This is such a bad idea, seriously. Just seems to be like a money maing scheme, rather than cutting the number of young drivers' deaths. They're just going to make driving a middle-class luxury, it's gonna be too expensive for 17+ year olds to drive. Now this might be their aim, but what's the point? If they wanted less young drivers on the road then surely they'd just raise the age limit for driving instead of making everyone splash out an extra £600 to pass their test? Silly people. Is just an excuse to make more money.

 

No offence Josh but you are putting your own wallet ahead of road safety and fatalities

 

While it is not your fault the fact is that your age group are responsible for the majority of deaths and serious injuries on the road and significant numbers of your age group are dangers to themselves and more importantly other road users, while you can't help when you are born you just have to accept that your fellow generation cause most problems on the road and that all your generation are going to get tarred with the same brush by insurance companies and motoring organisations

 

Fair on you that you have to pay more ? no, you are not a boy racing chav I hope but blame your generation mate not the people that want to clamp down on them :)

Stop handing licences to chavs maybe?

 

That might work ^_^

 

The age should deffo be raised in line with the new school leavers age aswell.

a BIG problem is when all these 17 Y/Olds pass the first thing they get is a little banger that is falling apart with rust, they tinker with it and add c**p to it making it look twatish and then DIE showing off in these death traps without seatbelts.

 

about 3 years ago 4 kids from my school were killed when their N plate Fiesta hit a volvo at high speed and went into a field on a nasty bend, all 4 would have survived IF they had worn seat belts.

 

plus they were driving far far far too fast with a puncture.

 

 

THAT is why the accident rate is high, not poor training. You don't start learning how to drive until you are out on your own without any1 sitting next to you with a second set of pedals.

The skills are still there though

 

The more experienced you get the more you know your limits and what is your capabilities, I know my limits and what I can do behind the wheel of a car so even though I drive fast I have never had an accident except when I hit a deer which was beyond my control, that is why I have protected no claims bonus etc etc because I know where my limits are and you can only get that with EXPERIENCE

 

A young driver with little experience does not know where the limits are and that is why the majority of accidents and fatalities on the road are young lads with little experience showing off to their mates with their rave music blaring out and having a shunt because they didnt have the experience to handle the speed they were doing

 

I have had tyres blow out on me, I have aquaplaned in the wet, I have had a track rod end go on me, I have had a brake failure on a car, I have gone into slides on black ice but the reason why they didn't end in accidents was because I had the car control to get out of those situations, a young lad driving for a few months doesn't

 

Sorry if I sound arrogant about my driving capabilities I am not trying to be I am emphasising the point that even if silly habits creep in an experienced driver has the experience to get out of risky situations when a young lad showing off to his mates doesn't

I've been reading this thread and I am actually quite pissed off. Well actually, it is you, Tim Barnes, who has pissed me off.

You're saying that young drivers are inadequate and that they should have a series of extras to be tested on before it is certain they can be trusted alone.

Well, were you not a young driver one day? (probably a long long time ago), and one who had to gain that experience. That experience wouldn't come with a couple of one or two hour driving lessons, it comes with being out on the motorway alone learning how to cope yourself.

 

Your hegemonic attitude that just because you have been a qualified driver a long time, and have built up experience, that makes you a better driver than newly qualified drivers is totally pathetic. It is a fact that the test nowadays is the hardest ever and the most difficult to pass. So factually, people who pass their tests nowadays are, in theory, better drivers than you and your generation were. Just for your information, I have passed my test, first time an all. Now what does that imply?

 

So get off your pedestal and give credit and support to young drivers nowadays.

 

I have a nine letter word for people like you: Hypocrite.

I've been reading this thread and I am actually quite pissed off. Well actually, it is you, Tim Barnes, who has pissed me off.

You're saying that young drivers are inadequate and that they should have a series of extras to be tested on before it is certain they can be trusted alone.

Well, were you not a young driver one day? (probably a long long time ago), and one who had to gain that experience. That experience wouldn't come with a couple of one or two hour driving lessons, it comes with being out on the motorway alone learning how to cope yourself.

 

Your hegemonic attitude that just because you have been a qualified driver a long time, and have built up experience, that makes you a better driver than newly qualified drivers is totally pathetic. It is a fact that the test nowadays is the hardest ever and the most difficult to pass. So factually, people who pass their tests nowadays are, in theory, better drivers than you and your generation were. Just for your information, I have passed my test, first time an all. Now what does that imply?

 

So get off your pedestal and give credit and support to young drivers nowadays.

 

I have a nine letter word for people like you: Hypocrite.

 

You can huff and puff all you like champ but the STATISTICS back up my point

 

Read the article that started this thread, for your benefit I will quote you a piece of it

 

Men aged 17 to 20 are almost ten times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than men aged 40 to 59

 

Now you can dress it up how you like but the fact is that someone that age is TEN times more likely to be killed than someone MY age, does that make me a better driver than a young driver ? YES

 

If the test is so hard compared with when I took my test (I am 42) how do you explain the fact that a 17 year old is TEN times more likely to be killed on the road than me ?

