young drivers being killed

[dingo]

In Perth (and probably all of Oz) there is currently lots of debate about the number of deaths among teenagers on our roads. It has heated up again this week when three young people (plus an older mother in another car) were killed in a head-on collision, and everyone has a their idea of a solution.
Some are suggesting a night time curfew for teens, meaning they aren't allowed to drive between say 9pm and 5am (or something like that)....unless they have an adult in the car.
Another idea is better driver training, because a lack of skill is blamed for many crashes.
My opinion on this is that its not the skill necessarily but more to do with the drivers attitude towards driving. I haven't had any advanced training but feel because I have the right attitude that I am relatively safe on the road, by not putting myself in risky situations.
The biggest problem is these people just drive like idiots on the road, you see it everyday....so I don't think more training will help, they'll probably just think they are more invincible and take even more risks.
As for the night time curfew, I can't see that being policed since there is already a lack of cops on the road...most youngsters will just take the risk and hope they aren't caught.
Thats my opinion on the subject, let me know what you guys think (i'm sure alot will probably disagree).

[saadie]

yeah yer right ...... the attitude matters ...... even if ya dont ahve skills but the right attitude ... u'd drive safely ...... my bro 20 .. hes had abt 6 accidents .... lol not major though ... i neva had an accident ..... i kinda like got the right skills and the propper attitude ... :fadein:

[TransAm]

We had this problem in the UK a couple of hundred years ago and we resolved it by rounding them all up and sending them all to an island halfway round the world!! j/k

Seriously, though, like you say you can't curfew people for a start it is probably against your constitution, and the problems will just occur during the day when there are likely to be more pedestrians around, especially the more vulnerable like young kids and old people.

Education is probably the best way forward, coupled with exceptionally heavy penalties and a zero tolerance approach on first offenders. there is no excuse for driving like a prick...

[dingo]

Originally Posted by TransAm2001 We had this problem in the UK a couple of hundred years ago and we resolved it by rounding them all up and sending them all to an island halfway round the world!! j/k

LOL....I think that might be part of our problem.

[nthfinity]

lmao, transam
in michigan... we havent had a terribly large number of fatal young drivers, but about 6 years ago, we adopted 12a-5a driving curfew until the driver was 17... or had aproval for work porposes.

we still have idiot intoxicated, and druged up fucks driving periodically killing those they drive with. 4 people i graduated with died a month after graduation because of their 'live hard' lives.

no easy solution... up the drinking age to 21? lol

[geekdiggy]

Originally Posted by dingo22 because I have the right attitude that I am relatively safe on the road, by not putting myself in risky situations.

that in itself is the WRONG attitude to have. ideally speaking every driver in the world should be nervous as a dog when on the road, because there are millions of examples that prove no matter how careful you are you are NEVER safe. there's really no such thing as safe. there's only safe-as-you-can-get. THAT's the right attitude to have.

[dingo]

Has that driving curfew made a difference in Michigan since it was implemented?
I don't think the drinking thing would help, as its not always the cause and anyway not many people actually wait till they are of age before they start drinking.
I forgot to mention, they have just introduced 'anti-hoon' laws in our state which means people cuaght being a hoon (speeding, burnouts...etc) get a strike and then after the third strike the car is taken off them. I actually agree with this one, as long as they don't get too strict with it.

[dingo]

Originally Posted by geekdiggy that in itself is the WRONG attitude to have. ideally speaking every driver in the world should be nervous as a dog when on the road, because there are millions of examples that prove no matter how careful you are you are NEVER safe. there's really no such thing as safe. there's only safe-as-you-can-get. THAT's the right attitude to have.

your right, but thats why I said 'relatively' safe...I think compared to the average young driver around here I am safer.

[Daggernite]

Aound my area you have smart guys thinking there good, speeding and acting like dickheads in there cars when they haven't even got a liscence. So I think, like already mentioned, peoples responsibility and attitudes need to change, or maybe stricter laws. But what ever changes, people will always abuse the rules, so is there anything you can do to stop deaths on the road? But anything is better than nothing.

[geekdiggy]

Originally Posted by dingo22 think compared to the average young driver around here I am safer.

still though that's the wrong way to think. you can say that you're a more cautious driver, neither you nor anyone else in this world is any safer than the dingbats who drive drunk and speed on public motorways. that's the only way to look at it unfortunately.

