I've been meaning to post on this thread for a while, but hadn't got around to it. It's interesting what can happen in such a short time too, and i'll get to that later.
I'm mostly in agreement with knifemissile here, or at least what I think his take on the situation is. I'm 21 years old, and i've been driving on my G license in canada for about 2 months. Granted, that hasn't been too long, although I had my G2 for about a year and a half before that(for all you confused by this kind of talk, look up the canadian licensing system, it's been explained a lot of times here before). In my opinion, you are responsible for ANYTHING that your car does on the road, and there are no such things as accidents, only collisions. We are talking about a system with mechanical characteristics and known inputs and outputs, there should be NO surprises and the car never just "does what it wants".
This in no way means that you'll be collision free for your life; there is always an inherent risk when you're on the road because of unsafe drivers, but that driver does not have to be you! That's not to say I am the most highly skilled driver there is, but it's all about staying within your limits. If you can't make fast decisions, slow down. If you can't concentrate with certain events happening, or there is any chance these events might in the future influence your ability to concentrate, get rid of the distractions. If it's slippery, and that causes a loss of control, SLOW DOWN!
Just think about it. If the weather has been bad recently and your in an unfamiliar dark area, do you take it slow, analyse the conditions and make your decision on how to drive based on that, or do you talk on your cell phone and be totally oblivious to your surroundings? I'm not totally against cell phone usage at all, but it should be handsfree. By talking directly into a cellphone, you will always have one less hand on the wheel, a physical problems. You should be as physically inclined as possible when driving a vehicle, and control all the factors beyond that.
We could even go as far as to day that any mechanical problems that happen with one's vehicle are their fault as well. I can't stand it when people own devices for which they have no respect. Computers and cars seem to be the two that come up the most. Just because something seems complicated it doesn't mean that you can just disregard it. My mom has had her car since 1994...a probe...not once have I ever seen her get the transmission fluid checked, or the radiator fluid replaced. Once, she was driving her ol' fiat and the timing belt broke while driving. Even with smoke coming out of the hood, she kept driving! New engine needed as a result. Another time, she drove her probe so long with the alignment being off and scrubbed the tires down to the steel belts inside of them...new tires and an alignment needed! It's not worth the risk, or the money that it will cost you to just let things break down. Take care of your investments people, you are entrusting your life with a mechanical device, it should be treated with that idea in mind. You should know enough about cars to be able to hire a competent mechanic, or do the work yourself
If you get injured in an accident, it should be more of a "you live, you learn" attitude. You are the one who is responsible for your vehicle. I'll bet that half the population probably keeps one hand on the wheel at all times(I am guilty of it sometimes too). If you have to make a split second decision to try and avoid an accident, is it such a good idea to not have full control of the wheel? It's your own fault if you get into an accident because of this lazy habit. If I get into an accident and it could have been avoided if I had both hands on the wheel, i'll call myself an idiot as well. I won't go and blame the road, or anyone else...
On a personal note, my friend of several years totalled his car yesterday. HE was speeding down a residential road in snowy/icy conditions, lost control while making a turn and hit a tree. He's been known for testing the limits of the cars that he drives, and this was no exception(it's got AWD as well, hmm...). It was a 1995 audi 90 that he just got like a month ago. Paid about $6000 cash for it, got it registered, insured, emissions tested, etc. He loved that car, but unfortunately he's also a reckless driver that needed to be taught a lesson sooner or later. I'm glad he didn't get hurt, and of course I would have felt horrible for his family and all of his friends, me included, if he did. But I would have no sympathy for him because I knew what kind of driver he was. On the plus side, I hope he learned his lesson, being as lucky as he did. No person was injured, he didn't hit another car, the insurance company will never know, the city doesn't know, he pretty much gets off scot free and will be able to drive again without paying out the ass in insurance. But the financial hit, and losing a car that he liked so much will teach him he shouldn't be so reckless. I went and checked out the tree he hit, and oddly enough, there was evidence of another accident on the other side of the road that looked MUCH worse than what my friend did. Does that mean that we blame the road? Blame the system? Blame the city for not cleaning the road quickly enough? NO! We blame the people for driving stupidly.
There's a good lesson for all you parents out there. When your kid starts driving, put them in the biggest, oldest car you can. Give them as good of a driver education as you can. In the best case, they'll never have an accident. In the not as good case, they'll get into an accident significant enough so that they don't get permanently wounded but it teaches them to respect the road. I commend my parents for doing such a good job with me so far. Also, if you're in canada, there's only one REAL driver training school:
http://www.yd.com/YoungDrivers/ . The money you'll spend in the beginning for the best driving school in Canada will end up saving you on insurance in the future, car parts in the future, and your children's lives in some cases. When I went to my insurance company with the knowledge that I took young drivers, they acknowledged it as if I had already been driving for 3 years!
Drive safe, everyone.