Found this - statistically younger drivers appear to be getting worse

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4871854.stm

 

I totally disagree with this- Young drivers are getting worse..

When I was 17 on my part time job I managed to save up 700 quid to buy my first car and the insurance was 900 quid.

So thats 1600 quid... on 200 quid a month as a part timer... with a slow ass car which was a 1100 Fiesta Festival... nice!!!

Now.. any 17 year old can go and get a 1.2 Clio on 0% finance and free insurance... or any manor of cars for that fact...

When I was 17 this was not in the slightest bit possible.. it never happened....

Newer cars are a lot faster and they're more accesable to younger drivers.


OH YEH AND EDIT.. the theory test is more envolved too and the driving test is a bit different as well.. I'd say its more difficult to pass now.

 

should only allow up to 1100 cc cars for up to 20 year olds,maybe restricted to 70 mph.bit like the motorbikes.
i remember only being able to afford a 1.1 escort-p reg 1976 and the insurance was silly then,but it was a lot slower than the 1.1/1.2 cars of today.probably stronger built than todays saxos etc.

too many kids driving like theyre in too fast too furious now!

maybe im just getting old now fook 36 on friday

 

Im not sure about this bit....

"Much research has suggested that the 'car culture' - those young people whose lives rotate around cars - leads to a poor safety record," he added.

"As it is unlikely that those teenagers who are mad on cars will defer learning to drive, it could be that a higher proportion of young drivers now comes from this high-risk group."

 

Has anyone other than me noticed that the number involved are fairly small? I think the increase was from roughly 120-150 since 2000.

 

I agree................learn to actually drive before you can be allowed to be behind the wheel of a drivers car.............just because you've passed a test doesn't mean you can drive...............

 

Another reason for the statistic maybe is this...

Say 1 in 10 drivers killed are young- 10% then next year only 5 drivers are killed but 1 of them is still young- 20%.

Deaths go down but still same amount of young people die,. hence % goes up and people start saying more are dieing...

Because I think if you look at the stats road deaths are down.. its just that the younger people killed stays about the same amount each year... I dont think its increased much.. but as a percentage of deaths it has.


Jake

 

Absolutly... I totally agree and I am a culprit of this... 6 hours it took me to smash my first car


Jake

 

i disagree...

with about four months driving experience at the age of 17, I went and bought a chipped RS Turbo..

7 years no claims now and was driven everyday for years

mates have had quick cossies at the age of 18... 400bhp RWD at 21 ect..

its all down to the individual... can tar EVERYONE with the same brush

 

i used to work in a large insurance bodyshop and the number of saxo's/clio's etc that were badly damaged and were on the car makers own insurance deals was unbelievable

these kids can just pay £99-sign a piece of paper and drive a car away with free insurance now,if the boy/girl had worked their butt off for 2 years and saved every penny possible to be able to buy a car and insure it-maybe they would look after it a bit more

 

This is true - but % wise, how many 17 / 18 yr olds who have what are deemed 'performance cars' end up stacking them ? Most would be my guess..............not all, but the vast majority

 

Agreed. If someone said that powerful cars are dangerous and that the government should limit power to 150hp, people would go nuts, and rightly so. Yet they seem to be pretty quick to want to control any group of drivers that doesnt include them. Like I already said, its less than 200 people a year, and young drivers will always be the highest risk.

 

true S1

just I'd have been gutted if Id have had to wait until the age of 20 etc to buy an RS

can see your point tho

 

I had an XR2 just after I turned 19, so I was 'one' of them as well....... and yes, I'd have been pissed if someone said I couldn't have on eas well !! But I was one like you - I never stacked it

 

Beware of Government statistics. They are manipulated and fiddled to mislead the public. There is always a hidden agenda somewhere!

Plus, I was taking my girlfriends 17 year old sisters' car to be painted the other day - it's a 1992 1.1 Fiesta Bonus. Whilst hurtling along at the legal speed I caught up with a doddery old Mr Bean lookalike doing 40mph in a 60mph limit. I decided to overtake and then realised that her car didnt have enough power t blow the skin off a rice pudding.

My point? An underpowered car is just as dangerous as an overpowered one. The 35bhp Fiesta was dangerous! No power, crap brakes and handled like a barn door.

 

U know what would be realy interesting, is if all the old "expert" drivers sat the modern day tests I wonder just how many of them would pass first time, I suppose with them all being awesome drivers they would probably pass but it would narf be interesting , Boils my piss when u lot bang on about young drivers

 

A very fair point

 

A further point........

The girlfriends other sister's boyfriend is a fireman. He has just said that most of the RTA's he has attended have involved middle aged and older men - with only a very small proportion of young drivers being involved. May only be unique to our area of Herefordshire/Gloucestershire though??!!