Another day, another dodgy idea from Westminster. In this case, regarding the driving issue.
Of course, as with all such ideas, there are gaping holes in most of the policies. And sweeping inequalities. Oh, and masses of areas where enforcement would be immensely difficult.
| Their proposals | My concerns |
| people learning to drive from the age of 17, but not taking the test until they are 18 | Sounds fine, but I can see major problems with implementing it. For example, it’ll be payday for driving instructors, but examiners will be hit in the pocket. Oh, and if people can physically drive, and can do so on the road while accompanied, and yet are prevented from doing on their own by law, many of them will just break the law. Making them uninsured, for starters. |
| drivers completing a set minimum number of lessons with a structured syllabus | The national curriculum for driving? Because the one for education worked out so well. |
| extending hazard-perception training using computer simulators to encourage better habits in young drivers-to-be | The hazard perception test is shite. Pure and simple. Dispense with it, and move on. |
| a zero alcohol limit for all drivers for a year after passing their test | So, define ‘zero’. Does it mean no pints in the last 3 hours, which is, I suppose, doable. The person will be stone cold sober, and the body will have metabolised most of the alcohol, but there will still be traces. Or does it mean no drink in the last day, which is a bit harsh. Or does it mean no drink in bloodstream, at all which is unreasonable to say the least, and liable to generate more than a few false accusations. |
| banning drivers from carrying passengers aged between 10 and 20 from 11pm to 5am for a year after passing their test | I can see where they’re going with this, I really can. But it’s immensely stupid. How it would be enforced, for one thing, is beyond me. For another, will exceptions be made for shift workers? Or military folk coming back from leave? Or people stuck in exceptional traffic who get caught out past curfew? |
So, like many proposals, it’s more full of holes than a fishing net. Which is a shame, because there is clearly a problem. But there is a suggestion which, IMO, would make things in the UK a lot better. Just bring the R-plate into use nationwide, for a period of six months, and enforce it strictly. Thereby giving new drivers a period of acclimatising to the road before they’re allowed to be full road users.
The majority of the propsals seem to be designed to delay the gaining of experience, which is the crucial factor. Youth is just coincidental. Older people are safer drivers not because they have slower reaction times, but because they’ve learnt to recognise dangerous patterns of behaviour.
Perhaps if they suggested that from 16 you could drive under supervision of an adult with sufficient experience, that might help. But this lot is daft.