Inexperienced drivers carrying passengers

It seems a good idea to introduce a law limiting passengers for the first year or until 21. Like all driving laws, it might take a while for young drivers to actually comply but soon it would become accepted.
No-one imagines they might be involved in a tragic crash, but the risk of being stopped or being involved in a minor accident is much more thinkable; in that case the insurance wouldn't pay out for your repairs, & you could lose your licence & those are big deterrents.
It's absolutely not something parents can police.

The laws regarding young drivers should be much stricter. No passengers for say 2 years. Compulsory P plates. And, like motorbikes, engine sizes should be restricted. We are too afraid of strict laws in this country for fear of offending somebody or other.

My DS2 was driving cars at 13 years old. Taught by an older boy.We were completely unaware of this until the police brought him home once. What brought their attention to it was the fact that his head could hardly be seen above the steering wheel.
It was fortunate that he never killed himself or anyone else.Apparently his driving skills were faultless, but he was clearly underage. He got let off with a caution.

However well we get on with our teenagers, once they leave the house and are with friends they do what they choose. Not thinking always of the dangers just the moment. They don’t think of the dangers. None of us did, you are in the moment, that's being young.
Passing a test I wish it were law that a green plate be on the car for two years and no passengers until it comes off, it should be condition of getting insurance, in this way the implications might sink in.

This discussion has brought back an awful situation when I was 16. A school friend asked if I'd like to go out in the car one evening - he recently had passed his test. I said no thanks and he continued to pester but I still said no. He got in a huff and managed to find another couple of friends to go. The next day we learned that he'd had an accident and one of the girls was killed. Yet he was brave enough to still come in to school which amazed me. He was understandably badly shaken but as far as I remember he continued to stay at school. What happened to him when we left school I don't know. I still remember going home after the assembly led by the Headmaster which mentioned the accident and I cried with delayed shock.

If a young person has just passed their driving test then surely they are as capable of driving as an older person who has just passed their test ? Why discriminate against them?

Fidelity2

If a young person has just passed their driving test then surely they are as capable of driving as an older person who has just passed their test ? Why discriminate against them?

Because you can't put an old head on young shoulders. Sad but true in every generation.

One of my g.daughters started her job with Children's Social Services a week after she graduated from University. Three months prior to that she had passed her driving test and had a full licence. Knowing how important a car is in this sort of job, she had been given a car by her Mum for 21st birthday which was just before her graduation.

So new job (with all the pressures), and driving a car with only the experience of a test three months earlier behind her. She was very, very apprehensive and extremely careful. Used the car each day to go to work and used for her work. P plate firmly in place

However less than a month into the job she was told to take a baby (18 months) in her car (seat supplied), to an address about an hours drive away. Her Line Manager was taken aback when she refused to do this. They knew her situation and it does sound a daft instruction to me. Fortunately, they accepted her refusal.

Fidelity2

If a young person has just passed their driving test then surely they are as capable of driving as an older person who has just passed their test ? Why discriminate against them?

They are capable of driving but not mature enough to make rational decisions.

We have all heard of the tragic accident where a 17 yr old lost control of the car killed 3 school friends and seriously injured a woman and 2 children.

He was obviously driving badly then but that was not the whole story, the videos on his and friends phones showed him showing off and driving dangerously on other occasions.
Understandably the judge took a very dim view and gave the maximum jail sentence 2 yrs because of his age. If he had been an adult it would have been 7 yrs.

Not all are irresponsible, but there should be limits on driving for a period, I suggest no passengers unless they are also qualified drivers and over 18 for the first year

Fidelity2

If a young person has just passed their driving test then surely they are as capable of driving as an older person who has just passed their test ? Why discriminate against them?

The adolescent brain isn't fully mature until 25, it's thought this could account for the recklessness in some young drivers.
Restricting young drivers in order to prevent accidents/loss of life, isn't discrimination, it's protection.

Luckygirl3

Not as easy as it sounds. Once your children become teenagers they are out and about, both socialising and at college. Parents cannot police all their decisions and some will be unwise ones.

It's not.

You could take them to a venue but then they may go on somewhere else or get a lift home again with a friend who's just passed their test, whatever you say.

It's another worry to add to the list.

Teenagers have to learn to be responsible and obey rules and laws.
Two of my grandsons have had serious accidents due to stupid decisions they made, both hospitalized and recovered fully, neither had passengers so it could have been much worse. Older and wiser now they learned the hard way !.

Surely, if someone has passed their driving test they are fit to drive! What is the point of the driving test otherwise!

When an older new driver goes out they are not in a car full of teenagers who don't drive and who don't understand road hazards.
They have probably saved up and bought their own car and insurance themselves and not been handed it by doting parents or grat

Witzend

Churchview

The alcohol element is interesting nanna8. Often these accidents occur at night when I wonder if the passengers have been drinking even if the driver is stone cold sober.

I’ve been told that in Sweden, every passenger in a car where the driver has been found to be guilty of drink-driving, will suffer the same penalty as the driver.
Seems an excellent idea to me. Groups of friends on a night out would no longer be happy for one of them to take the risk.

