Passing a test does not mean you are going to be any safer on the roads:it means you have passed a test on one day.
so why have any testing at all, ever?
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yes - why have any testing
--
"Ah...beer - my only weakness - my achilles heel if you will"
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Seems that there are two categories of potential accident causers:
Those who are obviously dodgy and can be spotted a mile off: boy racers; dodderers; mobile phone users; radio/CD fiddlers; those with lights missing or otherwise badly maintained vehicles; lane weavers; etc.
Anyone with any experience gives them a wide berth and lets them go on their way, but occasionally someone doesn't spot them coming and: CRUNCH.
Secondly those who have driven thousands of miles safely and considerately but have a momentary lapse. Fail to do that double check in the mirror; get blinded by the sun; gets someone in their blind spot; gets distracted by something inside or outside the car; has a mechanical failure.
Retesting is unlikely to weed out either category.
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OK, leave aside the logistics of re-testing every 5 years.
But just about everyone else in safety-critical jobs gets re-examined in some way to ensure they're still up to the job, especially those that work alone. Fancy a flight in an airliner with a pilot that's had no periodic inspections - or for that matter any training on new aircraft types? And pilots have regular health checks. Now there's a thought...
I'm not convinced that a re-test wouldn't weed out a significant proportion of poor drivers. Even those on their 'best' behaviour would be exposed on:
- Poor/no use of indicators
- Inappropriate positioning
- Ditto lane usage
- Poor negotiation of roundabouts
- Inappropriate speed
- Tailgating
- (and probably more).
And having to bone up on the Highway Code can only be a good thing too. (When was the last time you read it? Me: about 3 years ago, I'm afraid.)
If people aren't to lose their licence on failure, how about some compulsory re-training, and then another test? If you fail the two in a row, should you REALLY be allowed to take charge of a motor vehicle on the Queen's highway?
Hey, what about cyclists??!!
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Does anyone have any knowledge on this being done in other countries? and if so how well does it work?
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All a test proves is that someone can drive according to the book when they need to. Passing a test does not teach you WHY you should drive in a particular manner.
Driver re-education could work for those people who are convicted of dangerous driving, and those with an accident history. Again we are faced with the bureacracy element, and the money it would take to make it work. But then again, with all those speeding fines, surely some money could be found?
Soon we'll surely have electronic safety measures that will detect when we tail-gate, speed and so on. A talking Beemer: "You are exceedink ze speed limit ja? Zat is verboten". Mmmm.
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i think we should test bus drivers,lorry drivers,coach drivers etc etc every couple of years as a matter of public safety
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i think we should test bus drivers,lorry drivers,coach drivers etc etc every couple of years as a matter of public safety
I've never seen any figures, but I'd have thought from observation that they have a very good safety record already. Doesn't mean it's not a good idea, just that I don't think that v much improvement is needed -- it's v rare to see bad driving of buses, coaches or lorries. Sales reps, now, that's another matter ...
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I think Tom Shaw hits the nail on the head. Bad drivers fall into 2 camps:
1. (minority) incompetent people with 2 left feet, 2 rights hands and should never have passed in the first place. I think we all know some of them.
2. (majority) agressive, speeding, antisocial types who treat each trip to the rural post office as an opportunity to practice cornering on 2 wheels in a skid, and every 3 point turn as an opportunity for a handbrake turn. Generally members of the IAM.
Group 2 deserve shooting, as they would pass their test very easily. Their vehicle control is excellent, they know every trick in the book.
The rest of us are sort-of OK. And one or two of us drive like IAM testers.
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Unfortunantly most of those in group 2 are not as good as they think they are (although probably good enough to pass a test - assuming they don't slip into any bad habits)
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No offence, but banning motorway driving to those under 21 is a pointless idea. Sure, there are some people who should never be let near a motorway, but that doesn't mean they're under 21!
I'm 18 and already have 15000 motorway miles under my belt. I consider myself very capable on motorways, unlike a lot of people who believe stopping distances are measured in millimetres, and that 55MPH in the middle lane is acceptable.
Interestingly, because people learning to drive are not allowed on motorways, most people my age are terrified of them. A dual carriageway is one thing, you stick them on the M6 at rush hour and they would have no idea what to do.
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Motorway (and other) driving is a question of experience.
There is a quote from a US senator faced with a high school audience. When asked how best to avoid errors, he replies that errors are prevented by the exercise of good judgement.
"And how do you develop good judgement?"
"Through experience"
"And how do you gain experience?"
"Ah. That will be through making errors"
Not sure where this takes us though, if anywhere.
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Whither?
Towards building up slowly and gently. Start on a quiet dual carriageway to get used to joining & leaving. Build up and then soon enough you'll be driving the M25 & M6 in 3 lanes moving at 70.
So with luck the errors made at each stage are only small errors, and the increment of experience correlates with the increment in nsatiness of the roads used.
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Or you could try my approach, at age 21 with first car - owned for 2 days.
Living in Bristol, needed to visit GF (now SWMBO) in Cambridge. Set off on the M32 - really just a dual carriageway with a big ego. Get the hang of controlling the car at 70 with no-one in sight.
Onto the M4, still in the sticks so no worries. Everyone is being nice to me.
Gradually getting the hang of things as I approach Reading and people start to get pushier. Nice preparation for the merge onto the M25.
Onto the M25, calm calm relax don't panic match speed to the inside lane oh thank heavens I've done it I'm on the M25.
GENTLY roll round M25 until St Albans and then shortcut to the A1M - a doddle after all that "nsatiness" around Reading & Staines.
Have never looked back since.
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That's exactly the approach I recommended, isn't it?
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Yes, but the words were different.
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Very good Patently. Your exchange reminded me of Spike Milligan:)
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But the psellings were the same.
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Quote from an examination paper I had the fortune to sit:
"Describe an experiment to establish [xxx]. Ensure that your answer uses correct punctuation and speeling"
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