MPs' report "Novice Drivers"

[MadPict]

Amongst some of the recommendations put forward in this report is "a zero alcohol limit for all drivers for a year after passing their test"

Why not just introduce a zero limit for ALL drivers? I seem to recall that a survey showed that young drivers were not as prone to drink driving as older drivers.
Any argument about difficulties enforcing a zero limit, background levels of 'substances' giving false readings willof course be cancelled out. If a 40 yr old can have natural levels of a substance so can an 18 yr old.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6904821.stm

[floyed]

I think it should be zero limit for all drivers. I think we should all be treated the same 18 or 40.

[MadPict]

My feelings as well - there is no reason to go out to the pub and drink and drive. There is a wide enough selection of non alcoholic drinks (including beers) to drink if you have to drive.

[DarkAngel]

I agree..Why should Novice drivers be any different that older drivers...:roll: Should be Zero for all!

[Camel Spider]

I think a Zero limit is the way to go, there is no excuse for Drink Driving ever.

I think if you get behind the wheel and someone is killed as a result of your actions it should be treated as Murder, if you injure them it is GBH. And if you are caught with alcohol in your system then you lose your licence on an automatic ban. Im a Biker and many a day I have stopped at a quiet Pub for a soft drink and watched people have one or two pints and then drive away, I just dont understand it.

[golach]

Not only Zero tolerance on alcohol when driving ...but Zero tolerance on Drugs too.
Too many drivers going around under the infulence of Drugs, legal or otherwise

[cuddlepop]

I agree with the zero tolerence for all drivers drink and or drugs.

What happens to the small minority that have a natural occurence of alcohol in there system?:eek:

[MadPict]

While "drug driving" was a lot less common than drink driving it is certainly catching up.
US style "field testing" is now becoming more common to catch out drivers using drugs.

So yes, I would include drugs too......

[johno]

dont see why they should pick on the novice drivers for zero tolerance.
if that is going to be the rule then it aught to be zero tolerance for all.
after all i reckon that speed and inexperience rather than drink will apply more to young driver,s

[EDDIE]

Zero alcohol limit should apply to everyone.
As for raising the age limit to 18 before you get a licence i dont think it will make any difference it would have to be raised to at least 21 and then it would make difference because people between 17 and 21 are overconfident and not fully mature.And less face we have all done it when you pass your test at 17 first thing you do is thrash the car and drive fast we are just the lucky ones that got away from not having a fatal accident.
Sorry to anyone between 17 and 21 its just an opinion.

[MadPict]

You would still be able to learn to drive at 17 under these proposals - they are just stopping you from taking your test until you're 18.

There were as many risks when I learnt to drive and I passed at 17. In fact modern cars are probably safer than the ones in my time. I never saw a roundabout until I drove in the south!!!

[squidge]

There were as many risks when I learnt to drive and I passed at 17. In fact modern cars are probably safer than the ones in my time. I never saw a roundabout until I drove in the south!!!

Modern cars are probably a bit faster now MP - they dont use the mannie with a red flag these days :Razz

I dont see why they cant restrict the power of the car a young person drives until they are 21. That actually applies to motorbikes i think - if you do the full Direct Access thingie to allow you ride bigger bikes - the bikes have to be restricted until they are 21 i think. That seems to be a much more sensible thing to do that ban taking passengers between certain hours of darkness

[Camel Spider]

Modern cars are probably a bit faster now MP - they dont use the mannie with a red flag these days :Razz

I dont see why they cant restrict the power of the car a young person drives until they are 21. That actually applies to motorbikes i think - if you do the full Direct Access thingie to allow you ride bigger bikes - the bikes have to be restricted until they are 21 i think. That seems to be a much more sensible thing to do that ban taking passengers between certain hours of darkness


Thats a good idea of putting the Bike rules onto cars, after all it was done to stop younger riders getting onto the more powerful stuff. But in reality most accidents involve older riders, could be because more guys in their 30's and 40's are getting bikes now. It would be interesting to see the proportion of each biker age group involved in accidents. Might have a look to see if the Bike rules have had the desired effect on the younger riders.

[squidge]

Aye Camel Spider that would be interesting to know - The Bruce is a newly certificated CBT instructor and My 17 year old is desperate to do his bike training so its a subject close to my heart. I do worry that a 17 yeaar old can pass a test in a car and drive a high powered hot hatch - capable of a RIDICULOUS amount of speed without the knowledge and experience to handle it - its a far cry from the morris minor or the VW beetle that we drove when we were new drivers. If you had a Capri you were really up there with thte high flyers lol

[MadPict]

Red flag!!! Cheek!!!

I was meaning that modern cars have better brakes (ABS), often have some form of traction control, are certainly safer in accidents (airbags) while the actual skills required to drive a car are no different to when you or I took our test.

OK there may be more cars on the road today in Caithness than there were 30 or 40 years ago, but the levels are no more than there were in the south at the same time.
It's not like the young drivers of today have to learn to drive a hover car or some other fantastic vehicle predicted for the 21st century when I was a young 'un...


Re: bike accidents - yep the grey bikers are an accident statistic in themselves - mid life crisis hits middle aged man he goes and buys big bike then has big accident because his skills of 30 years ago have not caught up.

BUT -

Re: the 'hothatch' scenario - we had hot cars back then - Mini Cooper, Ford Escort RS, Vauxhall Viva GT amongst many others. And again, modern cars are a damn site safer than the metal boxes we went charging round in - so why are so many young drivers being involved in accidents?

[Thumper]

I think a lot of the accidents are caused by inexperience and also young drivers showing off for their mates.I think all newly passed drivers should have to display p plates for at least a year and also be restricted to what size of engine they can have.I remember when I passed my test(a VERY long time ago!lol) my 1st car was a 3 litre Capri! Cost me £200 and then cost me £1,000 third party fire and theft!Oh the stupid things we do when we are young eh?lol x

[squidge]

Hmm maybe its all to do with Risk in play- The theory is that we dont allow our children to experience risk as children when the risks are less dangerous. Children dont get to go out and play in the way they did years ago and have near misses in the same way. There is also some concern that the number of families without an active father figure means that children are less exposed to risk than in two person families. The research seems to indicate that fathers tend to do the throwing in the air thing and the rough play whilst mothers are more likely to do the "be careful" , " dont climb that tree - you'll fall" sort of thing. BY not allowing children the chance to experience risk at play we prevent them from learning boundaries and understanding whats safe and whats not so when they get behind the wheel of a car they havent learnt caution.

I dunno if its true but in this article i read the writer - a woman said her children said to her one day "Mum if we only had you too look after us we would be dead bored and if we only had dad to look after us we would just be dead!!!"