Driving restrictions

[Kendhni]

The RAC has suggested that graduated licences should be introduced for young drivers requiring 4 years of restrictions before being considered fully qualified. Seems like a reasonably good idea if the projected figures are correct.

Interestingly there are also suggestions to bring in periodic refresher driving tests for all drivers. The last suggestion I saw was every 10 years for all drivers and every year once the age of 70 is attained. Again, if it keeps the roads safer, it seems like a good idea.

[Kendhni]

I also note in the story it talks about reducing the legal maximum alcohol level from 80mg to 50mg ... I would suggest going further and reducing it to 10mg.
Drink driving should not be tolerated in any shape or form any more.

[Manoverboard]

I agree with restriction on new drivers.

A 70 year old, however, may have been driving for 40 years or more and will have clocked up several 100,000 miles ... and therefore experience. They could be excellent drivers yet due to memory recall loss at that age may not be able to remember a minor point of the Highway Code at the crucial moment.

No, re-test them if they are involved in an accident perhaps or if their Doctor thinks it is a wise thing to do but not as a matter of course.

[Delboy]

I agree with restriction on new drivers.

A 70 year old, however, may have been driving for 40 years or more and will have clocked up several 100,000 miles ... and therefore experience. They could be excellent drivers yet due to memory recall loss at that age may not be able to remember a minor point of the Highway Code at the crucial moment.

No, re-test them if they are involved in an accident perhaps or if their Doctor thinks it is a wise thing to do but not as a matter of course.

There are some interesting statistics in this report

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/roa ... urvey.html

Department for Transport statistics from 2011 (the most recent year for which figures are available) suggests these findings have more to do with perception than reality, however. While people over 70 made up nine per cent of the driving public, they accounted for just six per cent of driver casualties

I am 73 years of age, and I still feel extremely comfortable behind the wheel of a car, whether in heavy traffic, on a motorway and driving at speed. I drive all the way to Cornwall a drive of over 400 miles, and although I stay overnight going down, coming back I cover the journey in a day. I will do the same when I visit Wales next month, a journey of similar length.

I drive a 2 litre car and on motorways I am very comfortable keeping up with the traffic on the outside lane, although still use the other lanes when appropriate.

[sumdumbloke]

I agree with restriction on new drivers.

A 70 year old, however, may have been driving for 40 years or more and will have clocked up several 100,000 miles ... and therefore experience. They could be excellent drivers yet due to memory recall loss at that age may not be able to remember a minor point of the Highway Code at the crucial moment.

No, re-test them if they are involved in an accident perhaps or if their Doctor thinks it is a wise thing to do but not as a matter of course.

What about all the other faculties that will be failing along with memory? Reactions? Awareness? There MUST be a retest and it should probably be <70 years.

Experience is only a positive thing if it's being done right in the first place, otherwise it's just ingrained bad practise.

[oldbluefox]

I agree with restriction on new drivers.

A 70 year old, however, may have been driving for 40 years or more and will have clocked up several 100,000 miles ... and therefore experience. They could be excellent drivers yet due to memory recall loss at that age may not be able to remember a minor point of the Highway Code at the crucial moment.

No, re-test them if they are involved in an accident perhaps or if their Doctor thinks it is a wise thing to do but not as a matter of course.

What about all the other faculties that will be failing along with memory? Reactions? Awareness? There MUST be a retest and it should probably be <70 years.

Experience is only a positive thing if it's being done right in the first place, otherwise it's just ingrained bad practise.

Statistically there are more urgent areas of concern to be addressed first.

[david63]

Whilst in theory these ideas may be a good idea they seem, to me, to be virtually unenforceable which would make them pointless.

As for drivers over the age of 70 don't forget that they DO have to renew their licences.

[Manoverboard]

... What about all the other faculties that will be failing along with memory ? Reactions? Awareness? There MUST be a retest and it should probably be <70 years.

Experience is only a positive thing if it's being done right in the first place, otherwise it's just ingrained bad practise.

Which is why I added reference to the Doctor and accidents ... the action of passing a driving test proves absolutely nothing, better they do an advanced drivers course.

80 perhaps but not 70, these days that is still a relatively young age ... fingers crossed

[Not so ancient mariner]

(much snipped)

The action of passing a driving test proves absolutely nothing, better they do an advanced drivers course.

80 perhaps but not 70, these days that is still a relatively young age ... fingers crossed

When I was learning to drive, my instructor made it very clear that he was not teaching me how to drive - merely how to pass the driving test.

(which I did - in spite of the examiner at one point telling me to "Put the bl**dy handbrake on!")


