Why do young people think theyre immortal??

[kiwigeo]

I'm sorry but I can't see the actions of the 19 year old driver of this vehicle as anything but criminal. Didn't any of his passengers appreciate the extreme danger associated with travelling at 140km with a P plater in control of the vehicle?? What can be done to change the attitudes of these young drivers??

From The Age:

About 100 friends and family gathered at the scene of a fatal car crash in Melbourne's north on Sunday to mourn the five young men killed.

The letters R.I.P. were spray-painted on the large tree knocked down by the force of the car, which police believe was travelling at speeds of about 140kmh when it spun out of control and crashed.

Five men, including the 19-year-old P-plate driver, were killed when the Ford XR6 sedan carrying six people from a party in Ivanhoe about 1.50am (AEDT) crashed on Plenty Road, Mill Park, in the city's north.

The crash impact ripped the tree from the ground, causing it to fall onto the car, tearing the vehicle apart.

A 15-year-old girl, the sole survivor of the crash, is in the Royal Melbourne Hospital with serious injuries.

Carload after carload of young people began arriving at the site on Sunday afternoon to pay their respects.

The mourners taped bouquets of flowers to the tree and placed other bunches beside it.

Some people stood, others sat and stared at the large crater where the tree was ripped from the ground by the force of the crash.

The mourners appeared stunned, gazing numbly at the scene, while others cried and hugged each other.

Flowers were placed at the site.

The girlfriend of the car's driver was among the mourners.

Natalie Bryant, 18, with red and swollen eyes, said her boyfriend had been "the nicest person on earth".

She said he had been a third-year apprentice roof tiler.

The crash killed the driver, from South Morang, along with another 19-year-old man, a 17-year-old male, and a 15-year-old boy, all from South Morang.

The 15-year-old survivor was from Epping.

Her 18-year-old brother, also from Epping, was among those killed.

[nine fingers]

I think they learned to drive by playing video games,if you crash you just press the restart button and carry on driving.
What a waste of young lives. John

[funkychicken]

Well the parents could have taught them responsibility in the first place

[Big Shed]

Well the parents could have taught them responsibility in the first place

FC, who's to say the parents didn't. Once young people get together in a group situation, a lot of those lessons learned go out the window and bravado and showing off take over.

You can lead a horse to water..................

[Ian Smith]

Well the parents could have taught them responsibility in the first place

FC - that's a cheap shot bordering on the offensive - You obviously either have no children or have been lucky - so far - with the ones you have.

It's exactly as Big Shed says.

Ian

[Dills58]

It's not just this accident, but this is the most recent that has rocked us all. There has to be a radical change to curb the sensless loss of life. I know there must be pro's & con's against speed restrictors, who is going to bitch if they see a P plater doing 90 klm's. As Big Shed states, education is only good if it is heeded. Peer pressure and excitement out weighs education most of the time. My thoughts go out to the surviving girl, she will need lots of help.

Dills.

[Groggy]

I have done stupid stuff like that when I was a young fool on the turps. I stopped doing it after about 21, or so it seems. I consider myself fortunate to have got through that stage without killing anyone else or myself.

If "I" were empowered for a day to fix the problem it would be:

1. Driving age of 21.
2. Zero tolerance for drink driving offences. Lose your licence for 12 months, lose your car permanently. If you are driving another person's car then the state takes an item of equivalent value or you do jail time.
3. Repeat offences: lose licence for 5 years, lose car, go to jail.

Unfortunately we treat driving as a right, and not a privilege.

[Big Shed]

One of the main problems with getting the message across on the dangers of speeding is that all governments are now addicted to the revenue of speed cameras (like they are addicted to the revenue of pokies).

If they could wean themselves off this addiction and put in place a serious anti-speeding campaign they would have more credibility.

We all speed at times, either advertently or in-advertently and we need to separate the "minor" offence, such as Asst Commissioner Ken Lay exceeding the 70km limit by 10km, from the "real" speeding offences.

