| Driven to despair |
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The Times was yesterday (Jan 2) living up to its old ‘Thunderer’ image in its reporting of a number of tragic teenage road deaths that occurred during Christmas. With some justification, it pointed out the abysmal lack of training, and reminded readers that novice drivers are required to learn only how to pass the test, not how to drive. Stopping short of suggesting a spell in the army, the Thunderer nonetheless echoed the thoughts of many experts in that it gave precious, front-page column inches to various notions that young – and in particular, teenage - drivers should not be allowed to drive cars beyond a certain horsepower, that they should not be allowed to carry more than one passenger, and that some sort of curfew should be imposed during the dangerous, post-pub midnight hour. These are all perfectly sensible ideas but what no one has yet latched on to is the pervasive influence of programmes such as Top Gear, which makes folk heroes out of fools, and propagates the kind of mindless adoration of speed that can lead only to more tragedy: indeed did they not nearly kill one of their own? For sure, motor journalists are generally highly skilled drivers who are able to handle cars in a manner that eludes many ordinary motorists, but such antics – for often that’s all they are - should be conducted in camera, not to camera – two entirely different things. But thrills (and let’s face it, spills) make good TV – at least for those of a particular mentality – yet Top Gear and others do not seem to take into account the inevitable fact that unskilled, inexperienced drivers in unsuitable cars, driven in inappropriate places, will all too often attempt to emulate their celebrity heroes. ‘As seen on TV’ is not an endorsement of reckless driving, and it saddens me that members of my profession seem content to aid and abet the kind of behaviour that all too frequently leads to innocent families being driven to despair.
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