After seeing some of the idiots who just don’t appreciate that buses and trucks need more time and room, I’ve come to the conclusion that the government is missing a trick. When a new driver passes their test, wouldn’t it be good if it was compulsory for them to do a two hour training session in a bus or truck?
This wouldn’t be a test, just training. They would get a feel for driving a large vehicle, and maybe , just maybe, make them understand that it’s different to driving a car.
Who knows, it may make better drivers. Even cut down accidents, perhaps.
Either way, the government would make extra money , the bus company or hgv company would make money for the compulsory training , they provide.
Just an idea, it’ll never happen but I don’t see why it couldn’t be considered. A win for everyone surely.
RogerOut:
After seeing some of the idiots who just don’t appreciate that buses and trucks need more time and room, I’ve come to the conclusion that the government is missing a trick. When a new driver passes their test, wouldn’t it be good if it was compulsory for them to do a two hour training session in a bus or truck?
This wouldn’t be a test, just training. They would get a feel for driving a large vehicle, and maybe , just maybe, make them understand that it’s different to driving a car.
Who knows, it may make better drivers. Even cut down accidents, perhaps.
Either way, the government would make extra money , the bus company or hgv company would make money for the compulsory training , they provide.
Just an idea, it’ll never happen but I don’t see why it couldn’t be considered. A win for everyone surely.
Too much sense for the government to ever consider such an idea! That said, driving instructors could help, but most of them have no idea either.
Most people have ridden bicycles but car drivers act like complete dicks around them going close passes and overtaking on blind bends/on zig-zags/unbroken white lines etc. So good luck making narcissists care about someone else other than themselves. The rationale is another cyclist jumped a light 2 years ago, so then all are fair game.
For example if someone rode a horse on a main road you wouldn’t have drivers being all careful and considerate around scared animal, they would all be fuming about the fact the horse shouldn’t be there and how they want to attack the rider for riding in the wrong place. They prefer to make their own rules and defend their territory like infants rather than bother with reading the Highway Code.
Wheel Nut:
I have often thought part of the car driving test should include a moped CBT
It gives you a bit of added road sense and teaches you what its like to hit a pothole or spilt diesel.
As a full motorcycle licence holder since 18 (was 24 before I got a car licence) I agree absolutely.
The problem is I reckon it would be a sure fire vote loser, let’s face it there are people who can’t even get through the car test as it is after multiple attempts.
Forcing them (and others who might be ok in a car, perhaps the disabled or morbidly obese) to wobble round some cones in a car park and perhaps sustain multiple injuries when they fall off every 90 seconds…I can see the DM headlines now.
What is needed is compulsory post test training with safe driving assessments every so many years
Those that are deemed not to be safe enough are then referred back to a qualified ADI for more basic training and in some cases a retest
My long held plan has been; if a police class one driver observes sub standard driving then he/she could require said poor driver to resit a driving test for the class of vehicle they were driving. This test must be undertaken within 14 days of the “offence”, this initial test would be at the taxpayers expense. However, if the driver failed then subsequent lessons and tests would be at their personal expense.
The benefits of this would be many fold; it would clear shocking drivers from our roads until they were at a sufficient standard to rejoin, every fatality costs £x million so the savings there could fund the initial test, there’d be a huge requirement for instructors, examiners and infrastructure which in turn would help jobless figures and the additional tax revenue generated by these examiners etc would line the government coffers.
Obviously the stumbling block would be the lack of political will required to make this happen.
im not sure what the answer is however as with everything in this modern world people arnt taught to do what they are learning properly they are taught to pass the test at the end so im not sure more tests is the answer.
the attitude of self importance and entitlement that is the world today is as big an issue as is ignorance for the want of a better word. I had someone say to me the other day that if lorries stopped blocking up the motorway by driving at 56 and got thier finger out and drove at 70 like the rest of the traffic they would get where they were going quicker and would be able to lessen the demand for lorry drivers and therefore the shortages.
There’s already a huge requirement for examiners, both car and HGV.
The salary is 26k, with a 10k pension boost per annum.
All you have to do is pass the Civil Services Behaviour Test(s).
It seems more a job for someone that is an office bod and can tick boxes and do spreadsheet tasks and charts, than someone that can drive in a reasonably safe and well manner.
I don’t think any extra training is going to improve standards by a measurable amount.
