Who is it who causes the most crashes?
Who is it who kills the most people?
Who is it who drinks and drives?
Who is it who speeds the most?

The answer to all of these questions is those who are under 25.

If the government is concerned with drink driving then why don't they just raise the driving age.

It would take several drivers off the road who shouldn't be on the road anyway.

I saw Sebastian,the pukekohe driver who crshed in the weekend mentioned in the Herald on Sunday and a direct quote from him before he died was "I am going to die in a car crash", people like him shouldn't be on the roads and now he isn't and he killed 3 friends in the process.

This just reminds me of the debate going on about SH2. It's not the road that needs fixing. It's the attitudes of the drivers. It's a simple equation really, don't speed and you won't fucking crash. Stop blaming the roads and slow the fuck down!

I think the roads are partially responsible, I mean the fact a lot of NZ roads are poor is the reason I don't drive.

Yeah attitudes definitely need changing, in schools you are informed about sex and drugs so shouldn't you be informed about driving as well.

People say in NZ that it is hard to get a license, I think it should be harder and I definitely think there shoudl be more police on the roads as well.

:frustrated: Thats bs Liz, the roads are perfectly fine except for some remote stretches up north and south but im sure you wouldnt be going that way anyway. Ive been driving since the day I turned 15 and I am a better driver for it. As per normal it is a small majority ruining it for the whole. As for the being informed at school, schools offer defensive driving courses which are very worthwhile. Also it should not be the responsibiltiy of the schools to teach people how to drive (isnt that the job of the LTSA and AA???) Teachers and schools have enough to do as it is.

i agree that there are good roads in New Zealand, the road which I would feel safest on would be the canterbury planes in the south island or the city roads in Auckland.

I can't stand roads north of Christchurch in the south island though, especially the hundalies, they terrfiy me coz they are so narrow and high up.

Yeah I forgot about the defensive driving courses that schools offter, valid point.

Though you say its not the school's responsibility, a school's responsibility is to teach its student and to enforce rules etc. now based on this, in its broader sense the teachers would be doing their job by teaching the students road rules. Sure, it isn't traditional academia but it is vocational and so yep, the teachers would still be doing their jobs by teaching about driving.

And if the parents aren't doing the teaching then the kids have to learn somewhere.

Your same theory could be applied to sex and drugs.

Information about whatever has to come from somewhere.

As Steveo says, teachers have got enough on their plates. I was talking to my aunty who is assistant principal down at Horowhenua college and EVERYONE expects the school to everything. If kids are having problems parents would expect them to go to a school counsellor, blah blah blah.

Fact is, if parents took a bit more time to find out whats going on in their childs life they'll be better for it. This includes driving lessons etc. Don't fucking palm it all off to the school. School is for academia, unfortunately, common sense has to be learnt elsewhere.

What really scares me is these 15 yo's in their turbo vehicles and high horsepower cars. Kids who have been driving for all of 6 months behind the wheel of sports cars and such

it all comes down to the control / maturity / tolerance under peer prassure.

This was in the news the other day that its been proven scientificaly that brain matures at 25+ and before that time we are prone to giving in to our desires, be it speeed.

Yes everyone does expect the school to take care of everything but as I said they are an educational institution.

Also I don't think it is fair to expect the parents to teach the children how to drive, you aren't allowed to drive in the street without a license or a licensed driver so the only way they can legally learn is to be taught through school.

Most parents would also be worried about their kids crashing their car, I know thats why mine nver let me drive one of their cars.

If the school doesn't have enough resources to start investing more money into the schools so they can have more staff then the government needs to do some reshuffling.

Whats interesting is that the government spend billions of dollars on tv advertising and magazine advertising yet most people flick the channel during the ads. Wouldn't it be bettr to invest that money in education about driving at school and improving the roads in certain areas.

Naw I just think we need a better public transport system.

I know I wouldnt drive so much if I could use some other form of transport for the Environment and Congestions sake.

yeah but thats not the problem, the problem is that people are speeding when they shouldn't be or drink driving when they shouldn't be.

What we need are speed cameras in city areas as well because lets face it, speeding doesn't just happen in country areas.

people speed everywhere and anywhere, when I drive at 50kms in a 50k zone i have people overtaking and all sorts it terrible, but then they complain when they get speeding tickets. Remember speeding laws are there for a reason - to help protect people. I dont care if someone wants to speed and kill themselves but I do care if they do it with other people in the car or they kill others. Thats not fair.

That has to be one of the most annoying things. I will never understand those who blatantly break the law and then complain and say it wasn't their fault they were speeding, thats like saying, it wasn't my fault I killed him, the gun just went off, which is bull shit.

That's bullshit. The school is NOT responsible for whether a student learns to drive or not. Certainly, they offer defensive driving courses for students already with a license, but to say they should be responsible is a cop out. Driving and everything involved with it is something that happens outside of school hours. How are they responsible?

The only way a person learns to drive is through sitting their learners, THEN either paying for lessons, or learning with their parents. A school, for the most part, is for furthering themselves academically. Learning to drive does not come under it.

Like I said, I'm sick of it all getting fobbed off to already overworked and underpaid teachers. It's just a case of lazy parenting if you opt for that solution, Liz.

I agree that the parents should teach their kids how to drive but what I was suggesting is that thre is a week at school every year where they focus on safe driving.

After all there has been the worst road toll in 11 years.

Something needs doing and fast.

I suggest higher fines, maybe even jail sentencing for like 3 months and I suggest more speed cameras and check points.

Basically the government needs to review its spending.

Most schools will offer defensive driving courses throughout the year. I know mine did.

To be honest, most of it is probably a huge lack of common sense on the part of drivers. Unfortunately that's harder to teach, if it's possible at all.

Agreed about common sense.

The thing is people are still speeding no mattr how many times people tell them not to so I say raise the fines.

Or, how about producing cars that can't speed? Who really needs a car that can go 180km an hour? It's stupid.

Yes, that is the most logical thing, you can get cars that have this in built thing that will beep whenever you try to speed, maybe if all cars had these we wouldn't have these problems

The issue with that though is that overseas they aren't so harsh on speed as they are here.

What about that study in the Time Magzine recently about the development of the brain up to the age of 25 and how adolescents (according to brain development - this is people under 25, who brains are still developing) are likely to take more risks, especially when they are with peers...

That was covered on page one of this thread.

If that truly is the case then maybe the age of driving should be 18.

I mean I personally think it should be 18 anyway beccause of responsibility, car maintenance etc.

right. thanks for that... missed it. well I'm outta here. good night.

what I get from this message is that either people under 25 shouldn't be allowed to drive with passengers or people under 25 shouldn't have licenses because they are easily influenced and more inclined to drive stupidly, is that what you are saying?

I personally agree that people under 18 shouldn't have licenses, the reasons I say this are that it would wipe out a number of crashes.

Also there are several things you aren't allowed to do until you are 18, vote, drink, go clubbing, take out hire purchases, get credit cards etc so it makes sense for it to be 18.

A few days ago I made the comment that the advertising to reduce the number of people who speed was not working. According to an article at http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,11964-4235988,00.html what I said was correct.

Advertising is not the way to go, having more police on the roads, more speed cameras, more alcohol check points and higher fines would get the message through.

And if it didn't then they would get free membership of the confiscated car club.

I think the number of demerit points one can get before having their license removed should also be lower for those under 25. it is harsh but it seems that you have to be cruel to be kind.