[possessed_beaver]

the curfue is stupid,

the reson thoes people died, is beacuse they where acting like eminem loving fuckheads that thought they would act rough and show off how awsome of a driver they are!

a curfue woulden't work at all.. unless they are going to subsadise my taxi fare's to go out clubbing evrey weekend!

the licancing system here sucks, they should change it to make driving a privlage.. not a right, lets face it.. some people just CANNOT drive no matter what, and as a result shoulden't hold a licance!

[jamberl]

Surely driver training is the answer?? Im not talking about learning to use power oversteer or anything like that, but what about some basic skills? So many young people dont appreciate the stopping distances of their cars. Also, many seem to have no 'connection' with their cars - i.e. they dont realise that they are on the edge of traction around a corner, as they are not 'listening' to their vehicle. Its just like a rollercoaster ride or something. THAT is the problem. Some dont even realise they are driving unsafely!!

As a resident of oz, I reckon the road safety debate is a joke! All the government talks about is SPEED. Ummm speed is not the issue- its speed that is appropriate for a given situation (which can be higher or lower than the posted limit) and observing what is going on around you!!

AAAARRGGH.

Road safety debates are something everyone here at JW should be concerned about. Why? Because it seems like the people who make the final decisions/recommendations make really bad ones, based on the actions of a stupid minority. I.e. 'lets reduce all speed limits by 10km/h and put speed cameras behind every bush'. Clearly this affects us all.

I could rant for hours but I think its best if I stop.



p.s. Curfew is a JOKE. Its not even addressing the real issue: lots of young people dont know how to control their cars properly.

[nthfinity]

Has that driving curfew made a difference in Michigan since it was implemented?

not as far as i know... although, when i was 16, i never had a reason to stay out later then 11pm, or drive earlier then 5 am... after all, i didnt even have my first car til i was 18 years old. i must say, that cerfew was reasonable

what did help in the licencing process was that the privilege to drive was earned by driving hours ... 50 daytime hours/parents, 10 night-time hours/parents before you could even get the restricted licence. then, you have a second session class a few months after the first permit to re-establish taught principles. after that... then at 16, you can get your restricted licence if you passed the first 2 sessions with 85% or higher (mabey 90%? ) im not perfectly sure... 100% both times here and pass the driving test.

on top of that, the restricted licence is maintained until you are 17, and drive like anybody else.

the unfortunate part is once somebody is 18, they dont need a driving test anymore, or the two driving instruction sessions.


i must say; the main thing that made me such a 'good' driver was my dad giving me the keys when he left on buisness trips... and having me drive an hour to and from work in heavy suburban rush hour every day for a month. i had learned defensive driving. now the rest of my life is dedicated to learning 'how to drive'

[dingo]

Thanks for all the responses so far, some interesting ideas. Maybe another solution is to use scare-tactics....like bringing youg drivers to morgues and make them look at what happens when you die in a car crash.

Originally Posted by possessed_beaver the reson thoes people died, is beacuse they where acting like eminem loving fuckheads that thought they would act rough and show off how awsome of a driver they are!

WHAT? Where did you get this crap from? As far as I have read they were just normal teenagers (not Eminem fans as far as I could tell) and she got a wheel off the road and over-corrected into the path of the van.

Originally Posted by Ronin005 now i did hit a light post while playing around with my hand break in the winter, but i don't consider that a true accident since i knew what i was doing.

It doesn't sound like you know what you are doing to me.

[possessed_beaver]

Originally Posted by dingo22 Originally Posted by possessed_beaver the reson thoes people died, is beacuse they where acting like eminem loving fuckheads that thought they would act rough and show off how awsome of a driver they are! WHAT? Where did you get this crap from? As far as I have read they were just normal teenagers (not Eminem fans as far as I could tell) and she got a wheel off the road and over-corrected into the path of the van.

the people who died, lived in lesmerdie and kalamunda, roughley 10 or so min from where i live.

and yes, i am aware of what sort of people they where is not important,
there has been alot of intresting points raised in this diecussion, alot of people saying how stupid a curfue would be!