Young Drivers are idiots.

[kidzer]

Bit of a generalisation in the title - but I've just had an example of some (IMO) truly idiotic driving from a friend of mine.

Get a text this morning asking if I want to go into town to play some 5-a-side football, sounds like a plan - so this friend is picking me up from outside the shop in the village.

When he arrives, I end up squeezed into the last spare seat in the car, and just managed to get my seatbelt on - he heads out of the village (doing about 45mph in a 30mph zone, not a great start IMO) and heads to the next one - to pick up someone else it transpires (now doing 75/80mph in a 60mph road)

So when this next person shows up and tries to get in, I leave the car and leave them to their idiotic ways.

The annoying thing is, the guy driving is a really smart chap, I dont get how he can be such an idiot behind the wheel of a car, where he is quite capable of killing all of us in it, really not impressed with him - and I imagine they're all a bit pissed at me for probably meaning they havent enough players for their game - I'd rather gaurentee I'm alive though.

Hopefully I wont end up anything like that when I pass, but he's a smart chap too, and he ended up being like that (amusingly, this is the came chap who offered me a lift home last saturday, after having some alcohol - I only saw him have one drink, but I couldn't be sure - so I said no at the time).

Are most young drivers like this? (and am I over-reacting to some young exuberance, or is this guy a bit of an idiot as per my assesment?) I can understand why Insurance for young males is so high now, this guy is a bit of an idiot driver in my eyes now, I dont imagine I'll get in a car wih him for a few years now.

[muddyfox470]

I'd say you probably made the right decision there to stay out of the car.

Having a car and driving it (esp being one of the first) is no doubt to give the guy a rush with all the attention and love from his mates. But yes it just goes to show that they tend to show off and have no respect for other users.

They will probably only come to terms and learn the hard way imo

[StevenF]

A lot of young drivers are reckless - I myself am a young driver (19) - but they are some sensible once. I like to think that I am one of those.

I don't drink. So at the weekends my friends and I go out driving. We usually sit and chat, then go for a little drive. About ten minutes after meeting, some young Schumacher does a 180` handbrake turn on the middle of the road (fair enough, it was a quite road, but people still use it). I don't know whether they like showing off in front of their mates or whatever the reason is, it's just reckless.

Everyone speeds and some point - whether it's 1mph over the speedlimit, or 10 -, and those that say they don't are either very careful, or lying.

I was driving through the town last night, doing 30mph and there's some... chav right up my arse. His car is full of people and he decides to overtake me while the passengers kindly draw me the fingers. Idiot.

[Mblaster]

Well, I'd say you're over reacting based only on the information you gave in the post, but reckless driving isn't only about the speed you drive, it's about your driving style. Those speeds I do pretty much every day on the way to work, but the 30mph road is a long straight road wide enough for 3 cars (has a school on the road, but I'm driving to work well before school hours), with plenty of visibility, and I don't fly through junctions or round corners at over the top speeds. There's a difference between driving fast, and driving recklessly.

[Gr44]

Most people are morons when behind a wheel at one time or another, I'm sorry to say. I think it's more apprant in younger drivers because everything is still new and it's of course an on-going learning experiance.

Chances are when you do pass you'll do some stupid things, the differance (hopefully) between you and many other drivers if knowing WHEN you've done something stupid and to ensure it doesn't happen again. Something that many drivers, both young and old, seem to struggle with.

I wouldn't say speeding is synonomous with recklessness, IMO, of course. That said if he has just passed, and was trying to overfill a car which probably struggles to go 70 in the first place, it isn't the best of ideas...!

[StevenF]

There's a difference between driving fast, and driving recklessly.

Yea there is, definitely. Speeding doesn't necessarily mean dangerous driving, but it can be a cause of it.

[muddyfox470]

Yea there is, definitely. Speeding doesn't necessarily mean dangerous driving, but it can be a cause of it.

I'd say that it does, there are laws in place to prevent speeding, if there is another road user or pedestrian that is anticipating you going the speed limit but you are 10/20 mph over the limit then it can have dire consequences. It doesn't matter if you feel in control, it is other road users you have to be aware of and considerate to.

It's just a shame that there are compulsory advanced driving courses for new drivers.

Ian

[Fatboy40]

Yea there is, definitely. Speeding doesn't necessarily mean dangerous driving, but it can be a cause of it.

I'm sorry but I have to pick you, and the other poster who mentioned this, up on this.

Any speeding DOES mean dangerous driving !.

45 mph in a 30 means you've immediately increased your breaking distance + shortened the length of time to react to any emergency.

Driving at 30 means you may have the chance to either break in time, or swerve to the other side of the road if clear, before hitting the little kid who slipped away from their parents and ran over the road without looking...

[Gr44]

Man.... I was 1/2 way through typing a post and Prime95 crashed my pc!! I guess 3.72Ghz isn't stable... yet!

Anyway.

I was saying, I honestly think there should be re-tests ATLEAST every 10 years for ALL road users. Young drivers and old, I see so many older people going along the A5 at ~20mph... this is, IMO, potentially more dangerous than doing 80 or 90 down there.

Also, all road users should be taught in more detail to look out for vechicles travelling at speed, it doesn't matter if the person driving is MEANT to be or not, the fact is people DO. Purely from a perspective of preserving their own life, all road users should feel happy that when they pull out they are going to get up to speed quick enough to ensure the person travelling does not need to hammer on their brakes.

Speeding _isn't_ right, I'm not saying it is. But it will always happen until the UK turns into a complete nanny state (~10 years?). Because of this all drivers should be aware of how best to spot them and avoid them.