Any fool can drive.......and most of them do!!

[The Monocled Mutineer]

One I would like to see for newly qualified drivers is a maximum of one passenger in a car. There have been some terrible multiple death tragedies in one car often with four or five youngsters.

[GillD46]

It scares me rigid that my approaching 92 year old father-in-law still drives - in LONDON! Despite 3 accidents in the last few months and being "shopped" to the DVLA, all they did was send him a medical form to complete, and then issued yet another licence. Surely to goodness, there should be some sort of test to measure his reactions to a given situation?

We have driven behind him and after that, there is no way we would travel in his car with him driving, but what more can we do, since he refuses to stop driving.

[trixie]

My daughter is 17 and learning to drive at the moment. I have to say it all scares me to death, the roads are very different to when I was a learner !

I would really like to see tougher restrictions on learners. Some of my daughters friends have passed their tests and are an accident waiting to happen. One of them pulled out in front of my husband the other day. Lucky he had spotted her and anticipated that she was not going to stop

We have placed our own restrictions on our daughter, she was not allowed in the car with her best mate (who had passed) for ages, Nor is she allowed in any vehicle with any new driver. I think when they get together they are having fun and joking around and not paying attention on the road. I am constantly banging on about the need to be careful. I am probably the most annoying Mum in the world

[Delboy]

I think a Doctor should have to sign the form and dec

It scares me rigid that my approaching 92 year old father-in-law still drives - in LONDON! Despite 3 accidents in the last few months and being "shopped" to the DVLA, all they did was send him a medical form to complete, and then issued yet another licence. Surely to goodness, there should be some sort of test to measure his reactions to a given situation?

We have driven behind him and after that, there is no way we would travel in his car with him driving, but what more can we do, since he refuses to stop driving.

I think a Doctor should have to sign the medical form sent to drivers over 70 years of age and verify that in their opinion a person is physically and mentally fit to drive.

I saw recently on Anglian TV a 90+ years of age women, walking round her garden added by two walking sticks and her son holding her arm. The reason she was on TV was because the local council had taken her blue badge away, they considered because she could walk a few steps unaided and stand on one leg, she did not need it, she was complaining they had taken her lifeline away.

Looking and listening to her, they should have taken her driving licence away, before she took somebody else's lifeline away permanently, no way was she mentally or physically fit to drive, just the time taken for her to react would have been enough to warrant it.

[david63]

My daughter is 17 and learning to drive at the moment. I have to say it all scares me to death, the roads are very different to when I was a learner

Yes it is different from when you learnt to drive as it is different from I learnt to drive - but it is all relative.

Your daughter knows no different therefore it is the same problem that all other learners have had to deal with and it is preparing her for the conditions that she will encounter when she has passed her test.

No doubt she will be saying the same thing when her daughter is learning to drive.

[Dark Knight]

how can you restrict a driver , who has passed their test?
if you restrict say engine size, an accident can still happen at 30/50 and 70 mph?
if you restrict the top speed of the car, it is irrelevant as we should only drive to the speed limit, so no benefit there
I am struggling to find a restriction that would work, other than draconian measures like increasing the age limit on new drivers to 21? and the upper limit to 75, neither of which seem that good an idea

[Manoverboard]

It is entirely possible to put speed inhibiters on their cars and not allow them to drive any other vehicle.

That would stop them showing off for a start then they could be obliged to carry ' P ' plates and if caught speeding they would automatically get a 6 point penalty and a 30% increase on their insurance, do it a second time and a 12 month ban will kick in.

Where there's a will there's a way

[Kendhni]

Correct MOB.
Speed inhibitors and other monitoring devices are already available form some insurance companies as a way of lowering premiums.
Also NI uses 'R' (restricted) plates, which must be shown for a period of 1 year after passing a test. if the car (note not the driver) exceeds a speed of 45mph while showing an 'R' plate then the driver will get a speeding a fine (irrespective of the speed limit on that road). In cases of dangerous/reckless driving the persons period on 'R' plates can be extended or in extreme cases the persons licence can be taken off them and they can be forced to resit their test.

[GillD46]

I think a Doctor should have to sign the form and dec

It scares me rigid that my approaching 92 year old father-in-law still drives - in LONDON! Despite 3 accidents in the last few months and being "shopped" to the DVLA, all they did was send him a medical form to complete, and then issued yet another licence. Surely to goodness, there should be some sort of test to measure his reactions to a given situation?

We have driven behind him and after that, there is no way we would travel in his car with him driving, but what more can we do, since he refuses to stop driving.

