Rise in teenage driving deaths - what can WE do?

Mookfish

My sister in law is currently learning to drive, with an instructor but with practice in her own car. From what I've seen and what I thought before she started to learn I beleive alot of the problem with teenage drivers is that they learn and pass their test in brand new cars with ABS and power stearing and such like, then go out in the older cars that most 17 year olds can afford that don't have these safety features and they drive like they do have ABS etc as they don't listen to people that have driven old cars because they think they know everything.

Well anyone who has driven older cars can see the problem, emergency stop in the rain in a modern car = slam on the brakes then hit the clutch. This will work in the driving instructors car, but when they do this in their 10 year old fiesta/corsa it will lock-up and slide into the car in front.

What I think would reduce teenagers crashing cars would be if they had to take the test in old cars that didn't have ABS, Power stearing etc. Even if they did get a brand new car form mummy and daddy when they passed, it would only serve to make them better drivers.

mug51

i passed my driving test when i was 18 just over a year ago, and took me 4 attempts to pass with about 80 - 100 lessons. The amount of lessons does not bother me and im happy with it because it has made me a far better driver than i would have probably been (my excuse for that many attempts). I hate speeding and avoid it (unless Newcastle united are playing on TV and i have to pop out). With me thinkin i have benefitted from extra lessons and tests i believe their should be a minimum of about 30 lessons with a qualified instructor before being able to take a test.

What stops me from speeding is the vision of a man with his kids having fun, with a smile on his face and then thinking of him in front of my car no longer with a smile or a life. i couldnt hurt nevermind killing someone who is smiling (not sacastically), eating or sleeping no matter how much i hate them. i can just picture my reason for not speeding as an advert.

Boy racers aka show offs spend so much money to make their cars look and sound faster than it actually is, one thought he was so quick from stand still that he pulled out not far from infront of me and his acceleration was terrible. The only way they can make up for the poor performance of their car is to go at high speed.

scooters hav restrictors put in to limit the maximum speed for those with learner plates displayed, although they are easily removable from scooters, i think they could try them in cars for those with new driver plates which could be compulsary for a few months, however, a downside being shared cars.

scheming_gypsy

Mookfish wrote:

My sister in law is currently learning to drive, with an instructor but with practice in her own car. From what I've seen and what I thought before she started to learn I beleive alot of the problem with teenage drivers is that they learn and pass their test in brand new cars with ABS and power stearing and such like, then go out in the older cars that most 17 year olds can afford that don't have these safety features and they drive like they do have ABS etc as they don't listen to people that have driven old cars because they think they know everything.

Well anyone who has driven older cars can see the problem, emergency stop in the rain in a modern car = slam on the brakes then hit the clutch. This will work in the driving instructors car, but when they do this in their 10 year old fiesta/corsa it will lock-up and slide into the car in front.

What I think would reduce teenagers crashing cars would be if they had to take the test in old cars that didn't have ABS, Power stearing etc. Even if they did get a brand new car form mummy and daddy when they passed, it would only serve to make them better drivers.

i kinda agree with what you're saying but a lot of younger drivers have 'modified' Saxo's, 106's etc etc (free insurance) but there's very few older cars on the road in general.

What i've never been able to get my head around is the cars the instructors use, which i think leads to a lot of accidents. You take lessons in 1L Micra's and Mini's and other small engined small cars. If people learnt to drive in a bigger car with a bigger engine then they'd learn how to handle a car the same size as what they're going to after they pass their test.
When i passed my test i couldn't afford a car and was sharing my bosses girlfriends as i needed to go out on jos from work. I passed in a 1L Metro and a few days later i was driving a 1.6L Cavilier. If driving instructors had a reduced rate insurance and subsidised petrol they could use something like a 1.4L Civic and new drivers can be safer.

It's not all about speed but nobody teaches you to take a corner in a car longer than the one you passed in.

aliasojo

scheming_gypsy wrote:

If people learnt to drive in a bigger car with a bigger engine then they'd learn how to handle a car the same size as what they're going to after they pass their test.
When i passed my test i couldn't afford a car and was sharing my bosses girlfriends as i needed to go out on jos from work. I passed in a 1L Metro and a few days later i was driving a 1.6L Cavilier. If driving instructors had a reduced rate insurance and subsidised petrol they could use something like a 1.4L Civic and new drivers can be safer.

It's not all about speed but nobody teaches you to take a corner in a car longer than the one you passed in.

Bloody well said s_g. I don't often agree with your posts but you speak a lot of sense in this one, lol. :beer:


The only thing that increases safety is experience and capability. Doing the above as s_g suggests would go a long way to furthering both.

scheming_gypsy

i saw your name and was expecting you to slate my idea.

del_boy_

increasing the age limit to say 20yrs say. or making teenages more aware of the risks in driving

scheming_gypsy

del_boy_ wrote:

increasing the age limit to say 20yrs say.

That doesn't tackle the issue, it puts it back a few years. Then in x amount of years when 20 year olds are the topic of a similar thread will people suggest 25?

There's nothing wrong with the age limit in my opinion.

or making teenages more aware of the risks in driving

Again, it won't work.. Sex education and teenage pregnancies are a prime example. You can show as many videos as you want about the risks of driving but people know it's a possibility of what could happen and not what will happen.

aliasojo

scheming_gypsy wrote:

i saw your name and was expecting you to slate my idea.

Nah.........I only slate you when you talk [email="cr@p"]!!!!!![/email]. :rotfl: You really did make a good point there. My son is 17 in a few weeks time, I think I'll take that point on board when he starts lessons.

mistyarthur

If you go with the aa you drive a 1.6l focus which is a family car. I agree with s_g's point too because so many people pass in small cars and they are screwed when it comes to parking a bigger car when they get their own.

westie666

If you have driving instructors going for cars with bigger engines (1.4l, 1.6l, 2.0l etc) If the new driver takes the pass plus course , or ADI Skill for Life, they could be faced with a different problem.

If they take thier Skill for Life in a 1.6 Civic for example, where they learn skills like overtaking. When they go back to thier 1.0l cars and put these skills into practise, they could find that they dont have the pickup that they had with the Civic. Although they should be taught to drive within thier limits, some will take it too far, and take too many chances.

Also nearly ended up in a head on today..... coming up to a junction when traffic heading straight (into junction) generally dont indicate. Today there were 2 trucks infront of me, heading straight and not indicating.
I was turning right - right of road goes to the right.
The guy coming out of the junction assumed I was going left (because I was not indicating) and pulled out - then gave me the usual fingers and verble, but didn't seem to realise that HE was in the wrong!!!!

I am 21 and drive a Chevvy Tacuma, picasso type MPV, as so it is not a 'boy racer' type car, but because people see the young driver behind the wheel, they 'stereotype' them.

This is a prime example of the stigma that is attached to young drivers now.....