To conclude there must be many thousands of people on the roads who have not passed the driving test.

Read Court reports in your local paper. There are always people getting sentenced for no license/insurance etc. But a driving test is a one off for most people and there are no refresher tests. The pilots on your holiday jet have to requalify twice a year. Also it seems people believe they are entitled to drive how and where they want

As pp said we should all get re tested every decade & there should be higher sentences for dangerous driving.

There are new rules coming in, including eye tests, I think.

I now drive assuming that everyone is about to do something ridiculous, dangerous or erratic, because there’s a good chance they will.

Im sure I was taught this way when I was learning 10 years ago. The rules change & some people driving for decades won’t realise, things have changed since I learned. Just this week I have had an older lady not look at the mini roundabout & carry on even though I was to her right, I always pause though as so many forget it’s a mini roundabout.
An older man was driving in the dark without lights!
A speeding driver overtook me and then swerved in front of me so I had to slam on the breaks as he didn’t realise we were approaching a roundabout.
A car overtook myself and the 2 cars in front of me when we had stopped at temporary lights, He carried out and then realised a HGV was coming so we all had to reverse/move which meant waiting for the next green light round.
Parking near primary schools is horrendous, white van drivers never indicate & don’t care about lane discipline & there are immigrants who clearly don’t have licenses.
Driving isn’t really enjoyable anymore.

BBC article on ghost plates https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0ex1nvvgpzo.amp

i weekend https://inews.co.uk/news/crime/ghost-plates-dodge-speeding-tickets-4033586?srsltid=AfmBOoqeSuQIl5tZ3XhRhLdtnzGKoxER9gxR0q-_sEqaoz_8U_wUmn1S

(I can't remember how to do links). 1 in 15 on ghost plates, possibly 40% of London taxi drivers. Does look like west mids has a problem. Too many dodgy number plate dealers. They can drive around doing whatever they want, they won't get caught. Unsurprisingly the removal of paper tax discs hasn't helped.

Indicators have been a legal requirement on all new cars sold in the UK since 1935 so not sure which driving instructors are teaching in pre-1935 cars. Are they teaching people to double declutch as well?

I think this is definitely one contributing factor in the Wild, Wild West (Midlands).

Five of the top 10 places for uninsured drivers are here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3rjexqpz1lo

For your own safety and that of your family !

I've stopped being offended at the 'oh, it's all the old people'. Sweeping generalisations are the retreat of the ignorant.

In my 60s I've been driving for more than 40 years, drive a lot for my job, have 25 years no claims and a squeaky clean licence (cars, bikes and minibuses). And my eyes tested every year.

Today I saw someone zigzag around a closing level crossing. What could possibly be so urgent that it compelled them to risk arguing with a 300 tonne intercity? 😳

Bring on the self-driving cars.

Two of my young adult DC are learning to drive and one has passed. To pass was around £3k with lessons, tests and additional insurance on my insurance (£800/yr).

When I see those stories of someone who has killed people in a RTA I check the fine. It’s always less than it costs to pass the test and insure yourself. They do get a driving ban too which is a joke.

Agree with PP. Law enforcement is too focused on the easy pickings. I paid my fine for going 24MPH in a 20 in the middle of the night when roads were empty.

Why bother to be law abiding in the UK?

This is why I believe road-rage killers should be granted immunity from prosecution provided they have the offending incident on dashcam.

If we gradually eradicate all the oblivious halfwits, those who should be nowhere near a road but invariably drive massive wankpanzers to make sure it's someone else who dies when they cause a crash and not themselves, then over time the roads should return back to a far more calm, courteous, and ordered state.

Perhaps we should bring in the graduated licence for new drivers especially those under 21 or even 25.
The other group of bad drivers are parents on school runs the cars are too big for the roads they have to park at the school gate and often fly off to take their precious darlings to the after school activities.
I try and avoid going out let alone driving between 3 and 4.
Plus youngish men in their sports cars (?footballers) too much money and don't care and accumulate points but don't lose their licence.
Oh yes drugs

I think there are a few issues.

My dad, despite being in his 80s is generally a good driver. I don't have a car at the moment so last time he visited he drove me to a local shop I wanted to go to.

We were on the ring road and my dad kept going in to the left lane, the left lanes all peel off so you have to be in the right hand lane to get round the ring road.

So sometimes an unfamiliar road layout can be to blame.

Foreign drivers. You can drive in the UK for a year on a foreign licence. There are designated countries that have agreements with the UK so that you can just exchange your licence for a British one.

One of the countries is Hong Kong. Someone I worked with had a Malaysian licence, now you can't exchange that licence for a UK one, but you can exchange it in Hong Kong to get a HK licence.

Then you can exchange the Hong Kong licence for a UK one.

I was in the back of a cab a while ago. I was giving the driver directions that included quite a narrow lane. There is just about enough width to pass and there are passing spaces. He panicked, I said stop the car and let the other driver past, so he pulled up on the right hand side.

we have your word for it.

Agree with you. The standard of driving from so many people is appalling, that coupled with many cars not being fitted with indicators, is just inconsiderate, and at times dangerous.

Also, doesn't help that I've seen driving instructors not bothering to buy cars that have indicators fitted either.

The general standard of driving these days does seem to be appalling. So much worse than when I first started driving in the 90s. I now drive assuming that everyone is about to do something ridiculous, dangerous or erratic, because there’s a good chance they will.

I am glad we don't have to do retests, because i went to pieces with nerves with an examiner sat next to me, but I do actually think we should. Perhaps not a full test (especially not before they've sorted out the backlog of tests and difficulties in actually being able to book them withjn a reasonable time,) - but a friend in Germany had a stroke, and he had to do a hazard perception test on a driving simulator before he was allowed to drive again - something like that would be useful. Also, compulsory eye sight tests.

I had to do a motorway awareness course about a year ago, which was interesting and useful- they should be available even if you haven't been caught on a motorway. And how many people read the Highway Code once they've passed their test, to keep up with changes?

I think it's no different from other tests - my first test was 2 days after my last A-level, and I wouldn't pass those if I were to take them today, not without a lot of study. I do actually practice driving more, though.

But that would only account for a handful of poor drivers, and I think the issues with unlicensed drivers and those who didn't take their tests here are a big issue.

(I was driving home from work today, and I thought more people were indicating round roundabouts than I would have expected. I go round 7 roundabouts on my way home.)

Their drug of choice is nitrous oxide. Inhaling this gas and then driving like a maniac is a popular pastime amongst a section of our young folk. Unlike other recreational drugs, nitrous oxide is not detectable in police roadside drug tests, which is a factor in its current popularity.

its definitely getting worse

got cut up by the same car twice in less than a minute she was oblivious

My local town IS a hazard perception test. The standard of driving is hideously bad.

I live in West Yorkshire and driving standards are terrible. When I lived in Bradford neighbours in three families I knew of let their sons (not the daughters!) drive from the age of about 14. So obviously no licence, not insured. Leeds Road in Bradford is the Wild West of driving!

My friend’s husband was a traffic cop based in Camden for decades. He estimated that as many as one in ten were driving without a licence and one in 8 without the correct insurance. He said most were foreign nationals, mainly Africans.

I'm learning to drive and I swear to God I can already drive better than some of the nutters who have passed their test

Nobody uses the indicator. Nobody. I’ve noticed a big decline in the last few years. I’m not perfect and I’ll wave an apology when I make a mistake which is usually in an unknown area.

Very glad that now (unless it’s raining) I can walk to work!