Thetownend.com

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20091114/tuk-teenagers-killed-in-car-smash-horror-45dbed5.html

Sad,sad story becoming all too familar,17 year old lad from Swindon sadly died in a crash last weekend also.
Hope the youngsters on the TEF dont take offence because none is meant but surely its time to review the age young people can drive a car....now ime not suggesting young peeps are all reckless we know thats not the case but surely with cars as fast as they are and the volume of traffic maybe its time to higher the age for driving......it seems to me that more and more young people are dying on our roads and no one seems to bat an eyelid......anyone got any feelings on this or am i talking tosh....as usual!!

leefer i agree to a point, but i witness absolute cretins of all ages at the wheels of cars.
i'd make road rules and regs so much tougher than they currently are, if i could.

I'm going to sound very disrespectful here, but all those stories in the Adver this week about the lad who died out at Wroughton really fucked me off.

He was on the wrong side of the road and therefore solely responsible for the accident and ultimately his own death. I couldn't give a fuck if his family think he's a saint, he drove like a twat and killed himself - he doesn't deserve all those column inches.

Blimey Sam thats harsh.....all ime saying is i think youngsters see cars as fun and fast......i see it as a fucking expensive thing to keep on the road and an object to get from Ato B.

With a bit of luck a similar thing will happen to someone you love and I can then express similar sentiments and see how you like it, fuckwit.

samdy has a point.
the adver has been awful lately and the running of that story over the last week has been unbelievable.
the mum blaming the car, and in the next breath saying the lad knew about cars and was a qualified mechanic.then the survivor saying they crashed at 80mph in the next days edition.
i feel for his family and friends, but it seems a cut and dried one to me

I won't like it Dave, but that's not the point. He drove like a twat and paid the ultimate price. I just don't understand why it's deemed newsworthy for over a week.

That what i was trying to say in the original post..lets not all get nasty folks...remember someone who knew the lad may be looking at this......surely the time has come to up the age.

As some one else said, its not only young people who have accidents! Although more accidents are caused by young drivers. Its more about education than the driving age.

I know the survivor Shaun i shall be sure to bring him to the merlin next week so you can explain your feelings.Every single driver has done something wrong when driving and in hindsight probably realise they were bloody lucky this lad was unlucky.

My two eldest (one girl aged 20 and one boy aged 17) drive sensibly. If they were any different then I would have failed to instil a sense of responsibility into them.

I'm sure that they have "their moments" on the road but come on, I've been driving for many years - all of the way through my teens and twenties - and so have most of you without getting killed or wiping anybody else out.

Crocodile tears.

I'm 19, and I drive like an old git. The closest I've ever come to crashing was a distinctly middle-aged tale as my Girlfriend was shouting at me to turn right so I did, not realising the lane I was in was intended to go straight on. Bloody Back seat drivers.

Is it because we let people drive too early? Is it because we have cars that are too fast and powerful? Is it because our speed limits are set too high? Is it because our roads are too busy? Is it because our roads are too narrow? Is it because we dont educate our children properly? Is it because of our culture?

I suspect that it is a combination of all of these things. Don't think that there is a single answer, but think the strategy should include improving public transport, encouraging less driving and more cycling and reducing the amount of fireball XL5 turbo injection nutter bastards on the road.

Politely - fuck off and die. Please.

Alternatively dress yourself as a nanny and take up knitting.

xxx

you get people who take the most stupid risk just to gain a few yards.overtaking, just to then cut infront for what?you catch up again at the next set of lights.it's madness.
head on smashes are down to thismost of the time, and it often takes out the innocent driver doing fuck all wrong on the other side of the road.
i'd ban overtaking completely on normal roads, and prosecute drivers who dont make sufficient progress ie drive to slowly.

Agree completely.


Agree again.


Ahhh...now you are getting into the realms of fantasy. It's a lot like what decides what the the speed limit is. How can you have a blanket limit that caters for all road conditions, traffic density, time of day etc? It's all bollocks. Appropriate speed for the circumstances is what it is all about. And that is either a common view (if you take the 85% rule), or it's what you think it is.

I would go with common sense, whether it is overtaking or 'making reasonable progress'. Unfortunately the 5% of idiots in every society tar the majority with the same brush. Target them and then most of us will be happy in our driving.

Oh! Didn't expect such a compelling argument against my point of view. Certainly enough to sway me from my thoughts that we should try to improve the national transport infrastructure, be a little greener and improve air quality, preserve resources and move with the times rather than bury our heads in the sand.

Who are you to tell the rest of us what to do? What gave you the right to insist that I take public transport to one of my jobs (1.5 hours in the car, 4 hours by train - costing about five times more), start cycling 75 miles to my other job or drive a Toyota Prius instead of what CO2 fire breathing demon nutter bastard that I feel I can pay the tax for?

The compelling argument here is that I live in reality with real restrictions on time and money. You live in a dream world that entails living in the sand. I prefer a house.

I didn't insist on you doing anything. What I said was that there wasnt a one size fits all solution to the problem that leefer brought up. I talked about improving infrastructures, improving public transport and encouraging few drivers on the road. Surely that would help you on your travels that public transport didn't currently provide an adequate alternative to? (Oh, didn't I say something about improving public transport?) As for a Prius over something sporty - Seems to me as if the former would get you to your workplace in the same amount of time. The sporty little number is a cultural thing which has been fed over the years by advertising as a positive, manly, macho thing through linking with wotor sport, speed and power. If we were to change the culture and make cleaner living and more responsible actions as manly and macho, maybe the country and world would be a better place. (Yep, that does sound a bit hippy doesn't it.)

When you cut away all the emotional stuff then this is pure Darwinism.

