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Child Item

Stupid young male drivers: how can we stop them?

Seanchai

So this morning I opened my email to learn that a young friend of our family has just been killed in a road accident. Like so many young guys, he drove like he was invincible, like he'd be young forever. I can only sense acutely the pain he left for his parents' in his wake. Their entire world has collapsed. He defined them and helped make them calmer, more loving people. They grew because of him and what he brought to their world. I just feel so, so, sad for them.

Now the anger. Why, why, why must there be so many young men who take stupid risks when driving? Just last Sunday morning a car with 3 or 4 guys in their early 20s forced me off the road because they came speeding over a rural bridge, lost control and I had to swerve into the grass. Bastards. Stupid, stupid, stupid bastards, no doubt still under the influence of some drug from the night before. I couldn't believe it. I just looked at them and I was staring at future road death statistics, and for the first time in my life afraid the people in the car I was driving would also become statistics if I didn't act quickly. These idiot young male drivers seem to have no developed consciousness of the value of life, or of the value of families and couples in other cars and how much a single death ripples through homes and communities causing untold suffering and heartache. These clowns look down on the rest of us because we don't take the risks they take, as if there's no middle ground between a granny driving a Nissan Micra and a boyracer driving a pumped-up Honda Civic. In my early 20s, these emotionally challenged, desensitised male drivers were the cause of the high cost of my car insurance. Now they are threatening the life I've worked hard to develop in the intervening years. Clearly, not all young males are reckless idiots, but the vast majority of reckless idiots on our roads are young males.

What can this society do to rid itself of this boy racer culture on our roads?

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Jhcx

Had few boy racers pass my house with lightning speed at 2.30 this morning. Someday it will just be easier let a car roll down the hill and let them understand a car has brakes. Or just buy a speed cam or lots of flashing blue lights. Or stingers or the possiblities can go on.... Like I don't care how fast they go. It's the jet the stick on the back that just make a sh t load of noise and no speed.

up for anything

Daveysil15 wrote: »

There's not much of a boy racer culture nowadays. I rarely see the modified cars on the road anymore.

Boy Racer Syndrome doesn't reside solely in the 'cockpit' of a modified car. It is within the driver - be he a boy or a middle aged man or an old lady. It is in the mindset of the driver.

In the 70s all you had to do to achieve outward boy racer status was stick a few go faster stripes on the sides of your car.

somefeen

People don't see driving as a serious thing. The test is a waste of time, go around a roundabout, three point turn, hill start etc etc. Its a mickey mouse exam, and making people take 10 lessons before hand won't make any difference as long as that's the case.
Driving is a much more serious business than the test would have anyone believe.

To drive safely you need to be constantly taking in and assessing information. Your typical motorist probably has more to be thinking about driving through Dublin than a light aircraft pilot flying over it.
And yet who is better trained?

We should adopt the Finnish driving test system in Ireland.

jaffacakesyum

Why not raise the age for driving?

You look at the statistics. The cause of most road deaths in Ireland is from young male drivers at the wheel. If it takes raising the age of driving to 21 to make people realise that they're being idiots speeding and drink driving, then so be it.

Extreme solution that won't be very popular, I know.

shar01

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

Proper media reporting of crashes would help.

- Likely cause
- Speed at time of impact
- Whether alcohol was involved
- Whether seat belts were worn
- Detail of injuries suffered

etc

Or we can continue to cover it up on the basis that "the families won't like it".

As hard as it may be for the families of those killed or injured in crashes, there needs to be an official report made available. There have been a few crashes lately where one person in the car is killed but others in it are reported as "having minor injuries".

Add to the mix the state of the road.

mikemac1

Around 2005-2006 there were plenty of boy racers in their left hand drive cars around Ireland

Techno music pumping, those dark windows and if they hit you do they even have insurance? Who knows

Long gone

Gardaí must have cracked down
Or more likely the Revenue looking for their money from these foreign regs

mikemac1

shar01 wrote: »

As hard as it may be for the families of those killed or injured in crashes, there needs to be an official report made available. There have been a few crashes lately where one person in the car is killed but others in it are reported as "having minor injuries".

Add to the mix the state of the road.

Won't happen
Families don't want to know

There was heavy fog on the N7 (maybe M7?) a few years ago, a lady drove into the back on a fire engine with lights & sirens on and died

RTÉ radio tried to discuss and a furious sister rang up demanding they stop talking. And then blamed the government/NRA about signage

We had a thread on it
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055167358

minidazzler

jaffacakesyum wrote: »

Why not raise the age for driving?

