Safe Speed Forums

It's not a trend.

... the risk of a young driver being crash involved has risen by about 30% in a decade.

I blame bad policy and false safety messages myself.

If you are right, it's more likely to be a manifestation of the degeneration of society generally with young people less polite and understanding of others and the authorities.

I'm afraid that there is a trend. Young drivers are proportionately more crash involved than they used to be. By one measure (and I don't have these figures at my fingertips) the risk of a young driver being crash involved has risen by about 30% in a decade.

I blame bad policy and false safety messages myself.

so whats the solution

THE increasing numbers of foreign migrants in Dorset could be fuelling the number of drink-driving cases and road accidents, it is feared.

Cultural differences and difficulty in understanding road signs could be a key factor in the number of serious road accidents concerning migrant workers.

The issue was raised at a meeting of Dorset Police Authority, following Cambridgeshire Chief Constable Julie Spence's call for more staff and resources to cope with the pressure caused by an influx of migrants.

Authority members were told the amount spent by police on interpreters in Dorset had doubled to £200,000 in just two years.

And Dorset Police is also setting up a driver awareness course for people coming in from Eastern Europe who may not know the rules of the road.

Cllr Nick King, a member of the authority and the Conservatives' prospective parliamentary candidate for Mid Dorset and North Poole, said: "We heard at the meeting that traffic offences and road traffic accidents are increasing and that one of the reasons for this is felt to be the number of migrant workers in the county who come from a different culture and are not used to our roads. This is obviously of great concern."

advertisementHe said Dorset's problems are compounded because it is allocated the lowest budget of any other police authority in the UK.

‘Maybe some people who come here do not think the British police apply to them’
Arek Marciszek, editor of Polish-language newspaper the Polski Echo

"There is an increased burden on the police and there is decreasing resources and we are not being given the funding that we should."

Cllr John Lofts, vice-chairman of Dorset Police Authority, said: "It's a regrettable fact that some of the new additions to the EU have an attitude to drink-driving which we might have had in this country 20 or 30 years ago.

"Unfortunately, this is not a surprise because the evidence for it has been building up."

Arek Marciszek, editor of the Polish-language newspaper the Polski Echo, believes many migrants were not aware of Britain's drink driving limits.

"I think an awareness course is a good idea," he said. "My personal opinion is that maybe some people who come here do not think the British police apply to them, they do not see them as their police."

Dorset South MP and government minister Jim Knight said: "It would be false to say more immigrants equals more crime. If there are particular issues with translators, I am happy to take up their concerns.

"Migrants are positively contributing to the economy, in particular the agricultural and leisure industries which are dependent on them. The leisure industry is the bedrock of our economy."

Mend three things:

1) Road safety policy
2) Parental respnsibility
3) Trafpol presence

anton

then you have young foreign drivers who have lower standards of training

you have completely illegal foreign drivers with no training, licence, insurance

you have eastern block cars , left hand drive

So, you're a young drive, you have just passed your test and been given a lecture about how half of what you have just been taught is bollocks. You are seeing obvious bollocks coming from the government claiming to be safety advice. You have this government issued book called the highway code what are it's likely contents? Good sound common sense advice? nah.

Well, absolutely, the lack of credibility of official messages is a major problem ...