Ahem. Passed my test 5 months after my 17th birthday, taught solely by my Dad, been driving a little over a year solo now. 2 accidents, but neither my fault (one a woman went up my rear, couldn't have gone anywhere to stop it or I'd have hit someone else, 2nd someone pulled out onto me on a motorway, again had to anchor up, nowhere to go and yet I avoided hitting anything).
However one of the people who hit me was a woman in her 30s, she wasn't paying attention (her own admission), the other I was more interested in the whole not dying thing, but let's be honest most van drivers aren't 18-20 year olds.
But new drivers have more accidents as they're new, accidents are almost as common in newly passed drivers of any age - age isn't the issue, inexperience is. And no amount of driving with a safety net next to you can change that, everything is easier with someone who can tell you what to do in an emergency.
That said in the ice Dad did take me somewhere safe (and private!) and got me to play with him next to me, so I had a better idea of skid control for just in case. Probably saved me a crash when 2 days later I hit some black ice going at a
very sensible speed around a corner.
Sorry for the long reply, being assumed to be an incompetent driver because I'm only 18 really hacks me off
Anyhoo glad you're ok Matt, the fact you're not blaming someone else is the main thing, when you know your downfalls you can fix them
Glad the car's ok too!