You look at the statistics. The cause of most road deaths in Ireland is from young male drivers at the wheel. If it takes raising the age of driving to 21 to make people realise that they're being idiots speeding and drink driving, then so be it.

Extreme solution that won't be very popular, I know.

I'd more go for the American approach where you do Drivers Ed as part of a school curriculum in a lot of schools. Teach kids young the awareness they need and it will stick with them, older people tend to think they "should" be good at something so pretend they are.

Marsden

In Russia its now compulsory to have a built in camera looking out your front window and monitoring your driving, this should act as a deterrent but will not completely wipe out road deaths due to dangerous driving. It will eventually be stamped out when autonomous cars are fully operational on Irish roads but this is still a good few years away.

shar01

@mikemac1

Thanks for the link. I remember that incident.

You're right though about publishing accident reports. Wishful thinking on my part.

TURRICAN

This happens all pver the world every day of the week,some drunk some high some tired etc etc. it's never going to stop its just a part of life.

Hurts when it arrives on your doorstep though.

nlgbbbblth

mikemac1 wrote: »

Won't happen
Families don't want to know

There was heavy fog on the N7 (maybe M7?) a few years ago, a lady drove into the back on a fire engine with lights & sirens on and died

RTÉ radio tried to discuss and a furious sister rang up demanding they stop talking. And then blamed the government/NRA about signage

We had a thread on it
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055167358

The most recent message (headed up "IN MY OPINION") on her Gone Too Soon page rightly pulls no punches.

Bruthal

Hannibal Smith wrote: »

?

If they thought getting into the car meant death, they wouldn't get in? I bet their mates families wished they never got on too! What a bizarre thing to say.

You dont get that simple statement?

They get into the car, and no chance do they think they will be in a crash. This contradicts you sayng they are happy to kill others.

You dont grasp that?? As in they are young males, will take higher risks than the average person. Every time you get into a car there is a risk also, but again, you wont grasp why I say that either.

You dont believe young males take more risks by virtue of being young males. Im stating this not as as excuse, but a fact of life. At least try to grasp that part.

DipStick McSwindler

This post has been deleted.

freedominacup

minidazzler wrote: »

Low powered cars only until a certain point.

The precedent is there.

What is that point? There are plenty of guys in their late teens and early twenties who I would be much happier to see in charge of highly powered cars than some older people. Is your point based on ability or experience? How do you measure experience? I was covering north of 60,000 miles per year in my late teens and early twenties which would have equated to roughly 5 years of the average drivers experience based on miles covered per year I was driving. I saw at least one stupid/dangerous thing per day when driving for work and in my experience middle-aged men in fairly high powered cars were as likely as anyone to be the ones behaving stupidly. Their number one action was to ignore right-hand indicators and attempt to overtake a vechicle turning right. Happened me once a week at least. What saves them from becoming a fatality is the strongly built high powered car they are driving.

Older drivers and some women drivers were likely to be the cause of accidents on the main roads before the motorway network was established and are still a problem on routes like the N25, and the routes between Waterford and Limerick. They often show no regard for other users, refuse to travel at a reasonable speed and drive in a manner that makes overtaking difficult. These drivers again were unlikely to become statistics despite causing accidents. Their bad driving was likely to be a cause, in fairness someone else took the risk to get past them and the ones taking the risk were unlikely to have had a gun to their head.

None of this is to condone or excuse the behaviour described by the op and may be whataboutery but young males are not the only risk group. They are however the ones most vilified. I have often wondered how badly they would fare in a measure of accidents per mile/kilometre travelled as they are highly likely to have to travel as part of their job.

Poxyshamrock

Stupid young rural male drivers.

partyatmygaff

IrishFeeney92 wrote: »

I reckon people my age should so be restricted in the engine sizes they drive. The my first car was a 1 litre polo. now I'm on to a 1. 2 opel corsa.

Why? An idiot driving too fast for the conditions in a Polo isn't any safer than someone doing the same speed in a BMW M3. In fact, the traction control and better suspension, braking and grip of the bigger car makes it a lot less dangerous.

A friend of mine (Who was 27) used to drive his Polo up and down the main street of a town at 140kph. There are very few inherently dangerous cars, their drivers make them dangerous.

ejmaztec

A lot of them have joined the "hoons" in Australia, and have got their hands on bigger cars with bigger engines than they had here.

freedominacup

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Stupid young rural male drivers.