[Calm]

FC - that's a cheap shot bordering on the offensive - You obviously either have no children or have been lucky - so far - with the ones you have.

It's exactly as Big Shed says.

Ian

His age is at the top of the post.

I tend to agree with him - correct attitude is not always/very rarely taught

BUT

the driver was 19 that means he may have held a licence for almost 2 years

AND

I see drivers everyday (all ages) that should never hold a licence they are a danger to everyone not just themselves.

BTW i dont consider 140k's dangerous in some places/conditions it seems almost to be stationary. Like on the bike - i often get 160 or even 180 in the quiet night on the freeway heading home to Ballarat.

Cheers

[Mr Brush]

[Big Shed]

BTW i dont consider 140k's dangerous in some places/conditions it seems almost to be stationary. Like on the bike - i often get 160 or even 180 in the quiet night on the freeway heading home to Ballarat.

Cheers

........or it isn't the speed that kills, but the sudden stop at the end

[Grumpy John]

FC - that's a cheap shot bordering on the offensive - You obviously either have no children or have been lucky - so far - with the ones you have.

It's exactly as Big Shed says.

Ian

Ian, you should check FC's age, he's 16. Perhaps he's speaking as a responsible teenager.

[Calm]

Dont even go down the line of speed restrictors/limiters - trucks have them now and they are the single most dangerous thing they have introduced. Until you get out beside a car doing 93km's an hour in a 68 tonne truck and it stops going (at 100 KPH) because the speed limiter cuts in you wont know the feeling of being totally useless. you just sit there, pray noone comes the other way, hope like hell the car driver backs off to let you in. you are usually too far past to get back in and the biggest problem is most car drivers have no idea the truck can phisically not do more than 100 in any circumstances (except coasting downhill)

Speedlimiters (at 100KPH) are the single most dangerous thing ever introduced in Australia. maybe 110 would be better/safer

Cheers

[Lignum]

i often get 160 or even 180 in the quiet night on the freeway heading home to Ballarat.

Cheers

Considering the massive travesty that has just taken place, I cannot believe you posted that. And adding a few thumbs up makes it worse

[I_wanna_Shed]

SIX people in a SEDAN, 140kph.... it has absolute stupidity written all over it!!!! When I was young and stupid on P plates, yes I did silly things. But, I like to think that they were not this silly. Drink driving, definately was a no-no. 6 people in a 5 seater, never done.

Some will argue that cars nowadays are too powerful for teenagers, I guess an XR6 would be considered 'powerful'. To an extent that is true, but a Barina will still do 140kph (I know... from my P plate days, see what I mean?). On the flip side, it would be safer doing 140kph in a Falcon than a Barina.

Building up a rant here.... I live near Picton Road, which has had a high number of fatalities over recent years, and a high number in recent months. Everyone (public, council, government) is quick to blame this road, saying it urgently needs to be divided and have the surface improved. Ironically, its one of the best roads in the local shire.

My wife now drives along this road daily to and from work, so I follow this road's news with interest.

Looking at the previous accidents, they are all caused by driver fault - the last accident appeared 'suicidal' according to witnesses. Luckily the clown only took himself out and not the other driver. The one before that (5 people killed several weeks ago) was caused by a driver clipping a vehicle, sending it head on into a truck. My point is, there are just too many idiots and f***wits on the roads. It may be stereotyping, but most of these seem to be P platers or near-new licence holders.

Increasing the licence age to 18 or 21 would be interesting discussion. But like everything, the minority spoil it for all of the other responsible teenagers.

The best answer, and the easiest to implement, would be to increase the difficulty of the licence test. By this I mean still do the drive around the block, but also test all licence applicants (all ages) on their abaility to control a skid, slide, over/understeer, wet tarmac tests - basically an advanced driving course needs to be passed. Part of this would involve sitting through videos of the repurcussions of speeding and acting 'stupidly'.

Way too many people die on our roads, and all too often it is an innocent 3rd party that is killed.

Nathan.