LICENCES AT 21 TO REDUCE ROAD DEATHS.

It's been reported today that the Transport Select Committee of the House of Commons has been criticising the government for a supposed lack of leadership on road safety issues. This criticism comes after it's also been reported that the number of road fatalities has shown its first increase in almost a decade. It seems that road accidents are also the main cause of death amongst people aged 16 to 24 and the Committee has demanded 'more help to keep young drivers and cyclists safe and to improve the design of roads'.

While the Committee's aims may seem very laudable, it also appears to be yet another example of the 'Nanny State' interfering unreasonably in the lives of the population. Leaving cyclists aside, for their seem to be very few of them these days, to my mind, if someone is old enough to be driving on our roads, they are also old enough to look after their own safety; if they cannot keep themselves safe, they should not be on the roads, and it should not be for the Government to impose special road designs or motoring restrictions in order to 'keep them safe'.

What may also have been ignored by the Committee is the ever-increasing population and the increasing congestion on our roads. With 3.7 million extra people in the country since 2001, it is surely inevitable that there will be more cars, more congestion and more accidents; the appalling state of our public transport system also leads to more people being driven to use the roads for journies that have become far too long winded by other means. All of this increase in road traffic must inevitably lead to more fatalities.

When we consider younger motorists, how many of their fatalities are a result of anything other than their own recklessness ? We all know about the indiscipline and arrogance of modern youth and we've all seen the way in which some young drivers behave, racing around the streets at breakneck speeds and with total disdain for for other road users. It can be no coincidence that insurance costs for this group of motorists are so much higher than for older age ranges.

If the Government is to reduce road deaths among the 16-24 age group, it has an easy and obvious option. At present children can legally drive a car on our roads at the age of 17; while, 50 years ago, this was an age at which these young people had experienced a disciplined upbringing and the majority had left school and were engaged in the adult world of work, today they have been fed nothing but drivel about their rights, with no discipline and no thought of responsibility. Many have never even contemplated the idea of work and are still wedded to an infantile life of childish pursuits. To allow these mentally immature individuals to get behind the wheels of potentially lethal weapons is a recipe for disaster.

If they really want to reduce road accidents, the Government should increase the age for obtaining a driving licence to 21. This wouldn't be popular but it is not Government's job to be popular; it is to do what is right in given circumstances.