Firstly i have to agree, the current driving test is too easy. I passed first time, four minors, but i'll hold my hands up and say i wasn't really that good a driver. I still can't parallel park, my reversing is woeful, but i was only tested on two manoeuvres, the two easiest. Luck on my part. All i had to do to pass the test was drive around for 45 minutes within my means and the law, and look in the mirror as often as i could. Great stress was put on looking in the mirror, my instructor even told me that if i made a point of looking in the mirror more than was actually necessary it would count in my favour. It's not a tough test, and certainly isn't reflective of everyday driving. Town driving isn't hard, so long as you can master juntions and lane procedures. Perhaps it's time to rethink and include something a bit more diverse.
On the subject of speed, i was always told to drive to the speed limit, as it wasn't just a law of maximum but a recommendation of speed for the road. Unless road conditions were poor, this was the speed i should aim for. I would have failed my test had i not aimed to drive at the speed limit, for undue hesitation, a potential danger on the roads.
Interestingly, i noticed an elderly lady in the CoOp car park on Tuesday night. She got into her metro, the car park was empty, all she had to do was reverse and pull away. Unfortunately, she seemed to struggle to come to terms with the whole reversing procedure, and proceeded to pull back into the space, misjudging the turn, having to reverse out again. There were no buildings/cars anywhere around, she just couldn't judge the manoeuvre. Unfortunately, it's people like that that shouldn't be on the roads, she clearly wasn't capable of driving safely. However, she is one in millions of elderly drivers, many of whom are more than capable of coping with conditions.
Young drivers, don't even get me started. I'd swear 90% of young drivers around here are lunatics, they speed through the 30mph limit outside my front window, screech breaks, flash lights, they're not safe and shouldn't be on the roads. I'm not exactly guily free myself, although i tend to reserve my speeding to national speed limit zones. Again, you can't say all young drivers are bad drivers, but there are more than enough to throw your arguement out of the window.
Why should the elderly be penalised for their driving? I've had more close calls involving speeding youngsters overtaking like maniacs than i ever have had with elderly drivers.
Regarding eyetests, i think that's something that should be applied across the board, not a penalty on the elderly. I refer to a friend of mine, who recently had his forklift licence revoked at his annual medical. His eyesight was so poor he was immediately banned from driving until he took corrective measures. He had the sense not to drive his car during this time, but claims he was unaware his vision had gotten so bad. He is only in his late twenties, and had it not been for the medical he would still be on the roads with poor vision. A lesson to be learnt from that i think.
Just meant it seems unfair to paint everybody with the same brush...ie as a young driver myself I refuse to be branded as an [insert expletive] driver just because of my peers. 
(j/k m8)