I don't think so actually. I think it's more likely to be drivers that do a lot of their mileage in built-up areas. As soon as they see a bit of open road i.e. one with no traffic in the immeadiate vicinity they put the shoe in and are unused to the speed or road conditions. Rural drivers are less likely to get excited by the sight of a road with little or no traffic on it.

the culture of deference

nlgbbbblth wrote: »

Proper media reporting of crashes would help.

- Likely cause
- Speed at time of impact
- Whether alcohol was involved
- Whether seat belts were worn
- Detail of injuries suffered

etc

Or we can continue to cover it up on the basis that "the families won't like it".

All we hear on TV and the papers is some fckin priest droning on about the waste of life, some sad looking photos of the family left behind, pointless comments about how they were good lads/girls, instead of using the coverage as a way to stop more tragedy.

Light Switch wrote: »

In fairness, you could do as much damage in a Polo as you would in a Volvo.

Plus a Volvo would probably be a safer car if it were in an accident due to their size.

I was walking with the dog in my estate, large estate in palmerstown, loads of speed humps. A young boy on his own in a red polo with L plates nearly hit me on the footpath because he was texting. I was going to do something but didn't.

10 mins later he passes me again on his way out of the estate, now there are 5 in the car, all lads. The polo is nearly touching the ground with the weight and he was texting again. I think extreme measures should be used to deal with people like this.

partyatmygaff wrote: »

Why? An idiot driving too fast for the conditions in a Polo isn't any safer than someone doing the same speed in a BMW M3. I

The level of control in an M3 is much better than a polo.

ejmaztec

the culture of deference wrote: »

All we hear on TV and the papers is some fckin priest droning on about the waste of life, some sad looking photos of the family left behind, pointless comments about how they were good lads/girls, instead of using the coverage as a way to stop more tragedy.

I was walking with the dog in my estate, large estate in palmerstown, loads of speed humps. A young boy on his own in a red polo with L plates nearly hit me on the footpath because he was texting. I was going to do something but didn't.

10 mins later he passes me again on his way out of the estate, now there are 5 in the car, all lads. The polo is nearly touching the ground with the weight and he was texting again. I think extreme measures should be used to deal with people like this.

The level of control in an M3 is much better than a polo.

Not when it's being driven by a twat with minimal driving skills.

partyatmygaff

ejmaztec wrote: »

the culture of deference wrote: »

The level of control in an M3 is much better than a polo.

Not when it's being driven by a twat with minimal driving skills.

Not really. The M3 offers much better control than the Polo and is probably in all respects a safer car. That said, the control the car offers and the actual control the driver has aren't necessarily the same thing.

Gauss

Seanchai wrote: »

So this morning I opened my email to learn that a young friend of our family has just been killed in a road accident. Like so many young guys, he drove like he was invincible, like he'd be young forever. I can only sense acutely the pain he left for his parents' in his wake. Their entire world has collapsed. He defined them and helped make them calmer, more loving people. They grew because of him and what he brought to their world. I just feel so, so, sad for them.

Now the anger. Why, why, why must there be so many young men who take stupid risks when driving? Just last Sunday morning a car with 3 or 4 guys in their early 20s forced me off the road because they came speeding over a rural bridge, lost control and I had to swerve into the grass. Bastards. Stupid, stupid, stupid bastards, no doubt still under the influence of some drug from the night before. I couldn't believe it. I just looked at them and I was staring at future road death statistics, and for the first time in my life afraid the people in the car I was driving would also become statistics if I didn't act quickly. These idiot young male drivers seem to have no developed consciousness of the value of life, or of the value of families and couples in other cars and how much a single death ripples through homes and communities causing untold suffering and heartache. These clowns look down on the rest of us because we don't take the risks they take, as if there's no middle ground between a granny driving a Nissan Micra and a boyracer driving a pumped-up Honda Civic. In my early 20s, these emotionally challenged, desensitised male drivers were the cause of the high cost of my car insurance. Now they are threatening the life I've worked hard to develop in the intervening years. Clearly, not all young males are reckless idiots, but the vast majority of reckless idiots on our roads are young males.

What can this society do to rid itself of this boy racer culture on our roads?

It's the age when testosterone is at it's highest and life experience is still limited, a deadly combination. Why do they do it? The testosterone makes them feel really good taking risks without being mentally mature enough to consider the consequences.

