[HappyMan]

Originally Posted by Topcat

This is keeping it real - Happy Reading

Young drivers seriously at risk at night - What Car?

SKID - saving kids and inexperienced drivers - campaign

Newly Qualified and Teenage Drivers: SaferMotoring

Accidents Direct - Brake: Young drivers at risk of next-morning drink drive crashes

Inverclyde Council • Young drivers targeted in bid to boost road safety

A small loss of concentration puts us all at risk of having an accident but the facts stare us in the face - YOUNG and especially MALE drivers are involved in more accidents therefore restrictions should be put into place for inexperienced drivers.

Some good reading there, TC. There are also some stark warnings that regardless of ability younger people are more willing to take risks when driving.

Some quotes:

Technical Skills:

Young drivers tend to have good vehicle control skills because they have had driving lessons more recently than older drivers; also their reaction times are faster - however it's more likely to be peer pressure or carelessness that causes accidents in this area. Young drivers should not feel pressured or pushed into driving faster than they are comfortable with, and shouldn't carry out dangerous manoeuvres because they are being 'egged' on by their friends.

Road Awareness:

Young drivers do not have the road knowledge or experience that older drivers do. Many accidents involving younger people happen during bad weather, which suggests they are not able to adapt their driving style appropriately to the conditions. Always take your time to 'read the road' properly, and remember that experience can only come with time. If you're unlucky enough to have an accident, it can dent your confidence and set you back months, even years - not to mention increasing your insurance premium.
Road Attitude:

Young drivers are suddenly propelled into a position of empowerment when they pass their test and they are likely to drive for pleasure and thrills until the novelty wears off. When surveyed, young drivers viewed breaking the speed limit as a less important factor in causing road accidents than older drivers did. Don't get cocky - just because you have a licence doesn't mean that it won't be taken away again if you drive like an idiot.

Interesting reading and there is a point mentions about drink driving too:

Disturbing research on the dangerous habits of young drivers has been released by road safety charity Brake.

Around 45 per cent of young motorists polled by the organisation said that they have driven the morning after a night of heavy drinking - which is well before alcohol has been given the chance to leave the bloodstream completely.

This rate compares poorly with the 26 per cent of over-25s who admit to doing the same - and chimes with the generally higher rate of road accidents and accident claims younger drivers suffer.

Jools Townsend, head of education at Brake, said: "It is shocking that nearly half of young drivers will risk their own lives and endanger others by driving the morning after a heavy night's drinking.

She added: "The government must do more to ensure people are not breaking the law out of ignorance - we need high-profile advertising on this issue and an increase in police powers so they can carry out random breath tests."

According to government statistics, 540 people died and almost 2,000 were seriously injured in car accidents involving drink driving.

What's more, according to Brake of the 90,000 drink driving convictions in the UK in 2006, one fifth were breathalysed by police either on their way to or from work.

It isn't the age that is necessarily against them but 'maturity'.