The problem is not knowledge, or lack thereof, based, it’s attitudinal and you can’t fix selfish or stupid. It’s a global problem.
Err hang on a minute. You expect new car drivers not only to learn how to drive a car but you want them to also learn about how much room a bus or a lorry needs.
If a bus or lorry needs a bit of road that a car is on it is up to that said driver to wait till the road is clear and not up to the car driver to know what room a bus or lorry needs.
Or that is what you should have been taught when learning.
Saying that when I was driving I found most car drivers more than helpful. I also used to notice some lorry drivers taking far more room than they needed. Presumably inexperienced.
After seeing some of the idiots who just don’t appreciate that buses and trucks need more time and room, I’ve come to the conclusion that the government is missing a trick.
I don’t think any extra training is going to improve standards by a measurable amount.
The problem is not knowledge, or lack thereof, based, it’s attitudinal and you can’t fix selfish or stupid. It’s a global problem.
Spot on.
I don’t believe the majority of car drivers “don’t appreciate that buses and trucks need more time and room” i think they just don’t care, they are so wrapped up in their little selfish world they see us as a slow moving road blocking pain in the ■■■, no amount of training is going to change that.
Professional drivers wanting further driving tests sounds like turkeys voting for Christmas to me.
When you begin to think you are that one person whose driving is perfect out on the unpredictable roads then you are a problem driver too.
The fact is we are in the unfortunate situation where we as professionals have to share our workspace with amateurs.
We have to have the attitude live & let live.
We have to help the less skilled navigate the roads safely whenever possible including predicting & forgiving their errors.
It is often as much a mindset problem as a skills problem therefore, despite our extra training, if our attitude is not right our driving never will be.
Ohhhh, there is absolutely a whole lot of idiots on the roads, just boobtube idiots in cars and there are hundreds of compilation videos on there so that speak for itself. . . One of the best bit of advice I was given when I was just getting started on the road as a driver was that we have to think for all of the cars around us as well as ourselves as the majority of them have no idea of the needs of a large vehicle compared to a car.
Treat every car as a complete amateur and expect them all to cut right in from of you or pull out in front of you etc and plan for said eventuality then you ain’t gonna be shocked and full of rage when it happens!
In saying that though, some people driving large vehicles can’t drive for ■■■■ either which unfortunately make the rest of us look just as bad
ScaniaUltimate:
Professional drivers wanting further driving tests sounds like turkeys voting for Christmas to me.
When you begin to think you are that one person whose driving is perfect out on the unpredictable roads then you are a problem driver too.
The fact is we are in the unfortunate situation where we as professionals have to share our workspace with amateurs.
We have to have the attitude live & let live.
We have to help the less skilled navigate the roads safely whenever possible including predicting & forgiving their errors.
It is often as much a mindset problem as a skills problem therefore, despite our extra training, if our attitude is not right our driving never will be.
Nice to hear a professional attitude. The roads would be a better place if drivers concentrated on improving their own driving instead of blaming others.
While I agree with the sentiment of giving new drivers additional training, I can see a number of issues with doing it.
Firstly, you are taking someone who has just passed their car test and putting them in a lorry. They have only just been deemed competent to drive a car, so they won’t have the skills, knowledge or experience to safely handle anything much larger than that. This makes them more likely to panic, have accidents and potentially scare them off from even driving a car if it does go badly. Also this means they will be less likely to notice some of the more subtle differences if driving a large vehicle, for example, just how much the weight of a load can affect acceleration, braking and steering.
Secondly, there is the issue of gearboxes. If you take them out in a rigid with a 6 speed manual box, then they might be ok, it will be similar enough to what they had in a car, but they will never have encountered a split box or an automatic. Daft as it sounds, but there are plenty of people out there who won’t drive automatic card simply because the idea of doing so scares them.
The third, and possibly biggest reason is the number, or lack thereof, of examiners and training providers to carry out this extra work, especially good ones. There are plenty of poor training providers out there thanks to the lack of regulations and qualifications needed to become one. Stick a nervous, inexperienced driver with a bad trainer and you have a recipe for disaster
An awful lot of truth in what you say Terry.
It is hard enough for them to take in all they need to learn to pass a test never mind the colossal task of knowing how much room large vehicles require.
Also anyone who has taught car or LGV will know how quickly it can all be forgotten. Of course some a lot worse than others.