I think a Doctor should have to sign the medical form sent to drivers over 70 years of age and verify that in their opinion a person is physically and mentally fit to drive.

I saw recently on Anglian TV a 90+ years of age women, walking round her garden added by two walking sticks and her son holding her arm. The reason she was on TV was because the local council had taken her blue badge away, they considered because she could walk a few steps unaided and stand on one leg, she did not need it, she was complaining they had taken her lifeline away.

Looking and listening to her, they should have taken her driving licence away, before she took somebody else's lifeline away permanently, no way was she mentally or physically fit to drive, just the time taken for her to react would have been enough to warrant it.

The GP does have to sign the form, but all he/she has to disclose is any medical condition that would/ should prevent him from driving. The Dr doesn't know how well the patient drives, nor how quickly he can react. It is lethal all too often..

[Dark Knight]

err
speed inhibitors will not work ,as all it will do is reduce the speed, accidents can and do happen at low speed, also restricting the speed will slow down traffic on dual carriage ways and motorways unless you are advocating banning new drivers from anywhere but 30 mph roads
the lower speed might reduce the number of fatalities but accidents will still happen due to inexperience and stupidity, how do you control that?

[Manoverboard]

Surely, DK, you would agree that it is better to be inexperienced and stupid at 40 mph than at 80 mph. Pretty obvious in reality but I guess you were, and still are no doubt, a speed merchant

I would personally prefer to crawl for a while behind a sensible slower moving 18 year old than have him/her carve us in an insane attempt to get to the front of a never ending queue.

[Dark Knight]

oh Moby numpty
I do so enjoy your sweeping assumptions about folk, they do you no end of credit
My point should you be bothered to read, is that slow accidents may well reduce fatalities but you cannot legislate for stupidy as you yourself so often prove and that young inexpeienced drivers are the main cause of accidents and these accidents are in the main on slower roads in built up areas etc

and everyone knows that the biggest speeding culprits are BMW and Audi drivers

[Manoverboard]

Darknighty ...

I asked ... " Surely, DK, you would agree that it is better to be inexperienced and stupid at 40 mph than at 80 mph. "

Yes or No ?

[Delboy]

I think a Doctor should have to sign the form and dec

It scares me rigid that my approaching 92 year old father-in-law still drives - in LONDON! Despite 3 accidents in the last few months and being "shopped" to the DVLA, all they did was send him a medical form to complete, and then issued yet another licence. Surely to goodness, there should be some sort of test to measure his reactions to a given situation?

We have driven behind him and after that, there is no way we would travel in his car with him driving, but what more can we do, since he refuses to stop driving.

I think a Doctor should have to sign the medical form sent to drivers over 70 years of age and verify that in their opinion a person is physically and mentally fit to drive.

I saw recently on Anglian TV a 90+ years of age women, walking round her garden added by two walking sticks and her son holding her arm. The reason she was on TV was because the local council had taken her blue badge away, they considered because she could walk a few steps unaided and stand on one leg, she did not need it, she was complaining they had taken her lifeline away.

Looking and listening to her, they should have taken her driving licence away, before she took somebody else's lifeline away permanently, no way was she mentally or physically fit to drive, just the time taken for her to react would have been enough to warrant it.

The GP does have to sign the form, but all he/she has to disclose is any medical condition that would/ should prevent him from driving. The Dr doesn't know how well the patient drives, nor how quickly he can react. It is lethal all too often..

Gill

I thought you only need a medical form signed, if you needed to renew your C1 or D1 driving classes, I have just renewed my licence at age 73 and did this on line, no medical certificate needed.

[GillD46]

Delboy- he had serious medical conditions that were mandatory to declare, hence the Dr had to countersign. Another reason for our concern.

[gfwgfw]

Aged at just a young 76 year old I self elected to shred my DL

I held a virgin clean licence (luck was on my side) and I have no regrets at all, I have to admit my quick reflexes were dimming and the ole peepers were getting a tad blurred


I calculated that it cost me in the region of £600 to keep my beloved Laguna in the garage, most of our journeys out were more or less local with the odd trip to visit our children 120/280 mile drive

We are blessed with an excellent public transport system here in rural Dorset, and we have had lots of away days/long weekends using all facets of PT

On line shopping is both reliable and can be fun, and we are not abused if we shop at the week ends

Yes, I do miss my lovely jam jar - but there is life after a shredded DL, make no mistake about that

Must dash - our friendly Taxi driver is on his way to take us to down town Poole Bay eating emporium added and abetted by the hugely successful Mr Wetherspoons

Luboo all

Graham