Compulsory Based Training for Car Drivers

macdragon76

I as, a Biker 1st, car driver 2nd, am looking to guage Car Drivers opinions
on Compulsory based training.

This would be about 40 hrs of "traffic School" before you could even apply for the driving test, which would be similar to France and Germany (unsure of the others)

The Gov are thinking of bringing this in soon for Motorbikes.

As bikers we all agree, as we realise that motorbikes are that bit more dangerous.

However if this is brought in, it should be for all motorised licence type vehicles.

I would even go 1 step further, I am proposing that a periodic retest (5/10 Yrs) and if fail then go back to traffic school and retake the test.

gyppo

I am 100% in agreement with you on this topic:D

However, methinks such a thing is a pipe-dream in this country - The country can't even sort out its disgraceful licencing arrangements the currently exist.

macdragon76

gyppo wrote:

I am 100% in agreement with you on this topic:D

Cool, although the reason I am lurking in this side of the camp, it convince car drivers that we are not all ****.

Saruman

100%
One of they things Gay Byrne wants as far as i know. Most countries have something like that. Drivers ed in school in the US.

WizZard

100% agree. It should be for all road-users/motorists.

Periodic retests would be a good idea, but that won't come anytime soon.

If a new license (credit card sized) was introduced they could make it a requirement that you have sat at least 20/40 hours CBT before you can get it. Phase the license in and the training will follow.

This all depends on easy access to CBT, as opposed to our current shambles of a testing system.

jhegarty

great idea, but you know if they did it here it would be a 5 year wait for your course... so everyone would driver while waiting for it .....

Saruman

would not matter if its phased in and set a future date for everyone to have completed it or else no more driving

conor_mc

Saruman wrote:

100%
One of they things Gay Byrne wants as far as i know. Most countries have something like that. Drivers ed in school in the US.

One of the very positive things Gay Byrne has accomplished is to put unpopular ideas out into the open for debate, something that no politician would dare to do. People on his back after 3 months in the job have no idea about what the mans job is. It isn't to directly prevent road deaths, it's to get people talking about the problem and contemplating the solutions.

Anyway, back to the original point - I'd go with both compulsory CBT and periodic re-tests. Drastic action is required here.

Zascar

Definitely, I wrote a post on my blog a few days ago on this exact topic. Speeding and Drink Driving are the ones blamed for all the deaths on the roads, but people fail to recognice the fact that bad driving, and poor judgement is uaually the reason for accidents. Education is the answer. The standard of driving in this countrey is appauling. You can pass your test in this country and really still not be any where near experienced enough to be confident on the roads. There are far to many I think everyone should have to retake their test every 10/5 years, and I think if someone is caught doing something stupid, they should be forced to take further driving lessons.

e.g:The super slow drivers that we all hate, who drive around the roads at half the speed limit with a mile long tail back behind them, half straddeling the hard shoulder. If you are not confident enough to drive normally then you should not be allowed on the roads, until a point when you can prove you are of an adequte standard of driving.

green-blood

This is exactly whats needed.

We have to start NOW, start and build the system,

credit cars licence
CBT
ACTUAL Instructor led training
test
provisional licenced period, reassesment
LICENCE

There is no point whinging about how long the test waiting list woudl be we have to start to change sometime.

Saruman

Yes green blood thats another thing... firstly before you are allowed to even go for your driving test you should have to send in proof you have done at least 10 lessons with a driving school and/or a drivers education course like we are looking for.
Secondly as you mentioned (i think ) instuctors should be regulated in so much as they have to pass an instuctors test and have a license.

Torq

Hi Guys,
how about restricting the horse power of the car a learner can drive and then keeping the restriction for a period of time after they pass the test? It applies to bikes so why not cars?

My other idea, probably a bit to contoversial to ever be accepted, is that before learning to drive a car you should have to spend a year on a moped. That way you would learn how to use the road, ie lanes, signs, traffic lights, turns, etc before ever setting foot in a car. It'll sharpen up your reflexes and make you much more aware of what is going on around you. Just a thought.
keep well,
Torq

bonkey

Zascar wrote:

You can pass your test in this country and really still not be any where near experienced enough to be confident on the roads.

More importantly - there are roads (motorways) you cannot legally drive on until after you've been given your qualification.

