Driving Standards/Driving Test

Skilid

Skilid

Skilid

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Joined
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There seem to be a lot of threads going round with people whinging or moaning about drivers on the road not being up to scratch and being dangerous/lazy/idiots etc. But what exactly do you suggest be done to stop poor driving in this country? Raise the driving age? Introduce more laws?

Here are a few I personally believe are feasible:

- Introduce a minimum amount of hours spent learning.

- Make learning and the driving test far more comprehensive such as motorway driving, skid pans, night time driving etc.

- Make the theory test much more difficult, it seems far too easy to pass. Also have to regularly re-take it so that people are reminded/refreshed.

- Concentrate less on speeding drivers, and more on the people that are on their phone/eating/smoking/concentrating on anything other than driving.

- MUCH harsher punishments for wrong doings on the road. For example, if caught on your phone I believe the fine should be higher. Say £250 rather £60. Also, time after time we see people on Traffic Cops/Police Interceptors that run from police, crash into police damaging their cars, damaging property, using police helicopters time etc. Instead of getting a pathetic sentence/ban/fine, make them much more substantial such as a 4/5 year ban or a £1000+ fine.

- Mandatory driving/eye test every 10 years over the age of 70.

These are just a few that I think are perfectly implementable. 'Punishments' as the government call them are minor inconveniences most of the time and the justice/prison system is far too soft. I'm not on about increasing fines for every motoring offence (for instance not wearing your seatbelt or driving with your fogs on because that would be a bit too harsh).

I believe that simple things like these would help stop massive insurance rises and reduce crime on our roads.

What are your thoughts/opinions?
 
It's definitely something I would like to see, the thing that seems to be winding me up most at the moment is people who just do 10 miles an hour under the speed limit (in 40/60/70) roads where there is very little opportunity to overtake. Perhaps tickets for going too slow for the road/conditions?
EliotG said:
- Introduce a minimum amount of hours spent learning.
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Most of your points sound good, but I definitely don't like this one, some people will pick stuff up far quicker than others, and as the average amount of hours spent is likely to be far higher than necessary for some due to the general incompetency of people in general, this could end up just annoying the more apt people. As long as the tests are comprehensive then time spent learning is irrelevant really.
 
DAnDan said:
Most of your points sound good, but I definitely don't like this one, some people will pick stuff up far quicker than others, and as the average amount of hours spent is likely to be far higher than necessary for some due to the general incompetency of people in general, this could end up just annoying the more apt people. As long as the tests are comprehensive then time spent learning is irrelevant really.
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Thanks for the reply. I see your point with this one. However, I'm not talking a large number of hours, only say 10-15. You get some people that learn from untrained instructors like their parents (not saying they can't teach). But I do see your point about the test being more relevant.

The one thing that really grinds my gears though is that the fines are pathetic. They probably don't even pay for the policeman's time to fill out all the paperwork.

I agree with you about the speed thing, it is very annoying, but for the difference of 10mph I can never see it happening, no matter how annoying it is.
 
IMO if you want to make things safer, make automatic slushboxes and cruise control mandatory on all vehicles.

I swear I see less incidents of muppet driving, excessive risk taking and pointless road rage when the above means it's nicer to cruise along with traffic than hoon it around everywhere :p

Also ongoing observancy tests, like have a new test where they put up signs outling a simple mathematical sum like 2 + 4, then a police stop where they ask the answer and if you a) didn't see it or b) are too stupid to do the sum you are banz0red.
 
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Rich_L said:
Also ongoing observancy tests, like have a new test where they put up signs outling a simple mathematical sum like 2 + 4, then a police stop where they ask the answer and if you a) didn't see it or b) are too stupid to do the sum you are banz0red.
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Don't you think that that will kind of distract from the job of driving though?
 
EliotG said:
- Introduce a minimum amount of hours spent learning.
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No, as above. People learn differently and enforcing people to learn for a certain amount of time with certified instructors rather than, say, parents (who might be perfectly good teachers) is counter-productive.

