52% support Highway Code retest every 10 years

[Happy_Days]

According to these survey results, 52% support mandatory retesting of the Highway Code every 10 years for all drivers:

https://www.iamroadsmart.com/road-s...-report-2025-the-motoring-public-has-its-say/

 

[ianrauk]

Unfortunately it won't happen.

 

[mustang1]

That's just 1% away from when we got out of Europe. I wonder if it's the same bunch of people who voted "no" for the driving test who voted "yes" for the Exit.

 

[Drago]

The irony is its likely that few, if any, of that 52% have refreshed their memory of the HC in the last decade.

 

[SteveH80]

I appreciate it's just a headline but regular mandatory eye-tests and giving plod enough resources to enforce the existing rules would be a better way to improve road safety.

The report itself is huge. It would take a particular mindset to complete the survey so the results might not be representative of the wider public. It's bit a like asking the Bambi appreciation society if deer should be culled

 

[markemark]

From what I understand (having never done it myself) making everyone do the Speed Awareness Course every 5-10 years would be very cheap and have some benefit.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Well, they support it, until told if they fail, their driving licence will be suspended.

 

[Dogtrousers]

It would be a very expensive experiment, that might well have no effect.

Some possible outcomes would be that years of bad habits would have to be suppressed for the purpose of the test, only to return immediately afterwards (provided they pass) accompanied by an increase in the number of unlicensed drivers on the road (if they don't pass). And maybe a knock-on hike in insurance premiums across the board (well, they're not going to go down are they)

Or on the other hand, it might improve standards. Who knows.

TBH I wouldn't bet on my own ability to pass.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Was this survey based on a financial study that looked at the current backlog in testing and how many new test centres would be needed, how many people would need to be employed
and how much each test would cost the driver?

If you changed the question to include a cost to the driver of say £30 then I suspect that the answer would change

I would support something like an update being sent out every year with the "road tax" renewal
but they probably want that to go onto email soon and an attachment of email would seldom even be opened - paper inserts have more of a chance

 

[Sharky]

From what I understand (having never done it myself) making everyone do the Speed Awareness Course every 5-10 years would be very cheap and have some benefit.

Not that cheap, cost of attending a speed awareness course is approaching £100.

 

[markemark]

Not that cheap, cost of attending a speed awareness course is approaching £100.

Cheap for the government to provide the infrastructure for compared to making everyone sit a physical test.

 

[Drago]

From what I understand (having never done it myself) making everyone do the Speed Awareness Course every 5-10 years would be very cheap and have some benefit.

My eldest did a speed awareness course. Perhaps an occupational hazard for an X5M owner.

Anyway, she tells me it was full of people arguing that it was unfair, 38 jn a 30 zone was OK at whatever time of day they happened caught at, it was a war on the motorists, blah blah blah.

She admits she was bang to rights and realised arguing would achieve nothing other than to prolong the agony, so he pinned back here ears, nodded sagely when required, and sat there quietly.

At the break the trainer approached her and told her that if she didnt engage he would have to mark he down as a non-attendance, forcing her to pretend to be angry and indignant. What was the point of that?

But I do like the idea of a one say course. 20 delegates at a time, one jn every town, self funding, its financially and logistically a more achievable proposition than a re test.

 

[Sharky]

Technology could bring some solutions
A lot of people, probably renew car tax, driving licences etc online. It would be fairly simple, technology wise, to include a random set of test questions that people have to navigate through, before hitting the final confirm button.

 

[Drago]

Part of our road safety problem is that offenders have too much influence. We wouldn't listen to shoplifters or burglars complaints when beefing up measures to stop them, but motorists were listened to when mandatory fixed speed limiters were about to become law and it was completely sequential watered down. Decision makers putting their chances of re-election ahead of saving lives is so bonkers yet somehow so unremarked upon.

More than once over the years I've had criminals ask, "why aren't you out harassing motorists?" Thet says it all.

 

[Punkawallah]

But I suspect they would not want to pay for it.