Editorial: Young need better skills at the wheel

Young people have been, and always will be, infatuated with speed. A generation ago, they expressed this passion on motorcycles. Society was appalled by the number of young lives lost on these high-powered and highly vulnerable machines. Today, there is the same shock at the number of youngsters dying in high-speed car crashes. Cheap imports, armed with turbo-chargers and the like, are this generation's machinery of choice. Less vulnerable than the motorbike they may be, but they also place more people at risk.

Such was the case in the weekend crash at Hastings, when four youths were killed and two seriously injured. Understandably, that incident, and other multiple fatalities, have created demands for action. Mostly, these involve keeping youngsters out of high-powered cars. Things like, for example, raising the minimum age for gaining a driver's licence, restricting young drivers to cars of limited engine capacity, and making third-party insurance compulsory.

Unfortunately, there are hitches to all these ideas. Take that of restricting engine capacity. Already, this exists for motorcyclists, who can ride a machine of no more than 250cc for two years after gaining a licence. This, it is suggested, has played a role in slashing the number of youths killed in motorbike accidents.

More likely, however, that drop has much to do with motorcycles no longer being a preferred form of transport for the young. Some may have recognised their vulnerability; others have chosen cars for their cheapness and comfort. In any event, restricting engine capacity will not eradicate the potential for horrific crashes. In the Hastings incident, the teenagers were in a low-powered car.

Compulsory third-party insurance would place expensive, high-powered cars out of the reach of many youngsters. But it would penalise every one of them for the behaviour of a few. Not all people who drive, or want to own, a high-powered car are a danger to themselves and other road-users.

Raising the minimum age for a driver's licence would be a sizeable step. Getting a licence soon after turning 15 has been a rite of passage for generations of New Zealanders. The age trend in other fields, most recently that of liquor consumption, has been downwards. And if a change were made, it would have to be fairly modest, perhaps to the point of ruling out a significant benefit. A lift to 18 would put the licence age too far out of tune with that for school leaving.

Current conditions place great expectations on the limits imposed by learner and restricted licences. These seek to ensure that good habits are acquired during the first two years on the road. In some cases, they are clearly not working, partly because of a lack of policing and partly, perhaps, because the lure of speed means they never will.

This points to a shortcoming that could be addressed relatively simply. The licensing process places too little emphasis on being able to control a car in difficult circumstances. In the main, youngsters need show only that they can pilot a car around a city street at 50km/h. They need, however, to be able to handle emergency situations. Then they would be less prone to lose control, as seems to have happened before the Hastings crash.

More extensive compulsory driver training would acknowledge the attitude of some youths when they get behind the wheel. It would not raise the issues and inequities posed by other responses. In time, a lift of the driving age may have to be contemplated. But for now, let's concentrate on teaching young people to be more skilful drivers.