DipStick McSwindler

This post has been deleted.

Rynox45

I've found it's more common for young drivers to be the ones who didn't care about school.
I don't mean to generalise and say that all young drivers are drop-outs, but in my last year of secondary school, for example, the only people who could drive were the people who lived in a rural area and needed it for work or those who dropped out after the JC or carried on in school not doing any work.

I assume they have more free time to find a job, pay for a car and then crash it, driving insurance premiums up to the point where my choices are extortionate fees or the bus.

[Deleted User]

the culture of deference wrote: »

I was walking with the dog in my estate, large estate in palmerstown, loads of speed humps. A young boy on his own in a red polo with L plates nearly hit me on the footpath because he was texting. I was going to do something but didn't.

10 mins later he passes me again on his way out of the estate, now there are 5 in the car, all lads. The polo is nearly touching the ground with the weight and he was texting again. I think extreme measures should be used to deal with people like this..

Like taking his reg and reporting him?

Daniel S

dave1982 wrote: »

Installing restricter in learner drivers car's.

Do you honestly think lads who modify or drive "fast" cars couldn't take a restrictor out or bypass it secretly if there's Garda checks?

Wabbit Ears wrote: »

Ive seen some adverts on UK TV for cheaper car insurance if they are allowed to fit a tracking device of sorts. Perhaps this should be mandatory for all young drivers?

Again, they could very easily attach the tracker to their parents car or a random slow as fook car. There's no point trying to restrict young drivers (nor would that be fair), they just need to be taught how to drive properly.

If you want a system, have dash cams compulsory and have a way of reporting dangerous drivers via their registration plate. This goes for all ages/genders too.

MJ23 wrote: »

I hate when people say "accident". It's not an accident if a fella crashes a car that he was driving 100 mph on a narrow country road.

Yes, it is an accident. He hardly did it on f*cking purpose...

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Stupid young rural male drivers.

There's a lot to be said about that.

Honesty, most people in this thread are just saying the other party are bad drivers and they should have restrictions put on them.

1ZRed

A few months ago my friend, who I knew forever and grew up with, was in a very serious crash in which he nearly died of some serious damage to his head. He was in a bad state in intensive care but he managed to claw back a steady but slow recovery and its doing well now.

Thing is though, when me and another friend where about 14/15 we predicted it would happen to him. We just had the feeling. He's a good driver but yeah, likes to play it up for the lads like it's a dick measuring contest.

And for all the boy racer talk, his gf was no better and had actually totalled all the cars she ever owned into right offs. So you can generalise that young guys are wreckless chancers while driving but there are also many young women who may not drive as erratically as young men, but are poor drivers nonetheless.

And after so many lads dying in such avoidable ways you'd think the culprits would cop on and say wtf is the point, but you're not going to stop them easily.

Young lads are hard to control as it is and be told what to do, even if it might be the right thing.

seven_eleven

I went to school with 3 guys who were constantly driving around in their silly little suped up cars, driving like they were in a rally. Everybody always used to say "They're gonna get killed one of these days".

Low and behold the 3 of them were in a car one day and had a single vehicle collision that killed the 2 of them, the driver survived and he was under the influence of drugs. A relative of the dead happened upon the scene just after it happened and had to go through the trauma of seeing their deformed mangled bodies lifeless and had to make the phone call to the parents to inform them of what happened.

I wonder if how that driver manages to live with himself? They were going near double the speed limit and on drugs, and he basically murdered his 2 mates. I dont think Id want to be still alive after that.

My favorite part about all of this is that a month after the accident all the friends of the 2 dead boys got together to hold a memorial.
The memorial event involved a ****load of cars blasting music, doing doughnuts and racing around the place like morons......It really goes to show how these idiots mentalities work.

the culture of deference

bluewolf wrote: »

Like taking his reg and reporting him?

A pointless exercise. All that happens is you get a disinterested garda on the phone saying yea we will have a look out.

seven_eleven wrote: »

A relative of the dead happened upon the scene just after it happened and had to go through the trauma of seeing their deformed mangled bodies lifeless and had to make the phone call to the parents to inform them of what happened.

In my last job I used to have to read the Books of evidence in driving accidents, so you would get detailed statements of the firemen and garda on the scene. One always stands out in my mind where describing a head on collision on the M50, you couldn't tell the bodies and the interior of the car from each other. It was almost impossible to distinguish between both.