You can huff and puff all you like champ but the STATISTICS back up my point

 

Read the article that started this thread, for your benefit I will quote you a piece of it

 

Men aged 17 to 20 are almost ten times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than men aged 40 to 59

 

Now you can dress it up how you like but the fact is that someone that age is TEN times more likely to be killed than someone MY age, does that make me a better driver than a young driver ? YES

 

If the test is so hard compared with when I took my test (I am 42) how do you explain the fact that a 17 year old is TEN times more likely to be killed on the road than me ?

Well statistics can back my point as well. It is STATISTICALLY proven that the test is harder and harsher than ever before.

When i said the test is harder and more difficult i was referring to your comment that you 'have better car control than a young, inexperienced driver'. My point illustrates that people nowadays have better car control as the test is more difficult and so they need better car control, confidence and composure to pass.

 

And finally, no that statistic does not make you a better driver than people my age.

 

You can dress it up all you like but the fact is that the test is harder to pass nowadays, does that make me a better driver than someone who took their test decades ago, when the test was undeniably eaisier? YES.

 

You see, statistics can work both ways champ.

Well statistics can back my point as well. It is STATISTICALLY proven that the test is harder and harsher than ever before.

When i said the test is harder and more difficult i was referring to your comment that you 'have better car control than a young, inexperienced driver'. My point illustrates that people nowadays have better car control as the test is more difficult and so they need better car control, confidence and composure to pass.

 

And finally, no that statistic does not make you a better driver than people my age.

 

You can dress it up all you like but the fact is that the test is harder to pass nowadays, does that make me a better driver than someone who took their test decades ago, when the test was undeniably eaisier? YES.

 

You see, statistics can work both ways champ.

 

Tests are the driving equivalent of performing seals jumping through hoops and are not a reflection of driver ability, drivers are trained purely to get through tests it is not a reflection of the ability of a driver

 

I am lucky enough to own an Impreza, I pay £432 a year for it at aged 42 (protected no claims bonus, my insurance would probably be even lower if I didnt have 6 points on my licence) yet an 18 year old wanting to drive an Impreza would end up paying £3500-4000 a year insurance if he could find an insurance company to insure him for the Impreza in the first place, how do you explain the anomoly in price differences ?

 

Statistics show a young guy is 10 times more likely to die than me on the road, insurance companies clobber young lads in fast cars financially yet give my age group an easy ride, why ? because insurance companies deem me to be a better risk than some chav in a hot hatch

 

I love speed, I love putting my car through its paces but I would only put the car through its paces on roads that I knew every inch of tarmac on and awareness of what happens on those roads, I frequently do 85-90 in a country lane near me but I know that lane like the back of my hand and know what I am likely to encounter on it, a chav does not have that experience he just turns up his rave music and floors the pedal regardless of whether it is safe to do so

I love old people and their stereotypes.

Not all 17/18 year old male drivers are chavs and not all 17/18 year olds are liabilities and dangers.

It seems to me that you are just as much a risk and safety hazard to people on the roads than a chav is.

 

I love old people and their stereotypes.

Not all 17/18 year old male drivers are chavs and not all 17/18 year olds are liabilities and dangers.

It seems to me that you are just as much a risk and safety hazard to people on the roads than a chav is.

 

There is no substitute for LIFE EXPERIENCE, that doesn't just apply to driving it applies to EVERYTHING

 

I left school at 16 with 3 o'levels and 7 CSE's, never went to uni but look at the BUzzjack Daily Quiz for the last 18 months and you will see that I have never been out of the Top 3 with the exception of 1 month so even though I was not a uni graduate or have a load of letters against my name I am still a lot more knowledgeable in terms of general knowledge and the ways of the world than the majority of people who are, why ? because I have gathered all this information in my head over the years and it comes through life experience not text books, why do I constantly kick the asses of young graduates and 6th formers and so on on the BJ Quiz ? because I am older and wiser that is why regardless of how many textbooks they read and the same applies to driving, I would say I am a better driver than 99% of people on this board who are of driving age and above, that sound arrogant ? you betcha but it is right

Woooahhh thank god I've almost finished mine LOL

In my opinion, inexperienced (not necessarily young) drivers are always going to be the most likely to have accidents as it takes time to learn to control a car fully. The trouble is this experience takes years to acquire and can not be covered in a short test as people gain experience from having (or avoiding) accidents. I passed my test almost a year ago to the day and am very aware that I'm 100 times better today than i was when i passed my test but am also aware that I'm not the best driver in the world. I've learnt by driving in a range of different weathers and lights, being in different situations and driving at different speedsall things which you can not cover in a short test.

 

For sure this is a problem but there's no real solution, perhaps making every driver do the advanced driving course before they get a full license would be a good idea, that covers night driving, motorways and slippery conditions I think but once again their is no substitute for being out there on your own in an unexpected situation. Making learning to drive more expensive may well delay the age people start driving but they'll still be inexperienced.