Flat to the mat.

Probably one of the best suggestions from an MLA that I've read about is...

The Northern Ireland Assembly is to debate a proposal to impose a night time curfew on novice drivers.
North Down MLA Peter Weir has also proposed limiting the number and age of passengers and a total alcohol ban on newly qualified drivers.

This story...

A teenager, who expressed remorse in court for killing two men while driving drunk, wrote on his online profile: "I'll be back and I'm not changing."

Christopher McGinn, 18, was jailed last week for four years for driving a vehicle which struck two cars on the Dublin Road, Newry in October 2006.
Stephen Shields, 44, from Newry and Dromintee man Gerald Fearon, 26, died.Mr Shields' widow Catherine said she was disgusted at the lack of remorse McGinn had shown in his Bebo profile.

... highlights the problem and the attitude that some of the 'boy racers' seem to have or develop. I'd tend to ignore the problem with boy racers, if they don't annoy me why should I be annoyed. However, reading about lowlife like McGinn shows how easy it is for things to get out of hand. I think that as well as Peter Weir's suggestion, young people should be taught to drive responsibly and how to handle a car in a difficult situation.

I've been on the receiving end of dangerous driving back about ten years ago when a "traffic cop"based in North Belfast drove through a red light which resulted in my Volvo being written off. I was driving through a green light on to the M3 at 3 am when his Merc hit me. Inside about 2 minutes the area was covered with other police men. Fortunately nobody was injured in the accident. Around the time the accident happened I didn't consider contacting any newspapers to publicise the story of this guy, who I've seen on television since talking about traffic related issues. I didn't even put an personal injury claim against the traffic cop, probably because I wasn't injured .I'd never even heard about the Police Ombudsman then, who I might've been able to contact. This experience, that accident, left me that I wouldn't know who would be suitable to teach young people driving skills when traffic police don't always show a good example.

I've also developed an attitude recently towards 'boy racers' , 'killer drivers' and 'drunk drivers.. It's, if I read or see on television that one's been killed I think 'it serves them right'. I also discovered someone, who is perceived to be a prominent member of the community, had killed his first wife in a car accident. He was drunk when driving. When I discovered this I totally changed my attitude towards him. I've spoke to this guy when he was sitting in his car and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. I know the accident was maybe over 30 years ago, but having the nerve to even get into a car after drinking alcohol I find astounding. The sad thing is that no doubt if he's stopped by the police and they notice he's been drinking all he'd have to do was mention who he was and where he's from and the police would probably just send him on. Let's hope he doesn't kill anyone else.