The cause of the "P"roblem?

The major news stations have continued their smear campaign against "P" plate provisional drivers again today. Both Channel 7 and Channel 9 showed the same story in which a P plater was the cause of a relatively minor traffic accidents (by relatively minor, I mean there has been no fatalities as yet). Curiously, both stations introduced the story with a jibe that "it seems P platers still have not learned."

Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but today's P platers would know more about road rules than any other average driver on the road. Today's P platers have to be on their provisionals for at least three years and have to sit multiple choice, hazard perception and rather rigorous driving tests to advance. With this education in mind, it should make one wonder why P platers still crash so frequently.

The answer is twofold. Firstly, yes, P platers have some blame in this. It's their actions which directly cause these sorts of accidents. Contrary to what the news stations imply, however, most P platers are not idiots. The P platers who cause these accidents are in the minority and should be no reflection on P platers in general.

Secondly, and primarily in my opinion, parents and other adults on the road have a lot to be blamed for. I only just recently got off my Ps, but in my four or so years of driving, the worst drivers I have seen were not P platers. They were fully licensed adult drivers. Adult drivers constantly go over the speed limit, and are more likely than P platers to cause rear-end crashes due to their tendency to tailgate other cars whilst travelling at high speeds. When you have people like this influencing the next generation, is the increasing fatalities of P platers really a surprise? I mean, I remember, way back in 10th grade, a friend of mine was about to sit his Learners test and actually seriously asked me "Is it true that you are legally allowed to drive 5-10km/h over the speed limit?", to which I replied "No, that's why it is called a speed limit." Because my friend had grown up watching his parents break the speed limit, he actually thought that it was legal.

But, of course, the Australian media will not blame the parents, and will instead continue to sensationalise the story. So it goes on.