jwatkins wrote:Drivers should be retested every 5-10 years regardless of age. I've never heard of anything as ridiculous as a system where you're tested once, then have a right to do something indefinitely, regardless of your competence.
If you still safe 10 years after passing your test, then you have nothing to fear. If you're not, you should be prevented from driving until you have been sufficiently retrained.
hir wrote:jwatkins wrote:Drivers should be retested every 5-10 years regardless of age. I've never heard of anything as ridiculous as a system where you're tested once, then have a right to do something indefinitely, regardless of your competence.
If you still safe 10 years after passing your test, then you have nothing to fear. If you're not, you should be prevented from driving until you have been sufficiently retrained.
There are two problems with this suggestion. The first is, how does one define "safe" and then measure it? The second is, the "boy racers", the inconsiderate drivers, the aggressive drivers, the non-focused, easily distracted drivers, et al. will modify their behaviour on test in order to pass said test. After all, it'll be just forty minutes in ten years of driving activity and I don't doubt that 99.9% of those whom one might consider to be the drivers mainly at risk will easily be able to fool the system by being on their best behaviour for forty minutes.
jwatkins wrote:
If a test can't be used as a means of deciding whether or not someone's safe, why do we have one at all? Why not just hand out driving licenses after a few lessons and keep things simple? Yes, some people will modify their driving style just for a retest, but some people's driving has genuinely deteriorated to un unsafe level. Someone who cannot drive safely would be unable to pretend otherwise for the sake of a test.
jwatkins wrote:I've never heard of anything as ridiculous as a system where you're tested once, then have a right to do something indefinitely, regardless of your competence.
jwatkins wrote:So what purpose would a re-test at 70 have then?
triquet wrote:Yesterday I had two lengthy sessions on the M25 from M40 to M1 and back again. It was all running quite smoothly. Nothing spectacular was happening, I saw no really bad driving, people were trundling along calmly without incident. It's quite remarkable. Driving isn't a black art, and there are a lot of people out these who do it quite well ....
jwatkins wrote:triquet wrote:Yesterday I had two lengthy sessions on the M25 from M40 to M1 and back again. It was all running quite smoothly. Nothing spectacular was happening, I saw no really bad driving, people were trundling along calmly without incident. It's quite remarkable. Driving isn't a black art, and there are a lot of people out these who do it quite well ....
Quite right. And for those people (who are probably in the majority) a retest would be a formality which would present no concern. However, for those whose driving standards have deteriorated unacceptably, it would be a means of identifying the fact that they require further training before continuing.
hir wrote:jwatkins wrote:So what purpose would a re-test at 70 have then?
I presume that those who advocate such a test would say that it's purpose would be to remove dangerous drivers from the road. As I have already said, I believe that mandatory retesting at 70 years of age would, in my opinion, be ineffective in this respect, arbitrary and inequitable.
waremark wrote:... I believe most dangerous driving is done by people who are capable of driving quite safely.
MGF wrote:waremark wrote:... I believe most dangerous driving is done by people who are capable of driving quite safely.
How do you account for the increased risk in drivers over 70 and even more so over 80? Do you genuinely believe that competent drivers who have been driving safely prior to aged 70 choose to drive less safely subsequently? Perhaps they believe that as their days are numbered they may as well take more risks,
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