Learner drivers: Plan to include lessons on motorways

Personally I think a motorbike style series of tests enabling access to different power bands would be more useful. Do think it is a bit crazy that there is no motorway training but ultimately motorways aren’t really that hard to get the hang of. So long as you know how to accelerate up to speed (and are comfortable doing so) in time to join the main carriageway this is the major hurdle already passed.

The idea of more training for new drivers is great, especially as many find driviyon motorways intimidating.

However at the same time there should be training/ assessment for existing drivers, lots of folks develop very bad habits etc. Of course this shouldn’t apply to those that think they are driving gods!

I’m still waiting for the Test to include “applying makeup”, “texting virtual mates on Facebook”, “feeding baby FeeFeeFooPhoo”, “watching pron on iPads” all whilst driving vehicles at greater speeds than the limit imposed.

Once those are in the test, Humans will have moved on in evolution.

Saw plenty on the M5/M6 yesterday that really should have lessons in motorway driving. Especially the Volvo XC90/60 drivers, they appear to have traded their BMW’s for chunky Volvos to push their way into non-existent gaps.

I think that they should teach people to drive with due consideration for others first.

I think that they should teach people to drive with have due consideration for others first

Would solve a lot of problems

As above, scotland, wales, east anglia, Cornwall..

I live in a city of 260000 people next to a main line railway and the largest hospital west of Bristol but it takes 50 minutes at 70mph to drive to the nearest motorway. Add 20 more minutes to that if you live on the other side of town. If you lived in Penzance you’d be looking at just over 2 hours in clear traffic at 70 to get to one. That’s an expensive driving lesson!

But in the real world, ‘rural’ dual carriageways (eg A30 and cornwall-side A38) with poorer surfacing, mud, agricultural vehicles, cyclists, narrower lanes (I think!), no or minimal hard shoulders, shorter slip roads, and of course filter lanes for turning right, steeper gradients and tighter curves all at a frankly crazy 70mph (IMHO) are excellent training for how relatively easy and safe it is to drive on a motorway IME.

I know someone who learned to drive in Guernsey, she had never been on a dual carriageway or got over 30 (island-wide speed limit) and out of 4th. She did choose to get extra lessons when she came over here.

Another one to say that this isn’t practical outside of the South East and a few other urban areas. Where I live (Lincolnshire) there are no motorways at all, and only 66k of dual carriageway in the entire county. For me to get to a dual carriageway is around an hour of driving, and I am not particularly isolated – plenty of people would add another 20 minutes to that.

As per T1000, the learner drivers are not nearly as much as a problem as the Richard heads who think they are driving gods. The people who complain loudest about middle lane loitering generally do so from the outside lane at 90mph. The solution to poor driving standards is harsher penalties and more enforcement. And a complete ban on this “but I need my car for my job” rubbish. Permaban a few reps and perhaps people will take a bit more care if they realise they can’t wiggle out of penalties.

The people who complain loudest about middle lane loitering generally do so from the outside lane at 90mph.

I tend to find them annoying when approaching them in an empty inside lane at 60mph and having to pull across two lanes to overtake.

The solution to poor driving standards is harsher penalties and more enforcement.

The solution to poor driving is better instruction and guidance. Most of the enforced penalties are automated which give nothing to learn from and are easy to avoid punishment. Perhaps getting pulled and being lectured by a policeman would sharpen peoples thinking, unfortunately we dont have any police any more to do this. All we can hope for is better instruction and black boxes in cars. To be a realist, black boxes and totally variable speed limits whereby at times, the limts on Mways could be limitless would make a lot of sense. I learned to drive in Germany and this works over there. Also, get HGV’s off the road at key times.

I’m always a bit indifferent about this. There are plenty of two and three lane dual carriageways that could be (and are) used to give learners experience on multi lane roads.

I was taught in my lessons on the A1 either side of Newark

As a mid Wales resident growing up there were barely any dual carriageways to practice on but I just don’t see that motorways are that hard to drive on. With good use of mirrors (which is something ouare made to do as a learner) it’s fairly easy, everyone is going the same way at near enough the same speed.

Driving at night, in bad weather on small narrow roads or in cities are all more difficult and carry the potential to put more vulnerable road users at risk. I have no problem with minimum hours before applying for a test and think mandatory skid pan sessions would be useful though.

If it’s a good idea, then driving on single track roads with passing places ought to be included too, possibly as an alternative.

But in the real world, ‘rural’ dual carriageways (eg A30 and cornwall-side A38) with poorer surfacing, mud, agricultural vehicles, cyclists, narrower lanes (I think!), no or minimal hard shoulders, shorter slip roads, and of course filter lanes for turning right, steeper gradients and tighter curves all at a frankly crazy 70mph (IMHO) are excellent training for how relatively easy and safe it is to drive on a motorway IME.

I know those roads all too well, three, sometimes four runs down to Helston and the surrounding area a week, and back, the only real issue for many would be the volume of traffic on some motorways, and keeping a very close eye on mirrors and what every other person is doing; the M4 and M5 can be a bit daunting just because there are so many vehicles, and in poor weather, with spray, some motorway experience could help.
But for many, as others have pointed out, the distances involved would make it impractical.

If it’s a good idea, then driving on single track roads with passing places ought to be included too, possibly as an alternative.

That’s a very large portion of the country south of the M4 right there! Get into South Devon, and you’ll be lucky to find passing places, and that’s on the A-roads!
Well, slight exaggeration, but the best way to make progress between Dartmouth and Kingsbridge is to find a bus to follow; it won’t be that fast, but everyone in the opposite direction has to give way to it!
😀
Dorset isn’t much better, one day last year I drove down to Charmouth, and south of Warminster it’s very difficult to find anywhere to pass a slow vehicle; I drove for around nine miles behind a tractor and trailer, there were simply no places he could pull over to let anyone pass!
I found one short clear stretch I could overtake, and it must have been twenty minutes before I had another car in front of me. 😀

Is there any evidence that new drivers are a cause of accidents on motorways? That BBC article doesn’t provide any….