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[Varche]

There was a bit on BBC news this morning about young drivers being very accident prone especially in the first year after passing their test. One woman had had a her husband tragically killed by a youngster "adjusting" their sat nav.

Here is a hypothesis. Young drivers of today are not as spacially aware as young drivers were 30 years ago say?

Perhaps the tech age we live in has biologically changed them?  I am being quite serious suggesting that.

I do not remember my mates having accidents when we had passed our tests. Maybe there was a lot less traffic on the roads?

What do you think?

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

There was a bit on BBC news this morning about young drivers being very accident prone especially in the first year after passing their test. One woman had had a her husband tragically killed by a youngster "adjusting" their sat nav.

Here is a hypothesis. Young drivers of today are not as spacially aware as young drivers were 30 years ago say?

Perhaps the tech age we live in has biologically changed them?  I am being quite serious suggesting that.

I do not remember my mates having accidents when we had passed our tests. Maybe there was a lot less traffic on the roads?

What do you think?

You speak specifically of women, I imagine.

[Sir Tigger KC]

I think that young drivers have always been accident prone.  I had many a close shave in my yoof, but generally managed to stay on the black stuff, however quite a few of my mates ended up in hedges and ditches! 

[minifreek]

Young drivers of today aren't more accident prone than they where 30 years ago or even 10 years ago, there's just more of them

[The Sheriff]

I don't believe you should be able to drive a car until you are 20. Despite the human race allegedly advancing with each generation, I believe that's only physical, not mental. I was much more mature in my teens, and even before, than the kids are now.
Don't know the reason. I'm sure there's plenty that think they do, but I don't wanna hear it 

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

I don't believe you should be able to drive a car until you are 20. Despite the human race allegedly advancing with each generation, I believe that's only physical, not mental. I was much more mature in my teens, and even before, than the kids are now.
Don't know the reason. I'm sure there's plenty that think they do, but I don't wanna hear it 

Well, how does that help me? I haven't reached the mental age of 20 yet.

[tigers_gonads]

There was a bit on BBC news this morning about young drivers being very accident prone especially in the first year after passing their test. One woman had had a her husband tragically killed by a youngster "adjusting" their sat nav.

Here is a hypothesis. Young drivers of today are not as spacially aware as young drivers were 30 years ago say?

Perhaps the tech age we live in has biologically changed them?  I am being quite serious suggesting that.

I do not remember my mates having accidents when we had passed our tests. Maybe there was a lot less traffic on the roads?

What do you think?

My lad got told by his driving instructor last week that the driving test is changing later on in the year.
OUT goes the 3 point turn or turn in the road as its call nowdays.
IN comes a test to prove you can actually program and use a SAT NAV 

[05omegav6]

There was a bit on BBC news this morning about young drivers being very accident prone especially in the first year after passing their test. One woman had had a her husband tragically killed by a youngster "adjusting" their sat nav.

Here is a hypothesis. Young drivers of today are not as spacially aware as young drivers were 30 years ago say?

Perhaps the tech age we live in has biologically changed them?  I am being quite serious suggesting that.

I do not remember my mates having accidents when we had passed our tests. Maybe there was a lot less traffic on the roads?

What do you think?

My lad got told by his driving instructor last week that the driving test is changing later on in the year.
OUT goes the 3 point turn or turn in the road as its call nowdays.
IN comes a test to prove you can actually program and use a SAT NAV whilst driving 

Fixed as most likely 

[Diamond Black Geezer]

Sadly the removal of the turn in the road means that the next generation of drivers will have no idea how to make their car go in the direction from which they've just come, when their expertly programmed sat nav has taken them to a housing estate cul de sac which wasn't there when the sat nav was last updated 

I imagine a quick call to the AA will suffice... "Can't make my car go the other way. Come out and make it do the turny-round thing. My dad can do it, but that's for old men, an that." 

[dbug]

handbrake? 

[05omegav6]

handbrake? 

Try and do that with a newfangled electric one

[chrisgixer]

Young drivers are learning. Learning involves making mistakes.


Depends if the figures take into account the growth in population to include the number Young drivers and the number of other drivers to hit, as to weather there is anything more to it.


This technology thing though. It really isn't as scary as you make out

[aaronjb]

handbrake? 

That'll get you a £100 fine from the rozzers according to the DM, as will spinning your wheels (good job all cars have traction control, eh?)..

[Varche]

Young drivers are learning. Learning involves making mistakes.


Depends if the figures take into account the growth in population to include the number Young drivers and the number of other drivers to hit, as to weather there is anything more to it.


This technology thing though. It really isn't as scary as you make out

Well a couple of points assuming you mean in car technology like sat nav.

1. When I started work (a zillion years ago) the headman sent out an edict saying "you are not allowed to listen to the radio in your vehicle as it detracts from your thought processes". There was an outcry and it was changed to before 5p.m. I wished I had kept a copy.

2. the company then followed a policy of having the manufacturer supply vans without radios fitted. My mate actually had a prang because he was changing channels on his portable radio on passenger seat. He didn't admit it of course.

3. texting, reading/adjusting sat nav, eating/drinking on move, phoning even hands free, searching for a track out of 4000 MP3 tracks . These must all be tempting and a distraction that wasn't around thirty years ago.

4. maybe modern vehicles are easier to drive, faster than the jalopies of my youth (not talking the cars with a man in front with a red flag- that was optis youth) and maybe that encourages carelessness or driving too close.

5. Much more time pressure nowaydays een though employers are relaxed about start times. (I had a job where more than five minutes late and you got docked pay but traffic was more predicatble then)

[05omegav6]

Wrt point 4, most of my driving has been done in/around Surrey/Sussex/Hants borders and suggest the following:

New cars are faster to a point. But...

General traffic speed is quicker, so less overtaking margin, although perspectively so as alot of limits have actually dropped. Even 10 -15 years ago, you could easily be the fastest thing on the road without actually exceeding the limit... now not so, as to overtake slightly faster moving traffic safely you need to be well over the NSL, assuming it hasn't been replaced with a 40/50 limit.

Part of the reason for this slightly higher traffic speed must be due to better braking everything has ABS or ESP as standard (chuck a current car into a tightish bend at 60 and you don't crash and die*) and refinement means cars disconnect the driver from what they're doing... compare a Mk1 Cavalier to the current Astra.

You didn't drive a 1600 Cavalier at the NSL on single carriageway roads (unless you were in a rush or young and fearless) as the it wasn't really comfortable to and the brakes were woeful, whereas the latest cars are quiet, stop on a button, and don't take two days to hit 60.

* Don't try this at home kids. No, really don't...