Like the idiots you get who make it their personal mission to pull in front of cars doing a ton on the motorway in a terrible error of judgement in the believe they'll slow them down for the remainder of the journey. They're often more dangerous than the cars speeding in the first place as it's highly unpredictable behaviour.

To add to that point, although they might just be going a couple of junctions up the motorway to go shopping, you DO NOT KNOW what circumstances are in a speeding car, okay, 95% of the time it's just someone trying to get a kick from speed, but I wouldn't want to be indirectly responsible for someone not getting their loved one to hospital or something. There is no need to slow down other road users without cause to do so, it's even more idiotic than people speeding in the first place.

</rant>

[Gr44]

Any speeding DOES mean dangerous driving !.

45 mph in a 30 means you've immediately increased your breaking distance + shortened the length of time to react to any emergency.

You're correct, in a way....

Higher speed = longer distance travelled before stopping, or higher momentum upon impact.

That said, you can play the 'go slower' card all day long. We could all do 50 on motorways and 10 in towns, it still doesn't mean it's _right_. The speed LIMIT is the legal limit the government enforces to ensure a reasonable time to react according to differant road layouts and near by hazerds.

My only point being that, yes, doing 40 in a 30 you have a higher chance of an impact should something un-expected happen. But you have a higher chance of an impact at 30 than you do at 20 should something happen.
The speed LIMIT doesn't imply you NEED to travel AT 30, yet police WILL move you on for travelling too slowly, there is no 'lower' limit. Talk about being picky!!

IMO, they should change all majorly built up areas to 20, and up large A roads and motorways to 90. Zero tolerance in towns.

EDIT:

My evil side says take away speed limits and bring back in survival of the fittest!

[Fatboy40]

The speed LIMIT doesn't imply you NEED to travel AT 30, yet police WILL move you on for travelling too slowly, there is no 'lower' limit. Talk about being picky!!

Yep, that's one thing that the majority of people miss, that 30 is the limit, if you feel the need to do so or if the conditions dictate it you can drive slower.

Sometimes when the weather's nice and there's a good view I don't want to do 60 down a country lane, I just want to enjoy the drive (other time's I just want to go flat out and enjoy my car down a decent twisty quiet road ).

Having said that though, I do wish at time that some roads had a minimum limit as well, they do this in the USA don't they ?.

[Gr44]

I'm unsure mate. I know the police will pull you over if you're going stupidly slow though. People going stupidly slow really bugs me ( as I said above ) but forcing people to go at a speed they aren't happy with is a really dumb idea.

If people feel safe going well below a posted speed limit, say, 30 in a 60 ( on a decent A road ) and no faster, they shouldn't hold a license, simple.

[StevenF]

IMO, they should change all majorly built up areas to 20, and up large A roads and motorways to 90. Zero tolerance in towns.

As stated above, I am a careful driver. But reducing the speed in built up areas to 20 is silly and I would think the majority of road drivers would probably agree. As you said:

The speed LIMIT is the legal limit the government enforces to ensure a reasonable time to react according to differant road layouts and near by hazerds.

That's why it's 30 and not 20 - it's safe to do so.

[Gr44]

Hurling a couple of tons of metal around at any speed is never safe. Thats the problem, people assume because it's LEGAL it's SAFE. This is NOT the case....

[staffsMike]

I think the problem with putting the limit at something like 90mph on motorways is some peoples take on it.

First of all a legal 90 will probably give some people the mentality that they will get away with 100+

Other people feel they have to do the speed limit and almost every car made today can do 90 and most from previous history. That said a lot of these cars get a bit leary to drive at thoses speeds especially if they are light and there are crosswinds.
Can you reasonably expect people to slow down to a decent speed just because the should?

I HATE 20 mph zones and they are often only enforced by speed humps. I HATE speed humps.
30mph zones work as long as you are careful and actually do 30mph.

With regard to the OP, took me 6 months to really get my driving confidence (after I passed) as it wasn't my car and I didn't want to mess it up. After that, like a lot of people I did get a bit my aggressive behind the wheel and that continued until someone else got in my car.. didn't matter who it was really I wasn't going to kill someone else in a car crash. Then one faithful evening I finally had a very nasty accident (on my own of course) and have calmed down a lot now.

[Optical668]

Sounds like he was showing off to his mates, which most likly is the case most of the time with young drivers. I had a sim runin with a friend of mine there was 4 of us in his little fiesta going to his house and his driving was completly stupid and none of us was happy with it yet he said he plays a game where you gotta keep going 30mph all the way which almost resulted in us smashing into a lamp post, however what made us even more angry was that when we said to him that it was stupid and he should stop trying to show off his agrument was "when you get into my car you accept the way i drive" but the thing is that hes been driving for no more than 6 months and just seems to have this attuide. I got no problem with speed as me and another friend did like 160mph on the M4 in his 300zx twin turbo, of course there was no other cars about and it was on a long straight but thats a bit differnt to doing like 100mph in a little fiesta that feels like its about to fly off the road any given moment. But the chap with the 300zx is a much better driver than the friend with the feista i feel safer going 100mph in his car with him driving than my other friend doing 60mph in his feista with his current attuide towards driving.

Ive always said that if you wanna speed then do it on a open peice of road where the risk of involving other people if you wipedout are pretty much zero and you dont have your mates in your car is well, do it by yourself but when you start putting your friends and other road users lives at risk its no longer sensible but just plain stupidity and disrespectful because i can not imagine me driving again if i killed a bunch of people in another car just cause i wanted feel the rush.