Learner drivers on the motorway

antijoke

antijoke

antijoke

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So the Roads Minister Mike Penning thinks it is going to be a good idea to allow learner drivers on the motorway before they have passed their test.

He also believes naively that this will lead to a drop in insurance premiums, and will tell the insurance companies that is what he expects!

There are fears more accidents will happen on Britain's motorways when learners are allowed to drive on them later this year.

At the moment it is illegal to get behind the wheel on motorways in the UK until after passing the driving test.

Roads minister Mike Penning says he plans to change that by the summer.

He says many new drivers are terrified of motorway driving because they do not have the skills or confidence needed.

He said: "If we can show insurers someone has got skills of their own accord, I would expect them to drop their premiums proportionately and that is what I will be telling them."

He added that the extra training should also bring down the high cost of insurance premiums for those new drivers.
'Nerve-wracking'

Jenny Hacking is 21 and is learning to drive in Leeds.

She said she would get home quicker from college on the motorway but is dreading it.
Jenny Hacking Jenny Hacking says she is "dreading" using the motorway for the first time

"It's nerve-wracking," she admitted. "I'm apprehensive about all the drivers going fast and thinking, 'Shall I switch lanes now or should I stay where I am?' They could get really impatient."

Statistically motorways are the safest roads and that is partly why driving instructors are supportive of the change.

The Driving Instructors Association (DIA) says new drivers should be encouraged to use these bigger roads more.

However, some drivers are concerned that learners on the motorway will cause more accidents, stressful situations and delays.

The Road Haulage Association (RHA) says no-one should be allowed to drive on them until after they have passed their test.

Some lorry drivers think even then they should stay off the motorway until they have had more experience behind the wheel.
Quieter roads

Steve Bols runs a transport company just off the M25, close to London's Heathrow Airport.

He said: "If it was a free for all at any time of day then no way. I don't want to see people hurt.
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What do people think about this?

I do not think it will make any difference to premiums at all. If this is what he wants, then why not just make it compulsory to have some sort of motorway lesson after passing your test?
 
There's already "Pass Plus" which is strongly encouraged (lower premiums etc.)

Provided they are quite far along learner drivers (pre-test etc.) I don't see that it's necessarily the end of the world.
 
Some peoples irrational fear of the motorway is just weird.

Cannot see it reducing premiums though, surely motorway related claims are a fraction of other claims?
 
When my sister passed her test she had the opinion that the 3 lanes were for going slow, medium, and fast. And it then took her 2 years before she got anywhere near a motorway, and then she had to get my dad to take her and 'teach' her how to drive on one.

So yes, I totally think it should be part of leaning to drive. It seems stupid to omit them. Its like learning to drive by never doing roundabouts.

And Pass Plus makes sod all difference to premiums which means most people have now stopped bothering to do them (young drivers care more about what their insurance costs than about what skills they have).
 
I don't think its a good idea, there are enough people with under-developed decision making skills on the motorway as it is. I don't see how motorways are 'nerve-wracking', how is it any different to driving on a dual carrigeway? When I passed my test I found motorways quite simple to comprehend.

Make dual carrigeways part of the test so that driving instructors will take learner drivers on them more often, making motorways less scary. Done.
 
Drivers with licenses are barely capable of using motorways properly, add learners to the mix and I think it will be messy.

They do need to learn how to use motorways though. I asked a new driver which lane he'd use and he said he would be travelling in the second lane, because thats what his mum did
 
Drivers with licenses are barely capable of using motorways properly, add learners to the mix and I think it will be messy.

They do need to learn how to use motorways though. I asked a new driver which lane he'd use and he said he would be travelling in the second lane, because thats what his mum did
 
Ever thought that the reason a number of people with licences are useless on motorways is because they never used them when learning to drive?

Motorways are a major part of our road network. Why should they be actively removed from the process of learning to drive?

Make driving on dual carridegways and motorways part of the test, meaning instructors then have to teach it properly to leaners, job done, a generation who know how to drive correctly on all the roads in the country.
 
[TW]Fox;21303861 said:
Some peoples irrational fear of the motorway is just weird.
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That was my initial thought from reading the "quote" from Jenny Hacking, if people are like that you have to question how able they are to cope on normal roads.
 
I think it's a good idea and they should be included in the test. The other option is the current situation where you are dumped on them after passing your test with no more training that what you read in the highway code before doing the theory test.

Good idea IMHO.
 
Matt82 said:
Drivers with licenses are barely capable of using motorways properly, add learners to the mix and I think it will be messy.
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You mean add learners that have someone there to guide them on how to drive it properly rather than new drivers who are just taking a wild stab at it?

I can only see it being an improvement so long as the instructor has a good grasp on the learners confidence. I was doing 70 on the dual carrigeway on my 2nd lesson, whereas i know people with the same instructor who didn't go near it for 10+ lessons because they were shaking with fear on normal residential roads. Obviously you aren't going to dump those people on the motorway when they aren't ready.
 
Unfortunately that'll present an issue in Scotland where other than some seriously short sections of the M8 and the ones around Glasgow, there aren't really any three-lane motorways!

Land discipline though, even on the dual carriageways, is absolutely horrific. Perhaps the problem stems from not enough people being told to stay to the left unless overtaking? I can almost guarantee within the next 30 minutes I'll be stuck behind a car not getting the hell over. :(
 
The lack of initial tuition is half the reason motorways are such a frustrating place to drive these days. I've also noticed that driving instructors themselves can make or break the way a newly passed driver feels about motorways or just driving in general. I remember a friend telling me that she did not want to drive anywhere that there were too many right turns as these were much harder than left turns.....I kid not!

Seem to remember pass plus came out a year or so after I passed my test (I think), I only done it because it did indeed give me a reasonable discount on my premium, was actually a very good course although it probably depends on who takes the new driver out and how said instructor can get the relevant points across.
 
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andrewdodd13 said:
Unfortunately that'll present an issue in Scotland where other than some seriously short sections of the M8 and the ones around Glasgow, there aren't really any three-lane motorways!
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Whilst it's only 2 lanes for maybe 25 miles the majority of the road is still motorway, the same principles apply so it shouldn't be an issue. Same with the M9 (which would be a good place to learn imo as it's so quiet during the day)
 
[TW]Fox;21303861 said:
Some peoples irrational fear of the motorway is just weird.

Cannot see it reducing premiums though, surely motorway related claims are a fraction of other claims?
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By far the easiest roads to drive on IMO
 
I think it would help massively with the standards of motorway driving that you see now if it was included in the curiculum for learning how to drive. To be honest, with the amount of people doing 60 on them now in response to fuel costing more etc, it's probably even less nervewracking for learner drivers to go on the m-way, because they won't feel like they're holding people up, and it'll be easier to join it.
 
I did the Pass Plus tuition and found the motorway experience very useful. It would be wise to include this within normal driving lessons.
 
Logsi said:
They do. Or they did when i passed my test 6 years ago.
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I remember being taken onto a dual carrigeway maybe twice during lessons, I didn't drive on one on the test though, if it was required on every test then it might be drilled into new drivers. I could see this being a problem in areas with little in the way of dual carrigeways though, there must be a few places.
 
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