Driving test

[hoggy952]

In the news today,,,, some think tank or researchers are today calling for the introduction of graduated licences for young people passing the driving test.
One stipulation is no driving at night time or when it's dark, as young people are more likely to have an accident whilst driving during the hours of darkness.

My own view of this ? How on earth would these young inexperienced drivers gain the night time experience?.
The research done, apparently takes no account of who caused the accidents which new drivers are involved in at night. For all the researchers know they could have been caused by some 40+ yr old drunk on his way home from the pub.
Perhaps they should make night time driving lessons compulsory?
Perhaps local councils should provide better street lighting?

[cunny]

I agree on how are they supposed to gain experience for driving at night? Maybe a pass plus brought in, not only country lanes and motorways but driving at night also. 5 lessons at night, until then, no driving at night.

They are also bringing in a new test, the basically the examiner can just say 'follow the sign for here' and mark them on the driving, they could get a manouvere or not.

[hoggy952]

to get a licence in Germany the driver must have the compulsory driving lessons which include driving on the autobahn and night driving. I would like to say it helps but there are still a lot of under twenty fives dying on the roads

[melloned]

I pour scorn on the way todays yougsters drive , but then , if i turn the clock back over 35yrs , i was as big a dick head as any of todays kids ! drove with , no licence / insurance / drove dangerously , etc , etc.
But i'm now older and wiser and more mellow / cautious / patient , or at least i'd like to think !.
What gets me is , it appears there are as many mid 50's male and female "boy racers" , doubling the speed limit in our local area , maybe they're sadly trying to reclaim their lost youth , too late ! , some will always remain dick heads !

[southbrook]

Agree

If they banned youngsters from driving at night how would most get too and from work in winter?

[Canker_Canison]

I passed my test in January many many years ago. All my driving from that point until the summer was done at night. Rain, snow, ice... experianced it all within a month of passing. Didn't crash once......had a few spyincter twitching moments, but it was all part of the learning curve.

The best way to 'control' young drivers is to limit engine size. This is already in place with bikes. If you limit new drivers to a maximum 1.2L engine with no performance modifications for 4 years, it may help stop the b@stards acting like tw@ts.

With the exception of the Smart box, opps, I mean car. They will be out of the turbo & supercharger range of cars. Nitro will be a no no, as will stainless exhausts 3 times bigger than the standard fit.

But to really improve their driving someone should work out a way to remove the me me me attitude from them. If the young learn to take responsibility for their actions & look out for others the roads will be a little safer. But hey, I've seen enough 'old' people driving with no regard for any other drivers.

[hoggy952]

I must admit that when I first passed my test, I too drove everywhere like my hair was on fire and although I curse young drivers today I remember the time I lost it on a wet roundabout or found myself travelling backwards through a hedge... In doing this, 1 I was lucky not to have hurt anyone and 2 learnt what I can do and what I can't do in a car in various weather conditions...... I learnt to drive. Perhaps a more Scandinavian attitude to the test, driving on skid pans as part of the test as well as an area where the youngsters can go where they can burn off their enthusiasm (Though I doubt that the HSE would allow this)

Generally speaking, I find that it is not just the young who cannot use the motorway correctly, the worst are those who use their cars just for travelling from home to work and back, weekend drivers and holiday drivers.... Those drivers who spend most of their time safely locked up in offices and warehouses...

Perhaps part of the test should also include being a passenger in an HGV so that car drivers can begin to grasp just why the heavy guys have to take up so much of the road when turning .

[Stuart 0366]

I agree with your last comment there hoggy. As a HGV driver I am regulary on motorways and one is the M8 where apparently it is the norm to jam the anchors on for no reason. This really pisses me off as they don't realise that us big chaps can't stop as quick as their Nissan Micra.

On normal roads they sit over the line at traffic lights preventing us from taking the corner...I could go on.

I am not saying that all HGV drivers are angels but a little more understanding is needed and it could be done at the learning stage. A bit of all the above points in the test would be good, especially the skid pan.

Just my tuppence

[Canker_Canison]

Two problems with the skid pan idea....

1. Some will come out of that with the attitude of 'watch what I can do!' Don't get me wrong, I do it myself in the snow...but with 20 years of driving experiance, half of it in rear wheel drive cars & some track time. Which is everything they lack.

2. Driver aids. Everyone relies to much on ABS, traction control, power steering & ESP or the various versions of.... Drivers over the past 10 years don't know what to do if the ABS fails & the wheels lock up, because they were never taught it. Small cars don't need power steering. If you stall or the belt breaks you need a lot of arm power to turn the wheel... their not ready for that. & don't have the strength.
Traction control & ESP... If these fail then the driver will follow through. New drivers are not being told how to stay in control of a car, it's all left in the hands of computers & sensors... niether are fail safe.