Im other words, you get qualified to drive on them before learning how to do so How dumb is that?

From my perspective, the Irish system doesn't need to be fixed. It needs to be replaced. There is - as far as I can see - no single aspect of it which is not fundamentally broken and in need of change.

Waiting lists must be abolished.

Laws must be enforced. No-one withotu a full license should be allowed drive unaccompanied and if anything the requirements for who accompany you should get stricter over time, not more lax.

Road Theory needs to be a pre-requisite (as it is here in Switzerland). Until you can prove you know the signs, rules, and all the rest of it, you cannot be allowed on a road.

Same for First Aid.

Mandatory Road Safety Awareness course(s).

Motorway driving must be a testable topic in your driving exam, and must be tested if a motorway is within practical reach.

Newly-qualified Drivers should be subject to additionally stringent rules regarding infractions (speeding, drink, dangerous driving, etc.) for the first 18 months or longer. Here, I'd say it should a case of "one strike and you're out", requiring the driver to go through the entire qualification process again.

how about restricting the horse power of the car a learner can drive and then keeping the restriction for a period of time after they pass the test?

The Smart Roadster, whilst not the fastest sportscar in the world, had a whopping 600cc engine and 70BHP.

Neither engine-size not BHP are a suitable indicator for cars in my opinion. (Idon't know enough to say if thats also true for bikes.) However, the idea of some form of power-restriction isn't a bad one though.

unkel

Well said, bonkey

In the Netherlands it typically takes more than 50 hours driving in a dual-control vehicle with a fully qualified and licensed instructor before someone passes their test, which itself is more rigorous than here. Motorway driving is a big part of those lessons as it should be. This is the only country I have ever driven where many people seem content driving at 50-60km/h on the motorway not aware of any traffic around them. I'd feel safer driving at 200km/h on a continental motorway than at 120km/h under the same circumstances here

Idleater

bonkey wrote:

Neither engine-size not BHP are a suitable indicator for cars in my opinion. (Idon't know enough to say if thats also true for bikes.) However, the idea of some form of power-restriction isn't a bad one though.

It's not true for bikes anyway.

The p/w etc limits the to 25kw or so (I am ignoring the p/w OR clause for this).

25kw and 165 kg = 151kw per 1000kg == just over 200bhp per 1000kg.

In real terms, it means that it can still do 0-100km in < 4 or 5 seconds, still do 170+kmph, and even when doing 100-120kmph you can feel the power pushing you back ... etc etc.
In fact, pretty much all it does restrict is wheelies in 4th and up...

I am in definite agreement with the OP on CBT for everyone. Having done the RoSPA, it only lasts 3 years too. It makes perfect sense to keep you on top of your driving because conditions change, vehicles change, society changes.

Change is not a bad thing, it just helps everyone keep up to speed (pardon the pun) with the changes in conditions that naturally occur and that can only help everyone.

L.

conor_mc

A good point made on the radio recently - walk into the most professional driving school in the country (take your pick) and ask them for a copy of their syllabus.... then wait for the blank stares.

As a pilot, I had 6 books covering different aspects of the syllabus, sat through a mandatory 20 hours of ground school, flew a minimum of 45 hours and had to pass 4 theory tests plus an extensive skills test, which included EMERGENCY procedures.... of course, emergencies never happen on Irish roads according to the driving test.

Now I'm not saying learning to drive needs to be that extensive, but they should really look at the PPL system to find out how to properly design and test a comprehensive syllabus.

Alun

unkel wrote:

I'd feel safer driving at 200km/h on a continental motorway than at 120km/h under the same circumstances here

Amen to that! I've just come back from a week in Germany where I felt a whole lot safer and more relaxed travelling over 800 km at speeds between 130 km/h and 200 km/h than I did coming back home from the airport on the M50 when I got back. The difference is like night and day.

Nuttzz

bring driver education into the schools, religion is now a LC subject ffs, driver ed would be much more important and more likely to save your life than a deep understanding of Hinduism

Fey!

Strong agreement with ALL of the points above. Don't think there's anything I could add.

JohnK

The traffic school is a good idea that I would support in a heart-beat but the periodic retest is something that should definitely come in. People develop very bad habits once they know the test is over so having them re-sit every few years should keep them on their toes.