Driving Tests every 25 years?

[Scrambledeggyegg]

I’m learning to drive right now... I’m in my mid 30s. I think everyone should have to retake their driving test every 25 years. To both raise revenue and get higher standards of driving. I feel if you have nothing to improve then nothing to worry about. If you’re good enough to pass the test you deserve to drive on the road. If not, then buses for you.

So I take it you live somewhere with decent public transport?
Where my son lives the bus is once an hour (to connect to another bus), stops running at 4pm and doesn't run on Sundays. Now he's a fit lad and uses his bicycle more often than not to get to the bus, but that doesn't suit everyone.

@Scrambledeggyegg Sigh. I don’t think they’re similar at all. But you’re the one making grandiose statements that encompass entire categories. Perhaps you should ponder why half the thread thinks you’re Liz Truss and the other half thinks you just have a lot to learn.

“…where humans actually display intelligence in a myriad of different other ways not captured in that system.” Yes, the same could be said about every single test in the world, including driving tests, which is why people complain that there’s not a worldwide universal driving system and driving test, if safety should be a basic concept. But is it or isn’t it? Every country has a different definition of safety, so every country measures it with different driving tests, and as a result, some people who are very smart in many ways will fail these tests. Meaning that a driving test is, shock shock, a system that cannot capture the myriad ways (you don’t have to say “of different other” - myriad originally meant 10,000 in Greek and we still use it to mean countless or innumerable, so saying “of different other” is unnecessarily wordy in this case, if you insist on using ‘myriad’ at all) that humans display intelligence, which is exactly what you said you don’t want with IQ tests. But didn’t you just say you want MORE driving tests? You’re acting a bit like a young teenager who’s flush on new vocabulary and their very first philosophy lesson. You don’t even know if you’ll PASS your driver’s test.

However… Good luck. I do hope you pass your driving test. And become less judgmental. Because that’s what it’s called when you make sweeping judgments: being judgmental.

Thanks . Although I do detect a hint of sarcasm

How about essential workers? Imagine if people who worked, for example, in the NHS had to stay away from work because they had to take another driving test. Countless nurses, doctors and surgeons unable to get to work. It would be utter chaos. And that's without considering any of the other essential workers. It's not practical or efficient, it's just controlling.

Except who is most likely to be in a crash? New drivers, regardless of age!

People would be on their best behaviour for the test and then go straight back to being twats. What's the point?

I’m not doing any of those things though. There are already procedures in place to exclude those people from driving for committing serious offences. You’re talking about excluding people from driving for minor test errors such as brushing the kerb or stalling the car. You really think my life should be ruined and I should lose my job and home because I stalled the car?

do you think most people die before 67?

Climb down from your own butt.
lets see how you feel when you pick up real world driving experience and bad habits. Habits that don't make you a bad driver but clash with the robot procedures taught.

You are consciously competent. Wait until you become unconsciously competent and things change.
You only start learning to drive when you pass your test. The test is to check you are competent enough to go out learning alone.

In 25 years time we will all be chauffeured around in self-driving cars. 🤷‍♀️

I think every 15.

Based upon just how many awful drivers I've encountered, all with the 'I've been driving for 20 years, I'm far better than everybody else' attitudes. And a compulsory eye test every 10 from the age of 40. Based upon people who won't accept their eyesight has changed since they were 17.

We need to ensure there's no fraud in taking tests first.

A search of "driving test fraud" will bring up a few stories.

@sweetsalted do you think most people pass at 17?

Exactly the point.

Maybe instead of retesting, drivers could use their dashcam footage of bad driving, upload it to a central data base where drives are then fined or prosecuted, license revoked depending on the offence. I have watched some truly horrific driving back on my dash cam and often wish there was someone to report it too.

You really don't know that you can report an offence to the police?

There is. You can literally report illegal or dangerous driving if you have dashcam footage.

This!

🤔 how is this nonsense going to be policed?

I mean, I need my car to get to work (public transport is a 1.5 hour 3 bus type journey- one way)

So my licence "runs out" and I can only book a test for a Saturday or Sunday like most working people... how long will I get? What if I don't do it in time but still drive to work, because lets face it I do need the money and don't have an extra 2 hours for sitting on the bus...

The thing is, an experienced driver would be able to drive to test conditions. They wouldn't do the careless things people do if they were being tested... but once the test was over they would go straight back to their old ways.

Also, everyone has off days... I clipped a kerb on a bend I take every day a few days ago. No idea how, never happened before, just a momentary lapse of spacial awareness. But that would have instantly failed me my test. That's fair if you haven't been driving long and it's most likely due to inexperience, but if you've been driving 10+ years and have taken that bend 1000 times without incident, it's not really reason to take a license away.

That said, I do think there should be a test at around 80/85. Responses do slow and I know I worry about my dad, who's 76, driving for much longer.

I never said that. The pass/fail criteria in my suggestion would be the same as for a driving test, where you are allowed a certain number of minor infringements before failing, which would include minor misjudgements or stalling a car. You'd be required to undergo further retraining to keep on driving but you wouldn't lose your licence straight away.

You're basically saying it doesn't matter if you kill someone while driving it if you were taking your parents shopping when you did it. I disagree.

how is this nonsense going to be policed?

To be fair policing it is actually the easiest part of the whole idea - the DVLA - same as expired licences.

I agree with this. Especially after covid I think the standard of driving has definitely slipped. I think you should have passed a test within 12 months in order to renew your photo card licence. People wouldn’t like it and it would be an added expense but if it meant there were less accidents as a result then it would be worth it (especially for my sanity when on the m6!).

I live in Europe (Italy) and here the licence has to be renewed every 10 years with a medical visit & eye test. It then is every 5 years from 50 years old & every 3 years 70 years old. Something like this would be good.

why? Living to 67/68 is hardly unusual these days, i.e. 50 years after a lot of people start driving.