To think that all drivers should be made to resit tests

[DoublyTroubly]

Given how bad some of the drivers I see on the road are (especially but not always older drivers) I think that everyone should be made to sit a light-touch test every 5 years. If you can afford to drive then you can afford to pay £40ish to take a test, it would ensure everyone kept up to date with the latest driving rules and have the added bonus of employing more driving test examiners. If you're not good enough at driving to pass a test then surely you're not good enough to be on the streets!

So, AIBU or is this a no-brainer?

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

17 year olds think they're amazing drivers and are by and large hugely confident- insurers would disagree though.

[e1y1]

Yes 17 years olds do, and they aren't.

There is good and bad drivers in all age brackets (naturally younger drivers are statistically more likely to have accidents, overconfidence and arrogance is one cause, but mostly due to them not having experience and still learning) The test can teach you how to handle a car and prove you are safe on your own, it can't teach you experience.

The safest drivers are the SMOOTHEST drivers

The ones who don't stamp on their accelerator for speed, the one's who don't slam on their breaks when they haven't left enough time to react and have anticipated naff all the ones who don't throw and weave their cars all over the road as they are trying to take chances they just should not be taking.

[e1y1]

Yes the knobheads petrol heads.

All they are concerned with is being seen to be able to throw the car around and "turn it on a sixpence" and concern themselves with only operating the car and getting the speed up etc.

They're not concerned with the act of actual driving, negotiating the road and other road users, handling the vehicle SMOOTHLY and in control, being aware of changes, forward hazard planning and anticipation.

Yes everyone can have off days and EVERYONE makes mistakes, it is how those mistakes are reacted to, and learnt from that determines whether you are driving defensively.

Sorry for your loss

[TheSolitaryBoojum]

'The safest drivers are the SMOOTHEST drivers'

I found having 2 young vomitorius children in the back a great aid in becoming a smooth, proactive driver. The smoother the ride, the less the vomit.

[3littlefrogs]

Before that I would like to see all the unlicensed, illegal drivers with untaxed vehicles taken off the road and their vehicles crushed. That would go a long way to improve things.

Ditto drunk drivers or those driving under the influence of drugs.

My DS's friend was killed by an illegal immigrant in an untaxed car, he had no license or insurance.

A friend was left permanently disabled and unable to work as a result of the same thing.

I have twice narrowly avoided being hit head on by people driving the wrong way round roundabouts - in broad daylight. They seem to just get away with it IME.

[3littlefrogs]

My child was injured in a crash caused by someone who did not have a UK licence and clearly had no understanding of the highway code.

These are the sort of drivers that need to be taken off our roads permanently IMO.

[PaulDacreCuntyMcCuntFace]

Bratsy - bay parking isn't a compulsory manoeuvre. It's one of 4 but only tends to feature if your test centre has a car park. Mine didn't and many don't - so there are huge swathes of people who pass their test unable to bay park properly. Which is nuts when you think that you're far more likely to need to bay park than parallel park.

There is an art to driving in cities and rurally. In cities you need to be very sharp, very aware and constantly primed to react, as busy streets are unforgiving - especially if you end up in the wrong lane. However country driving is a different kettle of fish - there are lots of roads which are narrow and have no markings on them, so if you aren't used to driving on them it's difficult to judge your road position if you don't have good spatial awareness. One of the prime reasons why inexperienced drivers end up in a hedge or field is because a car comes belting towards them and the lack of road markings makes them think that there's not enough room for both vehicles to pass. Likewise driving at night in the country takes a bit of getting used to. It's very disorientating to drive with no street lights - and to look in your mirrors and see nothing but blackness reflected back!

[brasty]

I had to bay park in my test and I had mistakenly thought that was pretty standard.

[TooExtraImmatureCheddar]

I'm not sure it would achieve anything either with men who tailgate (I don't think I have ever been tailgated by a woman) or who zoom past you taking ridiculous risks. They won't do that in tests. Maybe the answer for that is more vigilant policing - or admitting web cams as evidence of dangerous driving. Perhaps we could have a system where you could have a web cam, and if you recorded an instance of dangerous driving you could send it to the police and they could issue points based on that. I realise there are many holes in this plan, but couldn't they be worked out?