- Make learning and the driving test far more comprehensive such as motorway driving, skid pans, night time driving etc.
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Damn right it should be - but how do you balance the increased cost of and required skill to administer such a test?

- Make the theory test much more difficult, it seems far too easy to pass. Also have to regularly re-take it so that people are reminded/refreshed.
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More difficult, yes. Regular retakes? Uh, no thanks. Retake your theory upon any serious points incident or accident? That's sounding better.

- Concentrate less on speeding drivers, and more on the people that are on their phone/eating/smoking/concentrating on anything other than driving.
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Yes, but blanket statements like "concentrate less on speeding drivers" aren't particularly constructive - I certainly want the police to pull over idiots who think it's safe to do 120 on a busy motorway.

- MUCH harsher punishments for wrong doings on the road. For example, if caught on your phone I believe the fine should be higher. Say £250 rather £60. Also, time after time we see people on Traffic Cops/Police Interceptors that run from police, crash into police damaging their cars, damaging property, using police helicopters time etc. Instead of getting a pathetic sentence/ban/fine, make them much more substantial such as a 4/5 year ban or a £1000+ fine.
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Wouldn't that be nice!!!

EliotG said:
Don't you think that that will kind of distract from the job of driving though?
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If it takes so much concentration to drive that you can't read and comprehend a road sign... then you shouldn't be in the car!
 
Making more hoops for learners to jump through won't fix the problem for a very obvious reason: most of the bad driving would fail you a test, but most of these people have passed a test, so clearly learned better. The issue is that, once people have passed they think that the know it all (as do most of the posters here, but that's another argument) and simply drive the way they want, rather than how they were taught. Or in a sensible and safe manner.

For the same reason, repeat tests won't work: people will drive for the test and pass, then drive like idiots again.

Stronger penalties for those convicted of driving offences won't work either for two reasons: 1) they are much more likely to be fought, upping the cost of prosecutions and meaning fewer charges will be brought, and 2) hardly any offenders are caught anyway, and we can't afford the police to catch the required numbers for it to work as a deterrent.


M
 
I can certainly say for sure the standard in Jersey is really, really low.
It needs looking at, but the whole thing is full of hypocrisy.
 
Rich_L said:
Also ongoing observancy tests, like have a new test where they put up signs outling a simple mathematical sum like 2 + 4, then a police stop where they ask the answer and if you a) didn't see it or b) are too stupid to do the sum you are banz0red.
Click to expand...

I often arrive at work/home with no recollection of the drive, unless something stands out. Not been in a fault accident ever, for over 10 years. I'd be screwed!
 
At the end of the day it doesn't matter, teenagers my age pass there test, get a car first week they are careful and then they show off.

They think doing a handbrake turn and acting like a right **** turns women on. :rolleyes:
 
On the medical side - It comes down to cost - for example the DVLA already pays tens of millions every year for medical examinations and reports for medical renewals - even disqualified drink drivers who pay £90 for the renewal and £96 (to the doctor) for the liver function test are having that renewal subsadised, let alone those who renew for medical conditions and don't pay a penny (whilst the DVLA pays hundreds - even if it's obvious someone should not drive but they decide to try and reapply anyway).

That is being subsadised by the average motorist paying £20 for a renewal once every ten years or £20 for a replacement licence.

There would be the option of making people pay the actual costs for their own medicals every ten years to prove they meet the required standards much like in Spain, or possibly have an assessment every ten years for renewal of a licence where if there is any concern medical investigations could then take place - but you can imagine the uproar there would be of people claiming to not be able to afford to drive.

If the purpose is to increase road safety and decrease accidents I don't see why the insurance companies couldn't be forced to subsadise such a system.

On the driving standards side it's the ten year assessment route that I'd prefer - but again I can't imagine it getting popular support as there would be too many people fearing they would lose their licence.
 
OneWingedAngel said:
On the driving standards side it's the ten year assessment route that I'd prefer - but again I can't imagine it getting popular support as there would be too many people fearing they would lose their licence.
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I think if everyone on the road had to retake their test now there would be very few who could actually pass it if they drive like they do now! :p
 
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