Curfew for younger drivers...

[mpopevrs]

So I was driving in to work this morning listening to the radio and on the news again was the idea of bringing in a curfew for younger drivers;

Now personally i don't believe this will work and don't see how the Police, who are stretched enough already, can enforce this kind of thing.

In my opinion if the government wants to improve the standard of young people's driving then they should make it mandatory to take a IAM or ROSPA test as part of the learning process and before they are allowed out on the roads properly. At the very minimum motorway driving needs to be taught!

I have always found that learning to drive only begins once you've passed the test, the lessons give you an indication and the theory.

I also think that the majority of young people will drive irresponsibly once they have passed their test until they either crash their car or scare themselves enough to realise and change.

I feel I'm qualified to say this, because I was one of these; i drove stupidly when I first passed and felt invinsible, ended up righting off a perfectly nice Polo and felt incredibly ashamed for becoming another statistic on a piece of paper.

Now over three years later, I feel my driving is a world away from what it was, and I have also passed my IAM test; which I took to try to improve my driving.

Opinions on the back of a post card ...

[TaviaRS]

I voted yes, but with a proviso:

It should be for all new drivers. It should be compulsory (as I believe it is in France) for all new drivers to have some form of plate ie the P plate (in France it is an A) so that they are easilly identifiable.

[ric04vrs]

agree with the above , also they should be limited to less than 1300cc engines , only 2 people in the car at ant time and 1 crash in the first year they have to take their test again (both parts)

[TaviaRS]

Should be like bikes with a limited bhp rather than engine size.

[Martin Keene]

In principle it is a good idea. But, it needs to be helped and backed up by other ideas, like as Tavia said, a form of compulsary P Plate.

[stuart_hatch]

Should be like bikes with a limited bhp rather than engine size.

True, things like a 1.3 Supercharged Polo G40 aint exactly slow!

[drm_jones]

In principal it is a good idea but I think that it would be too difficult to enforce

What would happen when a 'young driver' gets caught in a late night traffic jam (e.g. accident on the motorway) and find themselves out beyond the curfew?

[simonsheil]

I disagree with this, the best idea I saw was one by Rutherford in auto express where he suggested further levels of driving test , eg driving at night, motorway etc.

You cant bring in a cc limit due to the number of people that occasionaly use parents cars and dont have their own.

[sharkrider]

in principle? I believe, the act that will cover this is currently being voted on in the house of lords!!! (I.e only the lords could block it now) restrictions as follows... new drivers (not sure of the definition of that, age experiance, ect...) not to be allowed to drive after dark unless it's an emergancy, and not allowed to carry more than one passenger..... other 'suggestions' are that they can start leaning at 17, but must have a 'minimum' number of hours tuition, and can't take a test until they are 18...

Note: I could be wrong about this! lol....

[Blade404]

I voted yes, but with a proviso:

It should be for all new drivers. It should be compulsory (as I believe it is in France) for all new drivers to have some form of plate ie the P plate (in France it is an A) so that they are easilly identifiable.

Thats all well and good.. but that would of prevented me from getting to and from my current job without breaking curfew.. which is one of the reasons I got a licence in the first place... that or i could just remove the daft plates when working the night shifts..

I.M.O it's fixing the wrong problem as usual...

[Blade404]

in principle? I believe, the act that will cover this is currently being voted on in the house of lords!!! (I.e only the lords could block it now) restrictions as follows... new drivers (not sure of the definition of that, age experiance, ect...) not to be allowed to drive after dark unless it's an emergancy, and not allowed to carry more than one passenger..... other 'suggestions' are that they can start leaning at 17, but must have a 'minimum' number of hours tuition, and can't take a test until they are 18...

Note: I could be wrong about this! lol....

hhmm.. not more than 1 passenger.. so if you've got a family it's several trips to get them anywhere... gee thats going to be good for the environment.. and congestion.. oh and all the parents with 17-18 yrs olds living at home still wont be able to call on them to come and pick them up from the pub/a party etc

[Fish]

Got to limit the engine size and insurance cover availability/liability in my opinion.

I believe that a c.c. limit is in place for new/young drivers in Italy.