I don't think that is entirely true Wizend. In Sweden drunk driving charges can only be brought against the driver. However there is a separate crime called "Assisting driving under the influence" however it must be a deliberate act - something like lending your car or giving car keys to someone you know has been drinking. Just being in a car with with someone who drives drunk is not enough.

Of course Sweden's drink driving limits are much stricter than the UK. 0.02% as opposed to 0.05% in most of Europe and 0.08% in England.

In Sweden you cannot hold a full driving licence until you are 18 years old.

However from 16 you can learn to drive and if you pass a test you can get a so called "tractor licence" that allows you to drive tractors and vehicles with a maximum speed to 30 kph (just under 20 mph). Where I live it is popular with 6th form students - they can be converted ordinary cars or specially built "moped cars" that are like 2 seater Smart cars.

If a person has passed their driving test they are presumably fit to drive.They might need a bit more experience before driving on a motorway ,

My DGS (19) has bought his own car (with, I suspect, a little parental help). He took two friends in it to Amsterdam, and across France (even through Paris!), without any untoward incidents. I have been driven by him and am more impressed with his level of concentration than I feel about his father's.

Iam64

My daughters passed driving tests at 17 and were named drivers with full use of my car. At 18 off to university, we bought them a £1000 banger and covered their first year insurance, they’re 38 and 40 now, independent and still not been in an accident. I don’t expect we could do this now. Roads so much busier and insurance costs would defeat us
Mine are girls. The serious accidents I’ve read about had young men driving

Just revisited this thread. It was 20 years ago when DSs learnt to drive Can’t believe that!
One had his own car and ins about a year after qualifying, the other stayed on DHs insurance arguing that Dad had a better car than he would ( and of course paid for everything!) In fact he was hit by another driver who skidded on ice into oncoming traffic. Fortunately no injuries. Although the car was written off the insurance company didn’t restrict or load the insurance.
I suspect they have become a lot stricter now.

We read often about women who never drive as their husband always does, especially older women. But who say they've got a valid licence and of course could drive in an emergency. I find this really concerning and dangerous for all.

It's hard for youngsters like our GCs, as they pass ther test, and then often can't drive for months or years, as parents' car/s insurance would be prohibitive. The case for our grandson for instance, passed test just before going to Uni and not driven since. When he comes here on holiday this Summer, we can lend him either of our cars and he will be totally covered, apart from a hefty £900 franchise if he crashes the car. And this despite driving a powerful car and on the other side of the road!

I am not taking away from the parents pain but is the answer not for the parents of the passengers to say "Im sorry but you are not going out with Jim/Julie?

For the parents I know who could easily be in this position, their DD went to jail for a number of driving offences.
They would absolutely love to tell their DD, hey, dont go out dear, and she took notice!!

seventhfloorregular

When an older new driver goes out they are not in a car full of teenagers who don't drive and who don't understand road hazards.
They have probably saved up and bought their own car and insurance themselves and not been handed it by doting parents or grat

They often are in a car full of other elderly people they are taking out for a trip, a meal to to the pub. What is the difference? In fact, older drivers are probably much more likely to drink and drive, have issues with driving at night, and slower reflexes. Whether they ave bought their own car or paid for insurance makes no difference to the dangers to others, both in and out of the car.

One of DH's ex work colleague kept his car when he went into a carehome and used to take a few of the other 'inmates' on all sorts of trips, mainly to the pub. It was very hard for Matron to explain to him that he must not do that again, and she had to get GP to take his driving licence away, which he took very badly.

The thing is, a lot of these decisions—like jumping into a car with an inexperienced driver or heading out in a group—are made spontaneously, after the child has already left home. Parents often aren't even aware it's happening, let alone able to stop it.

And while it's good for parents to set rules and boundaries, by the time a teenager hits around 15, there's only so much influence a parent can realistically have. Teens start making their own choices, often regardless of what they've been told.

Honestly, my blood runs cold when I think back to some of the reckless things I did as a teen—things my parents would have done anything to prevent, but they simply didn’t know.

When are we gonna stop bashing teens/ young adults? This was an arguement when I started driving and probably most of you. We've got one of the most strictest driving tests in the world these days, I remember my grandad telling me he was given his driving license in the army before he even sat in a car. My dad said his test was driving around a town for 10 mins.
Men in their 50s are most likely to be caught drink driving. Speeding offences are for people in their 30s and minor unreported accidents are for the over 70s.
A elderly lady goes to the local garage, down the road from me, in her honda jazz for a new wheel n tyre around 5 times a year.

As a young driver I had the astra gte. The Renault 5 GT turbo etc. these days the cars are a 100 times safer. Kids aren't doing anything different to what we was doing at their age in fact we was probably worse

Luckygirl3

Not as easy as it sounds. Once your children become teenagers they are out and about, both socialising and at college. Parents cannot police all their decisions and some will be unwise ones.

When our kids had just passed their test age 17 , for the first 6 months they were not allowed to carry teen passengers. Our car, our rules.