I feel that parents have to accept some of the
responsibility.

Choosing vehicles for safety
not image would perhaps be a good place to
start. Also, supervising practice driving. Don't
simply rely on driver education schools for
your children.

Most young people tend to give lifts to their
friends. Restricting the number of passengers
is another factor that needs to be looked at.
As well as stressing the importance of wearing
safety belts.

Prohibiting drink driving is a must.

According to statistics most accidents happen at
nighttime between 9pm and midnight.
Restricting nighttime driving might be another
option to consider.

Lastly, parents should remember they are role
models for their children. Often bad habits
are passed on from the parents.

Not everything is going to work,
but it's worth a try.

Polycarp; “I'm only beginning to feel 'vulnerable' now.. and I'm well.. 'getting on' in years...”

The feeling of invincibility is very difficult to address. In fact, it is pretty much impossible to get it through the thick heads of a large portion of the young populace, no matter how graphic road-safety ‘advertisements’ might be or how intense driver-training might become.

We sure as hell need vastly improved driver-training. I’m not so sure about those graphic TV, newspaper and billboard messages though. But the most important thing, I believe, is to hugely improve the policing regime.

One of the biggest problems of all is that (many) young drivers feel the same about being caught by the police as they do about having an accident – that the chances are very small indeed. And basically they’re right….about the latter at least.

So what we need is for a much larger portion of the police force, if not the entire thing, to be INCONSPICUOUS – in unmarked cars, which can easily be identified with a flashing blue light and siren when they need to be.

Some or all Australian states have had this to a limited extent for decades. So why not expand the concept? What’s the bloody point of having the police in vehicles that stand out like dogs balls, when an unmarked vehicle can instantly be made unambiguously obvious? I’ve never understood this.

continued

And MORE IMPORTANTLY, we everyday ordinary road-users ALL need to be empowered to do our bit by being easily able to report hoons and other obviously deficient drivers.

In just the same way as there have been campaigns to dob in a smoky vehicle and report litterers, there needs to be a major campaign centred on reporting bad drivers.

If unscrupulous young (and any age for that matter) drivers realised that any person on the road could easily make a report to the police, then their aberrant behaviour would be greatly mitigated, wouldn’t it?

This is another thing that I fail to understand – that the reporting of bad drivers has effectively been strongly deterred by the police, unless an 'accident' has actually occurred.

Not every report needs to be acted upon. If the police get three reports of the same vehicle, then they should act. Drivers should be encouraged to give idiot drivers a signal that they are going to report them or are considering it, by flashing their brake lights three times if the mongrel is behind them, headlights if they are in front, or three quick bips on the horn.

Fwaarrk, it really is all sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo easy to GREATLY reduce the DANGEROUS driving antics of our young and inexperienced drivers……isn’t it?? ?? ?? ??

Polycarp: http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?article=8121#126923

Ludwig.
There are three flaws in your suggestion I can see.
One malicious reports
Legally accepted evidence
and ability to enforce.

I have to disagree with you the solution isn't simple and if it were would it be acceptable.

While deaths are tragic and get the attention there are far more on going injuries that have a wider effect on the public. This ranges from costly medical care to ever increasing insurance

In the final analysis Ludwig, we can't protect people from their own natures/stupidity.

Examinator, they’ve got this sort of thing in New Zealand. So it shouldn’t be dismissed too lightly. http://www.police.govt.nz/service/road/roadwatch.html.

I find it quite bizarre actually, that we have been encouraged (in some states at least) to report litterers and to report suspicious people as part of local neighbourhood watch programs, neither of which would be likely to have any legally accepted evidence….and yet the a lack of hard evidence is the first and biggest problem people have with reporting bad drivers.

Yes a comprehensive ‘roadwatch’ program would have its problems. But it is pretty obvious to me that the downsides would be a whole lot less significant than the upsides.

As well as the potential for a very significant reduction in bad driving, another big advantage would be an avenue for frustrated drivers to actually do something positive about road safety, instead of feeling powerless or feeling as though the only thing that they could do is to take matters into their own hands. I think this sort of a scheme would greatly reduce road rage.

Thanks to all contributors on this thread.

But crikey, there really is very little interest in road safety, and the law and mentality of young drivers that pertain to it. I guessed that this thread wouldn’t go very far…just as my past efforts on similar subjects on OLO have failed to gain momentum.

I think the great problem with our abominable standard of road-safety is the extraordinary lack of concern about it within the general populace. If the will was there, some very effective measures could be implemented very quickly. I don’t believe that it requires hugely expensive long-term complex strategies.

But the will just isn’t there. The general community is just not too concerned, despite most of us being out there on the roads practically every day and regularly witnessing some pretty hairy stuff, and knowing family members or friends who have died or been badly injured on our roads.

There is enormous scope for discussion here, about how to improve road safety. But it obviously ain’t gonna happen. This just blows me away.