A419 accidents

[Arriba]

Absolute bullshit - I was a cock when I was 17 and a cock when I was 21 (Cue you're a cock now DMR etc hahahaha zzzz)....

My driving had calmed down a bit but all you would do is postpone young lads driving like oils for 4yrs, not eradicate it. Inexperience is the problem not the starting age but that's jut life. You've got to start sometime and can't have hand-holding forever.

statistics prove age is a factor. You are right to a point though.

[@MacPhlea]

Absolute bullshit - I was a cock when I was 17 and a cock when I was 21 (Cue you're a cock now DMR etc hahahaha zzzz)....

My driving had calmed down a bit but all you would do is postpone young lads driving like oils for 4yrs, not eradicate it. Inexperience is the problem not the starting age but that's jut life. You've got to start sometime and can't have hand-holding forever.

This is a good point - I was a cock until I was 26 and to make matters worse I was given a car with blue lights and sirens...

[Honkytonk]

Of course 17yr olds are going to be worse drivers generally, they've barely had a chance to experience the full extent of British roads. It's like any activity, a bit of experience goes a long way. I passed my test 4 years ago and I'm a much better driver than I was then. But I would happily say I've never been a bad driver (least not since the early days of learning), because I fucking love it so put in the effort. Some of my mates who have been driving longer than I have are fucking nutters, and I've refused lifts from some because of it.

I've dobbed in a mate to the police once, after warning him several times about his driving (He's lucky to be alive/not have killed anyone) . He's just got round to taking a retest and passed, and he's a better driver now. I'm still worried about him/his victims if he gets worse later on though.

Saying all young people are shit, however, is just like saying all old people are shit or all middle-aged people are shit. There are people who shouldn't be behind the wheel and that's that. It's unlikely they'll improve massively over their lifespan.

Extending the driving test to include motorways would be a sensible idea. I'm lucky enough that I got a taste of the A303 when I was learning to drive, but fuck was I still terrified the first time I was between two lorries on the m4. There's too much beuracracy and not enough common sense in the test as well. You have to tick certain boxes as opposed to demonstrating your aptitude at controlling a vehicle and understanding, properly, the laws of the road. It's stupid.

[LucienSanchez]

Definitely agree about motorway driving; it's a completely different beast to any other driving (speed, number of lanes, slip roads) and should be covered as standard.

Not doing it in lessons with a qualified instructor has also limited my idiot sister from ever attempting it - she relies on trains and buses if she ever wants to leave Swindon, which is pretty sad/pathetic.

[Iffy's Onion Bhaji]

I had a few lessons on the A419 whilst I was learning. The idea is to give you a sense of the higher speed and national speed limit and also multiple lanes as well the use of mirrors and checking the blind spot before you change lanes.

The trouble is a lot of youngsters can't wait to get on the high speed roads and show off their speed. I didn't learn to drive until I was 21 and that certainly helped me in terms of understanding the dangers and acting a bit more mature behind the wheel.

[Sippo]

It's all well and good having lessons on motorways or dual carriageways, but you can't stop people drink or drug driving. It's one of those awful that someone somewhere will always do.

We don't know the circumstances of the latest accident but it applies to anyone.

[RobertT]

The age thing boils down to risk.  Both being able to assess risk and also your affinity or aversion to it.  At 16/17, kids are not that many years beyond when they couldn't cross a road safely on foot, because they had not yet learned how to properly assess the risks.
At 38 now, I can't get on a plane without a good drink inside me, too much knowledge on the potential risks, even if they are small.  As a kid I loved planes.
Same for driving with drink/drugs inside you - the younger you are, the more likely you will assess the risk badly.  That's not to say older people won't do it, just that life experience and exposure to the risks gradually grind your desire to be risky down a little.

[Simon Pieman]

It's all well and good having lessons on motorways or dual carriageways, but you can't stop people drink or drug driving. It's one of those awful that someone somewhere will always do.

We don't know the circumstances of the latest accident but it applies to anyone.

Same applies to driving without care or attention and/or speeding which you can witness a greater deal of every single day.

DMR is right, the delaying things until 21 won't help.

[Arriba]

There are probably as many if not more people learning to drive in their early 20s as those in their teens. Those under 20 have the most accidents so age is a factor.
That said an idiot is an idiot regardless of age. More drivers need banning for longer and for less.

[Simon Pieman]

There are probably as many if not more people learning to drive in their early 20s as those in their teens. Those under 20 have the most accidents so age is a factor.
That said an idiot is an idiot regardless of age. More drivers need banning for longer and for less.

The proportion of drivers which have fatal accidents between the age of 20-24 is very marginally less than the proportion aged 18 or 19 and actually less than those aged 17.

EDIT: actually the statistics are for casualties, including fatalities.

[Crispy]

Couple of people I'm friends with had on their Facebooks 'Oh it's really sad, only speaking to you last night in Lava'

If they were out on the piss and drove home, well..

[WR5]

"

[carbonwhite]

The driver wasnt drinking she fell asleep. Its pretty clear from the witness report. The car just drove off the road.

[Arriba]

The driver wasnt drinking she fell asleep. Its pretty clear from the witness report. The car just drove off the road.

As she was from Swindon and driving in Swindon I think that is unlikely.
Could have been messing about,fiddling with a phone,blowout etc,etc.

[woolster]

The driver wasnt drinking she fell asleep. Its pretty clear from the witness report. The car just drove off the road.

Might have been drinking, then fell asleep