Wednesday 21 November 2012

The drivers' market - "A car is a potentially lethal weapon"

According to The Telegraph, Young drivers face a ban on carrying anyone other than family members as passengers under proposals being considered by the Government to cut the number of road accidents involving teenagers.

According to the Association of British Insurers, which submitted the proposals to the Department for Transport, one in eight drivers is under 25, but they account for one third of the number of people who die on the country’s roads. It estimates that an 18-year old driver is three times more likely to be involved in a crash than a motorist 30 years older.

In 2011, drivers between 17 and 19 were involved in 12,000 crashes of which more than half resulted in serious or fatal injuries. “I read regular reports where three or four young people have been killed in a car and it’s a new driver and you wonder what happened,” Mr McLoughlin said. Naimo Jones, 19, was jailed for six months after killing her best friend in a car crash in Blackpool. The court heard she was showing off when she lost control of her Vauxhall Corsa as it hurtled into a blind left-hand bend.

"We know from research that young drivers are far more likely to crash when they have passengers of their age in the car. Placing this restriction makes sense."

WATCH THE VIDeO BELOW AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:
1. Do you agree with the suggestions being made?
2. What are your own suggestions in order to combat failure in the driving market?


3. Would you like to drive a car whose speed can be controlled by your parents? Read the news below:

Parents will be able to control how fast their children drive thanks to technology being fitted on Britain’s top selling car, the Ford Fiesta. Read the article here

19 comments:

  1. I partially agree with the ban. I would suggest like in the report that young people should get more training and in the first 2-3 years they should always have someone who haves experience with them in the other seat to help them till they will get enought experience to drive alone, especially in the dark or heavy conditions. I think is a good thinking that parents should put a maximum speed in the car what are they giving us at start, but they should put reasonable maximum speed, not 40-50km/h

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    1. But Alexandru, in towns, the speed limit is 50km/h!

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  2. yes, but outside of town is 90-100-130...

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  3. I am partially agree that parents could control how fast their children drive, because outside of town the speed limit is 90 km/h, but inside of town is 50 km/h so the parents maybe will put the maximum speed limit 90 km/h, but their children then could drive at 90 km/h also inside of town and that could be dangerous.
    I am agree that the children should get more training and I suggest that if they go to a party their parents should not give them the car because they are tempted to drink and their parents should pick them up of they could call a taxi

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    1. You are right about the two different speed limits.

      I AGREE WITH YOU (attention! you never use the verb "to be"with "agree".

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  4. My opinion is that if the parents don't trust in their children, they shouldn't buy them a car. I think that a person who is very well educated, responsible and normal will ask to someone they trust to join him till he is feeling comfortable to drive alone.
    Doesn't matter if you are young or old, when you start driving is a little bit difficult for anyone.
    Normally the insurance companies have high prices for the new drivers .A few years ago, in Spain, one of the insurance companies, had lower prices, for the new drivers who accept to get installed in their cars a gps, which will warn the company if they exceed the speed limit.
    About the" FORD FIESTA "Company, I think that is just something to encourage their sales.

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    1. Hi Ionela, interesting idea with the Spain gps installed by insurance companies.

      About parents and trust, it is a very complicated issue whenever young people get into a bad antourage, my humble opinion.

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  5. I disagree with the idea that parents should have control over the speed with which their children drive because in this way children will be tempted to borrow friends' cars and I think it would be better to be communication between parents and children and the children should be aware of the dangers from the traffic. The best thing would be for them not to drive with speed at least a period of time after obtaining their driving license and not to risk. Another option would be that at first children not to be allowed to drive alone in the car at least until they get used with the car and the traffic. In this way would be someone close to them all the time and would warn about things that they are not used yet.

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    1. Anca,
      driving with someone more experienced near you can also be extra nervousness because one may feel frustrated of not rising to expectations. This is the opposite case to driving at the high speed!

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  6. I beleive that the true problem is education. If a person knows the possible results of speeding or trusts the person saying to him or her that this may have a deadly outcome, it all comes down to personal decisions and these are influenced by the "first seven years from home". I think that with proper raising a young person is capable of taking the right decisions, and without it, it is useless anyway to make any kind of rules. There is always a way to get around them, and age doesn't count.

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    1. I absolutely agree that: education is the problem. I know that the majority of crashes occur because of young people, but this should not be a rule. It`s right that when you start driving it`s a little difficult and you need to pay attention on everything; and I agree Ionela too, that if the parents don`t trust their children can drive safety, they should not buy them a car.
      I wouldn`t like my parents control the speed i`m driving because you can merely have a crash being the best driver when there are so many who doesn`t pay attention.

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    2. Yes, Diana,I am also afraid of so many WHO DON'T PAY attention.

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  7. I think that every country faces with this problem but nobody can stop this drivers’ market. Even if I am 20 I recognize that the people around this age create the majority of the accidents because of speed and too much self-confidence. As Emese said, this is all about the education. I can’t afford to drive with speed with my parents’ car because I realize how hard is to buy one. I can’t imagine what do all that young people when ride a car and drive with speed? Of course, their parents haven’t control over them and their cars.

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  8. Young people have the tendency to show off. Attitude that is destructive. To keep a resonable damage control you have to place restrictions. But the youngster must understand that the restriction can be lifted if he shows that he is responsible.
    It is important that the law impose restrictions. But also every parent, knowing his child, can and must impose restrictions. Restrictions that can be removed, but it's up to the young. It is a matter of trust, actually, the child must earn his parents trust, by showing that he is responsible. And the parents have to show that they trust their children by removing some restrictions, if they deserve that.
    I was speaking generally, but this can be applied to the discussed subject.

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  9. In my opinion there should be a little bit more training, after you get your driving licence, for a period of one month you should have an experience driver assisting you and putting you in different bad situations to give you some experience. I don't agree with the speed being limited by the parents nor with the fact that you can not take anyone you like in your car. If the passenger is stupid and wants to go with a person that just got their license, well, that's their problem. I went with a friend that just got his driving license proof and we ended up crashing and with the car upside down.

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  10. In my opinion it is very important that the drivers to be severely and seriously verified regarding their health and their knowledge in driving, before to get a driving licence; also the fines to be higher in order to make them to behave properly in traffic. I would not like to drive a car controlled by parents, rather I think that everybody, mainly the young people should be more responsible in traffic and more aware of the danger.

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  11. I do agree with better training and attitude before getting behind the wheel. Ionela is right regarding the severe and serious health and psychological check-ups that should be made before getting the official driving licence. I am also totally against the driving under the age of 18.

    I would not like to drive a car controlled by anyone else but me and I would never think of controlling my daughter's car in the future. We should be responsible for our own actions. I also believe that we can achieve more with trust and proper education than by controlling or be controlled.

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    1. Kinga, I understand you agree with Ionela.
      You could have replied to her directly, not to me.

      This is what I expect from you all, to comment and interact with each other: agree, disagree, add new info or ideas not just respond to my initial post - as we do in class.

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    2. I understand. I will keep this in mind for the future discussions.

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