No, sorry. Don't talk to me about 'changing the culture'. You have ZERO right to even suggest that. Are you the architect of the Matrix or something?  And no, it isn't even remotely hippy. Hippies leave everybody else alone and get on with their own lives, thank you very much.

People are free to decide what they want, framed by their circumstances and abilities. A truly free market would enable the best for everyone.

Sicko controlling dirt bag.

dont some people need controlling?

stop abusing everyone you dont agree with talk talk.it does you no favours

<shrug>

I don't need any favours. I just want people to stop fucking interfering with other people's lives. It's no wonder I get angry.

Tractors?  I get stuck behind them a lot on my commute - if you ban me from overtaking Ill take about 3 hours to cover 20 miles. 

How the fuck do you propose this. If I go and buy a paper then on the walk there people are interfering with my life - ie by being in my way and walking too slowly. The people in front of me in the queue are interfering with my life. The price of the paper interferes with my life, my kids fucking around interfere with my life, unless you're going to live like a hermit then tuogh shit. Life is unfair - live with it.

tractors would fall in the second part of my post there.if they hold up traffic pull over and let it pass.

how did this thread turn into an argument about free markets and "sicko controlling dirt bags"?

fucking hell.

anyway, most of the bad driving i see around comes from people who have (probably) been driving for years. often with children in their car.

a few weeks ago i was behind an old woman who was driving erratically, swerving all over the place and moving into the middle of the road when there was oncoming traffic - she clearly didn't have a fucking clue where she was or what she was doing and it's a miracle that for the 10 miles i followed her (i was too scared to overtake her) that there wasn't an accident.

I think youngsters can drive excitably because driving is relatively new to them. If you increase the minimum age you'll only delay when they'll drive like that and not their driving behaviour.

The only way is through education, maybe some sort of course which is a pre-requisite before you receive your license.

Eco-bollocks attack dog fuelled by Ruddles County  :D

It's not always possible and it's not just tractors. You get muppets in cars doing 35mph just because it's dark and there's a little bit of drizzle.

The worst driver I have seen this week slammed the brakes on every time he/she hit some standing water. I decided to back off after it happened a couple of times as it was causing me to do the same and the car was unstable.

ive been driving 7 years ai still drive like a prick sometimes, im my mind i know im in control and am always aware of whans around me, but thats still no excuse really.

saying that compared to some of the driving i see im a saint.

its begs the question, if there are speed limits why make cars that can go in excess of this, or what not restrict the limits.
I have never seen the point in a car that can go 150mph.

Until he realise his personal demons, this sick man will continue to be abusive and a sex pest.

Are there more youngsters being killed on the roads than ten years ago?

That wasnt my point..that wasnt what i said...it dosnt matter if more or less are being killed Sonic....the point ime trying to make is i personally think that the age should be upped for the age of driving.

you can drive a truck at 18 now which is lunacy imo.
maybe a periodic driving test should be introduced as drivers of all ages are shite at it?
middle lane hoggers,pensioners completely oblivious to what is going on around them,bmw-merc wankers tearing in and out of lanes and cutting across you to exit the motorway.the list is endless really with examples of dangerous and stupid driving

No, it is about 22% lower (the same as most road user groups) since the 1994/1998 average.

[2008]

http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/162469/221412/221549/227755/rrcgb2008.pdf (http://www.dft.gov.uk/adobepdf/162469/221412/221549/227755/rrcgb2008.pdf)

if the problem is not neccesarily the age of drivers then perhaps it's the speed limits? some of the roads around here that are single lane have no speed limits, so people think it's fine to drive at 60 when they are blind corners and nowhere to get out of the way except for high grass verges.

You need one of these James.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Sherman_Tank_WW2.jpg/800px-Sherman_Tank_WW2.jpg

I've had three accidents in 38 years, two of which were my fault - lack of concentration for one tuning on my radio and the second, driving too fast to take a bend.


Youngsters on a whole today seem to drive with a lot more sense than they did in my generation. I think it was Sonic who mentioned drivers of other generations drive a lot worse than the younger element.

Well I 100% support that, ladies driving on the school run in their big 4x4s are very unpredictable for a start. Kids in the back must be a great distraction, but ladies please learn where your indicators are. The old man in the cap should definitely be banned they not only drive about 10 mph below the speed limit they annoy most other drivers on the road with their dithering.

Last week I was nearly mowed down in a car park by a blind old fucker who just carried on driving away after I had leaped to safety in the trolley rack. Two weeks ago an old chap again with cap was stopped in Windsor driving the wrong way up a one-way street the band were just about to come down at the time so it was actually quite funny.


Back to the original subject, very sad for the family concerned.

ouch

Mercedes drivers are a fucking pain in the arse.

Twice within 5 minutes yesterday i was overtaken on double white lines on a bendy road and for what? They end up getting held up by a tractor and we catch them up again.

After the first one overtook us round a bend my mrs then bollocked me when i said "i hope the cunt crashes, that'll learn him". I couldnt think why!

Ive also had one bloke try and pull me out of my car at traffic lights a few years back when i wouldnt let him overtake. He said he'd been involved in an accident a few years before in which someone died. His reaction when i said "Why am i not surprised, didnt learn your cunting lesson then?" was a touch agressive. He cursed me when i ran over his foot and drove off.

Wanker :D

i think you're right. all of the roads into where i live are single track and i've lost count of the amount of times i've had to get right up on the grass verge to avoid a 4x4 driver who wasn't in the mood to slow down. my poor little clio don't like that :(

i'm 23 and have been driving for five years. never had an accident in the UK. when i was a new driver, i was constantly trying to push the limits of what my shitty little car was capable of and to see what it was like. i've calmed down a lot since.

Not at all.

Blinkpip doesn't like me and to be honest, I don't care a jot.

i thought he was joking.

it is what you said, and I'm not sonic.