My first car was a 1.0 Citroen AX, brand new with free insurance and that was at the age of 20!!!

[Snoopie]

For new drivers. The engine should be limited to engine size. I'm paying a hell of a lot of money just to insure my car, and i've never had an accident.

In time, this will only get worse.

[Blade404]

For new drivers. The engine should be limited to engine size. I'm paying a hell of a lot of money just to insure my car, and i've never had an accident.

In time, this will only get worse.

Isn't that already the case as they can only drive what they can afford to insure?

[expostmanpat]

Isn't that already the case as they can only drive what they can afford to insure?

if they bother with insurance:rolleyes:

[Blade404]

if they bother with insurance:rolleyes:

heh..

good point.. so chances are they wont bother getting a licence either..

[Snoopie]

Isn't that already the case as they can only drive what they can afford to insure?

Yes it is, but we're not talking about that, we're talking about new drivers and engine limitations dispite being able to afford insurance....

[robmawer]

For new drivers. The engine should be limited to engine size.

Is possible to do a fair bit of damage to various things in a 600CC Smart - car engines don't get much smaller!

That's also limited to only one passenger...

The "after dark" thing seems a bit daft too, it's dark at 5 o'clock in the evening!

Suspect better driver training for the learner test would be better than any curfews/limitations...prevention rather than cure...

Rob.

[Wardy]

Two issues for me: introduce a system along the lines of a private pilot's license, so that learners clock up experience behind the wheel. And make the Pass Plus optional course compulsory, or incorporate its parts into the second technical part of the test or something. The fact that a new driver can have a full UK license and have never been near a motorway seems absolutely ludicrous to me.

Steve

[ScoobyChris]

Yep the easiest way is to raise the standard of the DSA test to include:

a) driving at night

driving on motorways

c) skid pan training

Making RoSPA/IAM the benchmark would also improve the standard of driving on the road imho

Chris

[RobClubley]

I voted no because it doesn't seem to help here in NZ.

Better driver training has to be the answer.

[Emily-Elizabeth]

When I first passed my driving test I used to go out late at night to actually pracitse my driving. I never any motorway experiance and a couple of times I drove late at night so as I could get used to it. I did the same when I was learninghow to use the cruise in my fabia. I was not stupid with it, and it was very beneficial.

In the first few months of having a car I often drove through the night to get places.

If you are going to let someone pass a test toget a drivers license then you have trusted them with a huge responsibility - their life allow with their passengers and other road users. By having a time they have to get home by you are going to encourgae people to dash home so as they aren't going to break the law.

And I agree with the new driver plates. For the first 3 months of driving Vlad I had 4! Front back and sides

[ScoobyChris]

And I agree with the new driver plates. For the first 3 months of driving Vlad I had 4! Front back and sides

P-plates were just being introduced after I passed my test. I opted not to have them because I didn't want to be given special treatment on the roads - great way to learn imho

Chris

[Armegatron]

Yep the easiest way is to raise the standard of the DSA test to include:

a) driving at night

driving on motorways

c) skid pan training

Making RoSPA/IAM the benchmark would also improve the standard of driving on the road imho

Chris

Totally agree. Curfew is a poor idea as its not practical for most "sensible" driers and cant be policed.

I have to admit that after passing my test, I drove like a complete and utter mad man - and needless to say I crashed. Its alot of responsibility to drive a car, and I feel that part of learning to drive has to be learning what happens when things go tits up, for example show new (not just young!) drivers images of accident victims to scare them, and like Chris said, skid pan training. After all, its fine driving along on your lessons but how can you learn to sharpen your reactions if you cant feel what happens when things get out of control.

I agree too with the comment on making the lessons/test more in depth and detailed.

[Wardy]

Driver training and the general attitude of the motoring public. Improve both and we'll be getting somewhere. And I'm sure it will happen over night

At the moment, IMO, all that learner and new driver plates do is mark you out as a target to be bullied off the road. I didn't use P plates when I passed because I knew they wouldn't make a blind bit of difference.

If only the general motoring public could remember back to when they were learning, it might improve things.

Steve