Always an interesting topic, seems to crop up on many forums. but whats the answer ? ? ? . . .
my personal experience started at 16 with my first pushbike and the lads i knocked around with. We used to race everywhere with the last arriving to get the round in or whatever . . .
We progressed to learner bikes then to more powerful bikes, still racing everywhere with the last arriving to get the round in or whatever . . .
then onto cars blah, blah blah . . . my first car was a talbot samba, dont laugh, I got 103 out of it LOL . . . and then onto a fiesta 1.4s. I was in this once when we had 6 cars in a line including 2 x P6 V8 rovers, trying to go through a width restriction at over 100mph, we never managed it but we didnt crash either.
stupid ? . . . irresponsible ? . . . probably, but we were in a trading estate late at night and IF we crashed we wouldnt involve anyone else. Everyone involved knew the risks and CHOSE to continue
On to my first rear drive experience which ended in a destroyed opel ascona on a very wet roundabout . . . my first car write off . . .
my second rear drive car was a company saphire 2 ltr which nearly ended the same way after only 3 days and 250 miles
at this point it was time for some self learning . . . every time it rained i headed for a car park to learn how to drive RWD. It didnt take long and after a while could drive the car on the back end and the throttle, loads of fun
(would probably get a fine and points nowdays and never get to learn the way i did)
Now 20 years later on im doing track days on bikes, I am a qualified advanced driver and have 15 years driving 44 ton Artics.
So to my point, IMHO, speed doesnt kill ! I even heard an AA representative say this on the radio the other day, Halleluja, finally people are starting to realise ! ! ! . . . in his opinion most accidents are caused by innattention, stupidity and lack of ability.
So, what to do about it ? ? ? . . .
1) A driving license is not a god given right, its a qualification to prove you are able to control a vehicle on the public roads, with that in mind a more intense eye test should have to be taken including periferal vision before taking on an awareness and perception test. A provisional license should NOT be issued until these are passed.
2) This is not a license to race but drive on the road so i dont think skid training is needed. to illustrate this, in one of the Scandanavian countries (cant remember which) did introduce this, the accident rate then rose by about 30 % as people then all thought they were Ari Vartenen !
3) As with motorcycles, a stepped license should be inroduced based on BHP per tonne.
4) A seperate motorway license should be introduced to include how to join and exit a motorway safely, restricted abilities of HGVs including foreign trucks which seem to be plaguing our networks and causing chaos as they go.
5) Compulsory retests should be done after the first year then every 5 years to be reduced again to every year after the age of 65. The standards required should be set much higher than for the entry level tests. (remember those worlds worst driver shows on TV, if they are THAT bad to start, what are they going to be like after 5 years
)
6) Further advanced training should be compulsory. I hear you say " but think of the cost !". A couple of days training is far cheaper than a big accident, not to mention loss of no claims bonus !
as for the issue of younger drivers, points 1 & 3 should help to weed out the incapable and the overpowered, but not to reduce the age limit. we were all young once without experience and the only way to learn is out there on the roads.there is already the 6 point probation period to deal with and the exorbident cost of insurance.
to go with this anyone found to be diving without a license a second time should have hefty fines and their cars crushed with serial offenders recieving increasingly harsher penalties.
revenue generators, sorry speed enforcement cameras (sic) should be banned, they cause more problems than they solve and usually only catch unregistered vehicles or people new to an area (how many of you guys have only been flashed by cameras you dont know about and never the ones in your local area) and a police force put back on the road to enforce the laws we already have.
All this only scratches the surface, is only MY opinion and none of it will probably be implemented
We will continue with ever more of governments draconian, technologically enforced restrictions all because of an increasing number of poorly or untrained drivers who lack the abilty or as*holes who dont give a sheet
. . .
