Driver Education

[Super Jamie]

today i had to stop fairly quickly for traffic banked up around a corner. i lightly applied the brakes and eased them on, not steering too much and coming to a clean halt. the laser in front of me tottally locked them up and lost steering, crossing into the other lane. if there was oncoming traffic, she would have been f@$ked. the magna behind me did the same thing. it got me thinking how f@$king shithouse the government is at educating drivers

 

i know not to slam the brakes on and steer full lock in the wet because i'm a car enthusiast and i understand handling and grip limits. these drivers obviously weren't, and have been taught that if you stay under the speed limit and give way, you'll be fine. it reminds me of a tv show where a young english girl was learning to drive a manual with her mother, who was a complete idiot. the girl kept stalling and she kept asking "argh, why does it do that?!" maybe a little bit of education on how the car works would have given her a better grasp over the clutch, instead of just "oh push this pedal in when you're stopping"

 

it's a good mantra, which is gaining more public awareness, WE NEED BETTER DRIVER EDUCATION! enforcing speed limits doesn't do anything, in fact, the average speed a motorist drives at in australia has dropped by 6km/h in the last decade, however accidents keep going up. the government makes f@$king MILLIONS from speeding fines from fixed cameras alone, never mind police issued infrigement notices. and how much gets put back into educating drivers as to how to act more safely on the road and avoid accidents if things do go wrong? $0.00!

 

if you think this is interesting and agree, have a look at http://www.speedingisbullshit.com/ it's a site filled with news articles and good arguments that "every k over ISN'T a killer" and mass speed camera crackdowns just make people focus 99% of their attention on the speedo, and 1% on the road, instead of the otherway round, like it should be

Edited May 5, 2005 by Super Jamie

[Teddy]

How do you solve this problem?

 

Drive an unregestered vehicle with false plates, which has charmalian paint work & rotating numberplates. It also must have a very fast motor.

 

:)

 

Transport depo is full of dipsticks; someone needs to remove the polls outa there ass's.

[ROLLN'03]

I say, You are quite right there. I definately agree! Nice point there Super Jamie! I'm WITH YA!

[Nitephyre]

i don't speed incessantly, but if "EKOIAK" applies, then i'd be dead 60x just from my first day on my P's :)

 

i'm trying to work out where there'd be that much traffic around your area jamie :D

 

 

*flamesuit*

[TRD ke70]

the problem is they teach people how to pass there license, but not to drive.

 

i think scrap the L,P plates and put them though a pratical driving course, which simulates all weather conditions and hazards, this would include how to avoid accidents,car control,etc.

[Super Jamie]

the problem is they teach people how to pass there license, but not to drive.

exactly!

 

people should HAVE to do defensive driving courses. my mum's bf runs those and it's amazing the stories he tells me. i would say well over half the people on the road don't understand the simplest things about their car. during braking exercises, most of them back off when the ABS kicks in, because they think their brakes are broken. not to mention "what's that squealing noise around the corners?"

 

i also fully support regular driver tests to keep your license, every 5 or 10 years you should have to drive around with an instructor in the car with you

 

i think there should also be a more lax attitude to minor speeding offenses. doing 3km/h over is a slight mistake like coming down the other side of a hill - not 3 points and $197. obviously, doing 20km/h over is intentional and may be duly dealt with. i also think that if you get caught drunk driving, you shouldn't have a license again for 5 years, there's just no excuse for it

 

higher speed limits on our runway-quality highways would be nicer, but let's take it one step at a time

 

if you empower drivers by giving them responsibility and educating them properly, then they should hopefully not abuse the leeway they're given. it works in europe, it works in japan, why not here?

Edited May 6, 2005 by Super Jamie

[TRD ke70]

i've driven in europe on the autobarn and there f@$ken mad, but they are good drivers, they move over if you're faster, they don't tailgate and at night when you pass them they flash there lights to let you know you can pull back in.

 

i totally agree with you. i'd be up for resitting my licence every 5 years.

f@$k knows my memory isn't that good and you forget alot of stuff.

[Mr Revhead[RL]]

ill be brief... cause I'm liable to loose my temper :P

 

 

you guys are right.

 

over here they came up with the idea of resitting ya licence every 10 years....

damn good idea we all thought... by the time the law was passed.... it changed to an eye test and a fee every 10 years.... good one government :)

 

 

they constantly pound in speed as the culprit for just about every accident..... they are missing the point...

 

 

DRIVER EDUCATION YOU **** **** **** **** :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

now I'm gunna go relax :insane:

[kur|y]

Yes i must agree as i am getting ready to get my L's but i just can't understand how reading the book once, passing a written test lets you get out on the road..

 

Even if you have to have a licenced driver in the car YOU are in controll and i think there should be a compulsary driver education coarse before you can be let out on the road..

 

It might wake some people up that just because there got there L's or P's doesnt mean there a good driver or capable to handle a car in bad conditions..and its not only there lives @ risk its the public and there mates in the car....

[Super Jamie]

i thought the same thing when i got my Ls kurly. if you want a motorbike license, you have to do a two day rta-accredited learning course, why not in a car?

 

i've heard a few british and european drivers who've come over here, and said most australians on the road are the rudest, selfish and thoughtless drivers they've seen

[demuire]

i've heard a few british and european drivers who've come over here, and said most australians on the road are the rudest, selfish and thoughtless drivers they've seen

 

They obviously have never been to Malaysia. It's so easy to drive here, everyone is so nice :P

[Jason]

the insurance companies are NOT going to like even a 10% drop in accidents.

 

 

why? that mean less claims for them, less money to hand out? on the other hand less premium..

[1G-GTE KE70]

mass speed camera crackdowns just make people focus 99% of their attention on the speedo, and 1% on the road, instead of the otherway round, like it should be

I couldn't agree more with your whole post man.

 

I have to drive about 10-15mins on the ipswich motorway to get to work every day and no joke I spend at least 2 out of every 3 second I am looking at my speedo.

 

no way do I want to lose my licence (well.. i already am but when I get my work licence there's no way i want to get busted)

[Nitephyre]

i was more dangerous driving home from work this morning, than i was doing a few kays over on the way there last night :P