bigbarry04

iTrader: (2)

my younger brother(who is 17) recently got a car. a few of the family disagreed saying he was to young however he saved up and got the car and my gran paid his insurance. he was only driving for 2 months when he crashed(bet you didnt see that coming lol) basically in a housing estate, hit an unmarked cross road and didnt stop. he hit a £30,000 merc he hit the merc side on and twisted the chasis, it was a write off. his corsa was repairable as it was only front end damage. my arguement is...

is 17 to young an age to start driving? i think that it is to young. what do you's think?

p.s his corsa cost £600 lol

greatgonzo

iTrader: (1)

Can of worms comes to mind
hard to say, I remember when I was 17 it felt like Christmas every day after passing my test. I wouldn't want to take that away from a youngster.
Saying that I smashed up a few cars when I was young so maybe I wasn't ready !
Who knows

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

Im not sure the age is such a problem, I think ( and I know this will enrage some people but I promise thats not why I say it) the IQ, Some people at 17 just are not worldly enough, smart enough or disciplined enough to be allowed to drive.

I am not saying your brother is dim, far from it but when I look back at some of the things I did when I passed my test its a wonder Im still here.
17 for some kids is the same as 15 for some and 20 for others. I dont know how to measure it but either IQ or mental age needs to be gauged.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

Didn't he do well !

And they wonder why their insurance is sky high....

I damaged my first car out in the country. All by myself !

dunx

P.S. 17 isn't too young, but is he immature, or blind ?

bigbarry04

iTrader: (2)

he didnt mean it. think it was just his driving inexperience showing. i wouldnt say he is daft, probably more immature. when i was 17 i was daft enough on a peddle bike, let alone a car lol

C_RHYS

We simply don't teach drivers well enough over here. I used to think I was the bollox behind the wheel when i passed, until I had a few "moments" and do a few driving schools (rally school being one of them) before I woke up. Having been taught to handle a a rally prep'd MK2 escort among others cars I feel that I am a fairly good driver but I certainly wouldn't be if I hadn't taken it upon my self to get advanced training after getting my licence.

F1 CJE UK

iTrader: (8)

I also think cheap cars that the owner doesn’t care about also plays a part. I bought my 1st car brand new after working while doing my a levels and that car was so important to me. When you work hard for something you normally look after it.

advanced training is the main one tho the test is a joke ..

Ianm1983

unfortunately for him, every other young driver and the rest of us these things have to happen for them to learn, its like walking, you learn to do it properly by falling over.

passing your test means nothing, thats the point when you REALLY learn to drive. I have been lucky and had no accidents in ten years since I passed, sadly im in the minority and lads especially are an odds on bet to crash in some way within 12 months of passing.

Thats why its 4 figures to insure them on a 300 quid rot box

Itd be the same if they raised the age to 19 or 20 or whatever, some of them still drive like that at an older age.

Some of the things ive seen young lads do just to try get infront of me (guess theres kudos in overtaking a subaru in your corsa even if im just mooching along at 40 minding my own business) are scary, we all have a play sometimes but some of them are loonatics

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

You're not a real driver until you've written off a car.... although I think it's more correct etiquette for it to be ones own.

There are crap and/or inexperienced drivers of all ages, and there has to be an age where people are allowed to drive. Moving it to 18 would seem pointless to me as 12 months is going to make no difference, and you can hardly make it any older simply because it would be ridiculous when you look at all the other things you can do at 18 (in a similar way that a 17yo who can be married and living with their spouse can't buy a set of kitchen knives...).

The only issue I'd have in your position is that his insurance was paid by someone else - I think one of the points about the independence of driving is that you have the independence to pay all the bills associated with it as well.

..and on a day to day basis, I see infinity more stupid driving from those of an age where they should know better than from 18/19yo's

Hudson

iTrader: (7)

I stacked my first car in the middle of nowhere when i was 18 about 4 months after passing and it certainly made me think twice. im not going to say anything to curse my driving now

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

I think its more down to the individual and their maturity; I passed at 17, drove a XR3 to college/uni/work every day and never crashed it - we even had proper snow back then too.

It was only until I was 25 years old that I actually had an own fault crash - and that was just a 15mph fender bender partially caused by semi-duff "fast road" brake pads.

I have been in a few nasty accidents though; and your certainly not aware of the sheer forces present in a travelling car until you have done a 50-0mph stop in several milliseconds

Infact in addition to compulsory skid pan training and 10 year re-tests. I think every driver should be subjected to a 40mph crash simulation whilst strapped to a car and fired into a deformable object. Sod the whiplash, its far more educational than a video or text book.

dunx

iTrader: (3)

I not sure I could pass your physical driver testing

especially after last time.....

dunx

P.S. Agree with the re-test though.

