There was another appalling "accident"

yesterday.
"Accident" seems to be the wrong word though. Teenagers stole a car, used it to travel somewhere else. They stole a second car there and then travelled in convoy at high speed. At an intersection they went through a red light - and killed someone.
It isn't the first time something like this has happened - and it won't be the last. 
Downunder has a dangerous love affair with the car as a mode of transport. It is considered a "right" to drive. It isn't a privilege. People "need" their cars. If you haven't got a car then you borrow one - or you steal one. It is also considered that breaking the speed limit isn't really a problem. It is something "everyone" does.  It's a rite of passage for the male of the species - and increasingly so for the female of the species if the reported incidents are any indication. 
So "accidents" occur and there are demands for tougher road rules and higher penalties. But there are rarely demands for some of the things which might made a real difference. Raise the age at which you can obtain a permit to learn? No, the young "need" their cars. "Safety" is cited, especially for those who have part-time jobs - although the cost of running a vehicle is probably so high they might be better of with a different form of transport. Of course raising the age won't stop the determined young hoon who has been honing his or her skills on a stolen vehicle.  A much longer period learning - and learning from a qualified instructor? "Too expensive" we are told. Really? You can afford to run a vehicle but not afford to learn how to use it? 
There are some people who should simply never be allowed to drive. Their skills and their understanding of the responsibility will simply never be good enough. If they don't have an accident themselves then they will cause others to have an accident. 
And those older people who insist that they are "fine" to go on driving even when their reaction times have slowed, and their hearing and eyesight are fading? They might not have accidents either - but they might cause others to have accidents.
To me an "accident" is something that is all too often avoidable. It isn't really an accident. It is stupidity, carelessness, inattention, lack of ability or some other thing. It means that a woman going to work has lost her life because a few young teenagers wanted to experience the adrenalin rush of high speed travel through the streets.
They knew what they were doing. They knew what could happen. It could and did  happen to them. It also happened to an innocent woman and her family. 
Lock them up and throw away the car keys forever?