I dont know if you all experience the same thing - TWOCing is uncommon in my area for instance, but I see this as a two fold problem.
Bad attitude among SOME younger drivers, coupled with a driving test which fails to show up shortcomings, and does not require a degree of training to cope with modern lifestyle - commuting on motorways and towns.
Does anyone know of a driving instructor, who says "Slow down, let a gap form in front of you to allow that car out of that side street, who has been waiting some time."?
No, they just want to get you through the test - that is how they measure their success. BSM use their success in their adverts, not the fact they turn out polite and considerate drivers.
The mother in the original article has highlighted an issue - young drivers out at night - possibly transporting a number of friends home from a night out - and coming to grief because of bad judgement, and lack of experience.
Just how much difference does it make having 5 up in an Escort/Corsa instead of just you and a friend in the front seat?
What if it's not a newer car, and is several years old?
Why not test them on a track, with a real load up, and see if they cope? It would be good for them, and good for other road users!
Does insurance cost really deter them? Often they will be on a parents insurance, or the cheapest option, and many of them earn enough to pay their way!
Finally, how many people here would actually PASS a test if made to re-sit it, with no further training? Would we have to learn to LOOK at the mirror, instead of glancing at it? I suspect we would. As experienced drivers, we would have to exaggerate our everyday skills, in order to impress the examiner that we actually carried them out, because they become more subtle with experience. Is that a failing in the system of testing?
Quote:
If you resistrict young drivers, how do they build up the skills needed to drive safely in the future?
The motorcycle test is becoming more like the sort of testing I feel we should have for car drivers - not allowed to progress from one level, until you have completed the first.
More expensive? More difficult to administer? You bet, but we need to do SOMETHING to improve standards... is this the first step?