20withascooby

i passed when i was 17 got my scooby when i was 19 never had a crash touchwood depends how you drive and as said above how mature you are

0victory0

iTrader: (4)

my brother is 17 and got his test today, he had a scooter when turned 16 which has given him quite alot of road experience and the fact he been driving mini stock since 11 or 12 years old ment he understood the main controls. The mini stock thing might go against him though as he won several championships so might think he's better than he really is out on the road. Another thing is if 17 is to young, whats the age that people should stop driving at??

bigbarry04

iTrader: (2)

i disagree about having to retake a the test. lets say for talking sake mr joe bloggs with 10 years no claims fails his retest, that mean he isnt allowed to drive?

think the insurance are going to give him back his money for the car, it would be more expensive repairing the corsa

bish667

iTrader: (1)

Think thats the point tho, if your not good enough to pass a basic test after 10 years driving experience then you shouldnt be on the road.
But I have to agree i wouldnt want to have to take a retest either

Paul3446

I would change the law so that anyone under 21 could only drive an unmodified car and with a maximum engine size of 1.4. They would also have to display P plates.

This would stop all the idiot boy racers and would reduce accidents. Anyone caught in an illegal car would have it instantly scrapped.

bigbarry04

iTrader: (2)

i know what your saying but you could be "unlucky" on your retest day, maybe a daft mistake and you fail. THEN have to retake the retake test again lol

RyanSTI

iTrader: (1)

ive passed it twice, these days u learn to pass the test not drive, i think driving in big citys eg. manchester really changes your driving style. i wouldnt stop youngins from driving, but defo do a re test say every 5 years, this would keep people fresh. if somones 40 and fails, tough luck they clearly shouldnt be on the road. more often than not i would rather drive with a young lad than an old person, simple because of reactions.

0victory0

iTrader: (4)

i agree with this too, sounds bit harsh but it should also stop kids getting hold of powerful cars and going down as a name driver on their mums insurance to get round it

legacytt

thats all well and good but even a 1 litre unmodded car can still reach speeds of 90 miles an hour and passing your test is a lot harder now than when i passed mine its all about keeping a vehicle under control, touch wood ive been driving for 20 years and never had an accident but i did get run into by an 80 year old who in my eyes shouldnt have been behind the wheel but all i can say is that i hope he has learned by his mistake only time will tell

pimmo2000

iTrader: (6)

Depends on the person, I was 18 when I passed my test and would consider myself a capable driver... capable in the fact that I am careful, considerate and don't risk my life or anyone elses.. I used to wonder how people got away with doing 40 in a 30 .. lol

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

To be fair, insurance premiums pretty much enforce that anyway - and you can't go scrapping cars unless the driver is also the owner.

There is something along those lines for motorbikes, of course, and it's hard to argue with it IMHO. You could argue that the age limit for driving should be raised, but it's so fashionable to bang on about how "driving is a privilege, not a right" that it's easy to lose sight in these discussions about how important it is to everyday life. At 17 people are leaving school and getting jobs. Driving can very rapidly become a necessity, and it's not reasonable to deny people access to the roads just because they might make mistakes. They'd just make them a year later.

Jamz3k

I passed my test last year aged 22 and i can honestly say if i had of got my license back when i was 17 i would have done some serious damage as i was just far too immature.

In Northern Ireland for your first year you are limited to 45mph and have to display R plates. Its look gash pulling up in a nice car with big R stickers on it but it also lets people know your inexperienced sensible people give you a bit of a wide birth. Others like i experienced last night see R plates as a reason for a people carrier to overtake you at what looked like twice the speed limit in a 30mph zone The person in question didn't like it when i followed him home

Tam the bam

No surprised he crashed, must have been very tired!

Seriously though I don't think 17 is too young, depends on the kid i suppose, some are far more grown up in the head/responsible than others that age.

SJ_Skyline

There needs to be a compulsory re-take of the tes, be it 5 or 10 years. Before it comes resistance but after it is up and running there is acceptance and the net outcome is that those who are unfit to drive have their license revoked. Don't lose sight of the point that it's about making road use safer for all users.

I'm pretty sure I would fail if I were to retake my test tomorrow. That's the whole point: I may not be an unsafe (or very good) driver but I'm accustomed to my habits and have got lazy over the years with my driving.

hodgy0_2

stick a giant spike to the steering wheel and remove the seatbelts



until thay have been driving two years

DazW

iTrader: (1)

I'd say re-test every 3 years

You could get round the 'fail' a re-test problem by simply including a period of probation, say 6 months to then get through your test

I'd also make it compulsory to have a valid eye test cert when applying for your road tax

Devildog

I'd say there's more to it than just maturity or IQ.

Luck plays a major part, as does the individual's appetite for risk. I had plenty of the latter when I passed my test at 17 and 4 months. Fortunately I had enough of the former to compensate for the lack of awareness that can only come with experience.

Much more skilled drivers than me have had many more accidents, and many unskilled idiots have never crashed.

The existing "test" is a joke. The one I sat certainly was. Fix that, introduce re-testing every time you have an "at fault" accident and instead of penalty points (rather than on a fixed so many years basis)

MattW

It's primarily about experience, passing your test at 17 or 25 makes no difference to that. although granted at 17 most will have the live for ever mentality.