Rise in teenage driving deaths - what can WE do?

rdwarr

Quite an alarming story on the BBC at the moment. Despite all the measures being taken to curb teenage accidents the death rate is going up dramatically. We've made the Test harder and insurance almost unaffordable but it's not working.
So what can the normal adult driver on the road do to try and make things safer? Giving them a bit more room and letting things go when you've been cut up are a couple of things that can crop up every day.
Parents can also regularly go out with them after they've passed their tests just to make sure bad habits aren't creeping in too fast.
What else is there? Let's see some thoughts on how to buck this disturbing trend in the future.

xycom1

I have to admit that I haven't read the story. But from when I heard it reported on the radio earlier, it was implied that alcohol and drugs had a heavy involvement with the rise in deaths.

IMHO if people are going to be that stupid as to drive whilst under the influence than they deserve nothing better. It's just a shame about the innocent lives that they take with them.

rdwarr

xycom1 wrote:

I have to admit that I haven't read the story. But from when I heard it reported on the radio earlier, it was implied that alcohol and drugs had a heavy involvement with the rise in deaths.

IMHO if people are going to be that stupid as to drive whilst under the influence than they deserve nothing better. It's just a shame about the innocent lives that they take with them.

Many teenagers do stupid things - it's part of growing up. But I wouldn't suggest that they deserve to die as a result. For every child killed on the roads there's a grieving family who never get over it.
If you want to do something about the innocent lives lost then you have to keep the "guilty" alive too!

Happy_saver_4

How about:-

Teens who have held their licence for less than a year not being allowed to drive between 11pm and 5am

Also, they are only able to drive with young passengers in the car if an adult is also present.

I believe a law based on the above has recently been passed in California. I know other US States are very strict with teen drivers about curfews and other youngsters in the vehicle. This is solely to combat youngsters killing themselves and other innocent road users.


It seems to me a lot of 'stupid' driving by youngsters is fuelled by alcohol coupled with showing off to 'mates and girls'. In this part of Wales, we've recently had a number of young fatalities; I understand, due to these circumstances.

Hawksmuir

I think more time should be spent telling folk that a car is not just a means of getting from A to B it is also a deadly weapon.

Norma_Desmond

We have a real problem with 'boy racers' here, ironically because the roads are very quiet youngsters think that they can treat the place as a race track. The police are well aware of the problem, but seem to do nothing about it. Yes, all teenagers can do 'daft things' at times, but when they are putting other people's lives in danger, then I'm afraid that if THEY end up in a smash due to their stupidity then tough! It's when they take an innocent driver or pedestrian with them that I'll mourn....

geo555

One probable cause is the increase in the cost of learnig to drive. It now cost £70 to take a test, plus the cost of lessons and £1000+ insurance bills. Many teenagers will buy a cheap car for £200 and drive it without insurance. If they have a minor accident, they would dump the car and all they lose is £200.
In my area, 3 teenagers were killed in accidents. A 15 year old boy "borrowed" his nans car, lost control and killed two friends who were passengers. In the other accident, a 16 year old girl bought a car for £100 and crashed into a lorry and died. That is 3 avoidable deaths.
It doesn't matter what laws are introduced, deaths by irresponsibility will still happen.

VincentVega

Increase the minimum driving age to 18. Less teenagers on the road, less accidents.

Reduce police bureaucracy and put more coppers on the road. I drive around 200 miles a week and see one or two police cars a week at most (and most weeks, none at all).

Happy_saver_4

Couldn't agree more VincentVega

Thats why most people in the USA stick to the traffic laws. There's so many police cars (local & State) there always seems to be a police car round the next corner. Perhaps that's what we need here :eek:

Bob63

From what I have seen Pass Plus is very good.

However, I would encourage any parent of a teenager to drive their offspring in the direction of the IAM. The car groups are a bit "beardy" but they really do offer good advice and even at age 40 I learned an awful lot when I did the IAM test on my bike. The cool thing for kids is that although it teaches you how to drive quickly it teaches you how to do it safely and only when appropriate.

Mike

tomstickland

Loads have been crashing into walls/trees/buildings late at night near here (Forest of Dean). The local tin pot paper has now deemed the roads in the area "dangerous", they'll probably be calling for a 30mph limit on all roads to make them "safe" now.

Anyway, it's very sad, but education would probably be a good way to approach it. Tours of schools and talks from relatives etc would probably help.