The thing with driving on country roads is when you sail merrily around the corner doing 50 and there's a horse right in front of you. Or a deer jumps out - DH has now hit two deer because they leap out from hedges right in front of you. I came very close once - it was on a perfectly straight stretch of road with zero traffic, I was going 60, and the deer leaped out from the hedge a couple of metres ahead. Humans don't do things like that. City driving may be busy and you have to contend with changing lane and cyclists/pedestrians etc, but cars are still going 30 or less, most of the time.

[e1y1]

The current UK driving test has 4 manoeuvres; these are ALL to test reversing skill.

They are;

• Parallel park behind another vehicle
  
• Reverse around a corner
  
• Park in a bay
  
• Turn in the road (previously called a 3 point turn, however can be done in 3 or more moves - examiners can get a bit concerned if it takes over 5 moves)
  

On test day, only ONE is selected - so can be any of the 4.

They are currently reviewing the driving test and looking at dropping

• Reverse round a corner
  
• Turn in the road
  

And replacing it with;

• Reverse bay park (like it is now) but adding on reversing OUT of bay as this reflects more real life driving as opposed to being able to reverse perfectly round a corner.
  

Also I believe the emergency stop used to be mandatory; it is currently only done on ONE in THREE tests - selected at random, so pupils never do emergency stop in their test.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I had to bay park, I thought it was standard.

[e1y1]

On test day should say on the individuals* test

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

I also had to do a pretend emergency stop plus a real one as someone ran out in front of me- the examiner said my real one was better than my pretend one!

[e1y1]

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

At least it wasn't the other way round!

[DiegeticMuch]

I have been caught speeding once (very rarely speed, I'm a good driver although a bad parker). I did the speed awareness course rather than have 3 points added to my licence. It was excellent. I think that everyone should have to do something like that (ie a half day refresher course) every five years, at their own expense.

Definitely completely retest drivers at 70, 75, 80 ....truly safe elderly drivers shouldn't mind.

Rules for drivers under 22ish re engine size, curfews, number of passengers etc. There are too many stories about cars full of kids crashing in the early hours.

The motorbike awareness ad campaign is great. More of that kind of thing please!

[HellsBellsnBucketsofBlood]

"if you live in an extremely flat part of the country (Cambridgeshire and surrounding area comes to mind) how do you learn to do hill starts"

I promise - there are some hills here in the Fens. Not many, to be fair, but enough that we do get practice.

Still a bit hair-raising when we go to Yorkshire though.

[booklooker]

The government has looked at re-testing so many times over the years, but it would be logistically impossible

It also wouldn't be much of a vote winner in any election.

[LarrytheCucumber]

I don't think I've ever been tailgated by a woman I have, although it is usually a male hobby.

[LarrytheCucumber]

Hellsbells there is a bridge in Hull that is used for hill starts as it is generally very flat.

[MerylPeril]

It took me nearly 6 months just to get a normal test! There aren't enough instructors as it is.

[Lara2]

I'm a mini bus driver assessor and had to go through a pretty intense theory and practical training. I recently re-did the whole course 10 years after I first did it (I had mistakenly let too much time lapse between my 2 yearly refresher tests) and was initially a bit pissed off that I had to go all the way back to the beginning. But I was so glad I did - I realised I had lapsed into some bad habits - not just driving the minibus but also driving my car. When you train other people it really makes you think about your own driving.
I always find it astounding that you (could - before 1997) pass your test in a tiny car and then go out and hire a large van or minibus! Even now I think that if you buy a 7/8 seater car you should have extra training - it's a whole different way of driving to a smaller car.
I think that observation is generally pretty poor amongst some drivers, along with looking ahead and knowing what you need to do before you have to do it.

[Cubtrouble]

Retest every 10 years probably would be good and every 2 years after 70. It should be free and paid for from road tax.
It should also be compulsory to have a separate motorway test.

[Olympiathequeen]

What would be the point. Even drivers who break the speed limit, cross motorway lanes without indicating, don't indicate at roundabouts or keep to correct lanes, can all drive according g to the text book if they want.

They/we would just drive properly, pay £40, get a new license then go back to the bad habits.

A driving test doesn't make you a competent driver. That's down to your own conscience.

However people over 70 should take them every 5 years as they have declining faculties quite often.