Meeting of the Parliament 25 March 2014
One of the great things about the Parliament is that we have a diversity of members. Although we might look the same and have similar experiences in some areas, some of us bring very different experiences to the Parliament. When it comes to driving, my experience was very different. I come from a family and a community where driving is not something that happens when someone is 17 or whatever; people begin to do it as soon as their feet reach the pedals. Away from the public roads, young people in a rural community very quickly become familiar with the driving techniques that they will use later in life. It is possible to be licensed to drive some very heavy and potentially dangerous agricultural machinery on the public road as early as the age of 16. Many people who grow up in an agricultural community will have been operating that same machinery in an off-road environment for a very long time before they pass a test.
I mention that because there is plenty of evidence to suggest that age is a misleading guide to ability on the road, and evidence that it is not necessarily an accurate one. There is also evidence to suggest that inexperienced drivers are among the most likely to become involved in accidents. In the north-east in particular, where Aberdeenshire is criss-crossed by a web of A-class roads, we have become used to the problem of young men especially—I am not being sexist—getting into powerful cars and doing excessive speeds, eventually injuring or killing themselves or their friends.
At the same time, we have lost our place as far as policing is concerned.