Tiberius Baltar
Active Member
- Location
- Liverpool
Hi all,
I was listening to the news on the radio yesterday and there was a report about the high number of traffic fatalities whith regards to new and young drivers. It would seem that there is a high percentage of deaths caused on the roads due to a lack of driving experience.
This got me to thinking about when I started cycling as a nipper. My father would take me out and in order to get to the leafy green parts of the city it was inevitable to tackle a little bit of road cycling. With the guidance and protection of my father behind me reassuring and instructing me I learned a hell of a lot of "road sense" before I even contemplated wanting to drive a car. I was fully aware by the beginning of my teenage years what it meant to anticipate what the prat in the works van would do at the upcoming roundabout and I was adept at allowing the blind busy bus driver to do what I knew he would do at the next bus stop on the busy main road!
Another thought also occured during my pondering, this was the memory of passing my motorcycle test. I was only allowed to ride a machine up to a certain power output until I had turned 21 years old or had two years experience under my belt. This method of restriction ensured I was always on a bike that I was capable of handling and reduced my chances of trying any stupid manouvres which could endanger myself and others on the road.
My question was this, why can an 18 year old after passing what is (at the time of writing) a fairly short and innapropriate driving test, then go out and buy a vehicle capable of doing twice the national speed limit? Surely this is a recipe for disaster? Could we not increase the safety of all road users simply by limiting the number of young drivers with "hot hatches"? Plus could we not include within the driving test some sort of follow up test to ensure that drivers are up to date with road laws and are still capable drivers?
As a driver and a cyclist I think this would have advantages over the current system or am I way off the mark with this?
I was listening to the news on the radio yesterday and there was a report about the high number of traffic fatalities whith regards to new and young drivers. It would seem that there is a high percentage of deaths caused on the roads due to a lack of driving experience.
This got me to thinking about when I started cycling as a nipper. My father would take me out and in order to get to the leafy green parts of the city it was inevitable to tackle a little bit of road cycling. With the guidance and protection of my father behind me reassuring and instructing me I learned a hell of a lot of "road sense" before I even contemplated wanting to drive a car. I was fully aware by the beginning of my teenage years what it meant to anticipate what the prat in the works van would do at the upcoming roundabout and I was adept at allowing the blind busy bus driver to do what I knew he would do at the next bus stop on the busy main road!
Another thought also occured during my pondering, this was the memory of passing my motorcycle test. I was only allowed to ride a machine up to a certain power output until I had turned 21 years old or had two years experience under my belt. This method of restriction ensured I was always on a bike that I was capable of handling and reduced my chances of trying any stupid manouvres which could endanger myself and others on the road.
My question was this, why can an 18 year old after passing what is (at the time of writing) a fairly short and innapropriate driving test, then go out and buy a vehicle capable of doing twice the national speed limit? Surely this is a recipe for disaster? Could we not increase the safety of all road users simply by limiting the number of young drivers with "hot hatches"? Plus could we not include within the driving test some sort of follow up test to ensure that drivers are up to date with road laws and are still capable drivers?
As a driver and a cyclist I think this would have advantages over the current system or am I way off the mark with this?