as you get better training and cheaper insurance.

As a trainee driving instructor, I have learned that only 10% of ALL drivers ever take extra training after a test, which is devised soley to give you the very basic level of skill needed, to let you drive unaccompanied!!!

As for being good, every time I go for my training, I realise just how little I knew and notice just how bad most drivers really are!!!

[Demonic Angel]

Experience is the best teacher but sadly its something you can't get from a driving instructor... purely because in order to truly learn you must make mistakes... sometimes serious ones.

Sadly it might just take a 17 year old to wrap his/her car round a tree to understand just how important road safety is and just how much their actions can affect other road users.

It might sound awful but I've seen some god awful driving from (obviously!) quite young people and I've seriously wished that they'd end up in a ditch purely to teach them a lesson they'll never forget, because you know being pulled over by the police and given a caution or points is seen as some sort of mark of respect from their peers - I've heard of people who brag about having points on their licence!

And these kids are meant to be the future? I despair!

[dazwan]

I'm with the camp that doesn't think that age is a major factor. These days when I see dangerous driving it's often a 40+ driver in some rep-mobile and not an 18 year old. I'm not saying I don't see young drivers acting like idiots but most of the time I see people overtaking on brows of hills, bends, etc. it's usully an older driver who really should know better.

I do think better training is needed more than simply raising the age. I also like the idea of limiting the power output like they now do these days with motorcycles, I understand that limiting new motorcycle riders has saved a lot of lives. How about limiting young drivers to 65 bhp until they have had their license for 3 years AND are over 21? (could make it complicated for those who want to borrow the parent's car though)