Bring driver training to school curriculum

[Still Waters]

The Government is being urged to add driving to the national curriculum via a petition that has won the backing of major motoring organisations like the RAC, Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) and Association of British Insurers.

One in five new drivers has an accident within the first six months of driving after passing their test - which is a major reason why insurance premiums are so much higher for young drivers.

The petition is an attempt to put pressure on the government not to lower the legal driving age, but to introduce mandatory driving and road safety tuition into schools to give those approaching driving age the information it is believed they need.

https://home.bt.com/...-11363995019024

[Taun]

US high schools used to have Drivers Ed... But now few if any do because they can not afford the liability insurance, or the risk of being sued by parents if an accident should happen...

[questionmark]

I already see all Driver's School operators up in arms.

[Wickian]

US high schools used to have Drivers Ed... But now few if any do because they can not afford the liability insurance, or the risk of being sued by parents if an accident should happen...

During my freshman year of high school there was metal shop, wood shop, and drivers ed. All three were gone by the time I was a junior.

[Space Commander Travis]

Ob absolutely. Something needs to be done to improve the whole system badly. It's utterly useless how it is now, they don't teach anything important like overtaking, driving at speed, braking distances, driving according to the weather conditions, they're just obssessed with reversing round corners and turning round in the road using your forward & reverse gears. And mostly absurdly of all, learners are specifically prohibited from motorways. The whole system of driver training needs a complete rethink from top to bottom.

I already see all Driver's School operators up in arms.

So it should be, they just collude in the current system that leads to many people being killed due to the inadequacy of the system. If they really cared about safety they'd be lobbying Government for a better system. Edited July 30, 2015 by Norbert the Incredible

[Grey Area]

Ob absolutely. Something needs to be done to improve the whole system badly. It's utterly useless how it is now, they don't teach anything important like overtaking, driving at speed, braking distances, driving according to the weather conditions, they're just obssessed with reversing round corners and turning round in the road using your forward & reverse gears. And mostly absurdly of all, learners are specifically prohibited from motorways. The whole system of driver training needs a complete rethink from top to bottom.

So it should be, they just collude in the current system that leads to many people being killed due to the inadequacy of the system. If they really cared about safety they'd be lobbying Government for a better system.

When I learned to drive I covered all those things you just mentioned in my lessons, but was only tested on a handful. I think there should be free advanced courses or motorway tuition.

I don't really think our schools are the place for this, but perhaps the government should offer lesson vouchers or something similar to all first time provisional applicants. The state of some of the drivers these days is appalling, I see so many offences being committed simply by driving ten minutes to my local super market.

Want to improve the state of driving on Britain's roads, have more visible patrol cars. It used to be that there were plenty of small marked police cars that would patrol localities, now all we see are the odd high powered vehicle heading for the motorway when they leave the depot.

[spud the mackem]

Yesterday I did 29 miles in 2 hours 20 mins, British roads are a nightmare.I passed 5 sets of roadworks, 11 wobbly cyclists , 3 Bin Lorries, 2 tractors and 4 Caravans, and 2 Roads completely closed.

[toast]

Ob absolutely. Something needs to be done to improve the whole system badly. It's utterly useless how it is now,

they don't teach anything important like overtaking, driving at speed, braking distances, driving according to the

weather conditions, they're just obssessed with reversing round corners and turning round in the road using your forward & reverse gears. And mostly absurdly of all, learners are specifically prohibited from motorways. The

whole system of driver training needs a complete rethink fromtop to bottom.

So it should be, they just collude in the current system that leads to many people being killed due to the inadequacy

of the system. If they really cared about safety they'd be lobbying Government for a better system.

Exactly and I have to add some important facts here. Driver licence trainees (I`m speaking for Germany here) do not

get trained how to handle a car in problem situations, like skidding and they even dont get trained well how to use the (ABS) brakes correctly in emergency situations. And even if these skills might get developed in practice, so in public and thats an issue as well, later on I would count the percentage of drivers who still not have such skills even of

driving for 20 years or more, at >50%. And so, roughly 50% of all car accidents would had been avoidable and are avoidable. A lot of organization here offer safe driving trainings that are conducted on non-public properties

and with experienced instructors. Such one day trainings cost around lousy 140EUR and that shouldn`t be a problem

for a person who spend 2K EUR for the driver licence itself already. It should be fixed by law that such trainings have

to be a part of the drivers licence schooling in general.

Edited July 30, 2015 by toast

[Space Commander Travis]

Exactly and I have to add some important facts here. Driver licence trainees (I`m speaking for Germany here) do not get trained how

to handle a car in problem situations, like skidding and they even dont get trained well how to use the (ABS) brakes correctly in emergency

situations. And even if these skills might get developed in practice, so in public and thats an issue as well, later on I would count the

percentage of drivers who still not have such skills even of driving for 20 years or more, at >50%. And so, roughly 50% of all car accidents

would had been avoidable and are avoidable. A lot of organization here offer safe driving trainings that are conducted on non-public properties

and with experienced instructors. Such one day trainings cost around lousy 140EUR and that shouldn`t be a problem for a person who spend

2K EUR for the driver licence itself already. It should be fixed by law that such trainings have to be a part of the drivers licence schooling in general.

Indeed, virtually every day in the local Paper round here there'll a report of some "single vehicle collision" (as they curiously put it) where a car has rolled onto its roof entirely mysteriously and the driver wasn't to blame at all of course , or some collision that was obviously due to foolish overtaking or pulling out without looking or, just as bad, excessive caution so that they'll hestitate as tio whether they should pull out and when they do they'll pull out right in front of something.

This could be in Things that make you go grrrr.

[Ealdwita]

Yesterday I did 29 miles in 2 hours 20 mins, British roads are a nightmare.I passed 5 sets of roadworks, 11 wobbly cyclists , 3 Bin Lorries, 2 tractors and 4 Caravans, and 2 Roads completely closed.

Here in East Kent (The Land of Operation Stack & Illegals Hanging off your Lorry Axels), 15 mph is almost Escape Velocity! A lorry driver interviewed on today's local TV news reckoned he'd travelled less than 4 miles in 8 hours!

[Space Commander Travis]

In fact, out of the top 10 most popular stories in our local Paper today, no fewer than six of them are as follows:

• One person cut out of car and rushed to hospital following two-vehicle crash;
  
• Updated: car overturned on Melcome Avenue.
  
• Updated: motorcyclist injured after crash with van;
  
• A35 closed following two-vehicle road traffic collision;
  
• Update: Man taken to hospital after A35 crash; [a different one, this is]
  
• serious two-vehicle collision closes A30 in Shaftesbury.
  

But there's no problem whatsoever with standards of driving, is there.