Are All Young Drivers Really Bad Motorists?

During the last festive season, as is the case every year around the same time, both provincial and national government begin working toward clamping down on reckless, negligent and drunken driving. A recent interview with an Arrive Alive spokesperson conducted by the New Age newspaper stated that young drivers seem to be at the forefront of the reckless behavior that is exhibited, not only during these times, but year-round.

 

Spokesperson, Tshepo Machaea, cited statistics in an interview with the newspaper, and claimed that   whenever roadblocks are conducted, the majority of offenders would tend to be young drivers either driving under the influence or without a legal drivers’ license. The figures given are, of course troubling, if we factor in the number of annual deaths caused by negligent and reckless driving. The idea of these deaths being caused by inexperienced and reckless youngsters with little to no experience on the road, or even without the right to actually be operating the vehicle should be addressed as quickly as possible.

 

While it is not necessarily a guaranteed fail safe, one way that such negligence could be curbed is by installing some kind of drivers’ education system into the high school phase of education, the time when children are most likely to be preparing to obtain their licenses. This will give schools and governments the ability to monitor driving ability more closely, while educating possible future drivers in safety and responsibility.

 

On the other hand, it does seem a little bit unfair to state outright that by being a young, inexperienced driver that one will be more likely to cause an accident, or to drive under the influence of alcohol or narcotics. While it may seem like the evidence points to this conclusion, the question of whether or not these practices are carried over into later life should be asked. It seems to not be a case of the younger generation being less responsible than the previous, but simply a case of younger drivers being more prominently assumed to be risks in the eyes of authorities.

 

Clamping down on negligent and reckless driving across the board, regardless of the perpetrator’s age and driving experience should provide at least one step closer to the goal of reducing death and accidents on the roads.