boris@mit-athena.UUCP (Boris N Goldowsky) (02/24/85)
I learned how to drive in a driver's ed course at school which was very bad. I did not feel comfortable driving until about 6 months after I took the test and I had some experience. I still would like to learn how to be a really good driver -- ie, know what to do in an emergency situation and be able to do it. But I don't know where I could get such training. Suggestions? I think that the driving test is much too easy and requires much too little knowledge and skill. Why have a test at all if it doesn't weed out really bad drivers (like I was?). Comments? -- Boris Goldowsky decvax!mit-athena!boris boris@mit-athena.arpa
pace@othervax.UUCP (02/26/85)
If you want to learn to drive well then go to Great Britain. In my opinion they have a very demanding (and so it should be) driving test. They put the emphasis on how you perform on the road more than on how many signs and rules you can memorise. When I took my test over there (about 5 years ago) I had spent about 3 months taking lessons at least once a week and then twice a week nearer the test date. During the actual test I was on the road with the examiner for about 35 minutes during which time we did a three point turn, reversing around a corner, emergency braking (without skidding or losing control), uphill starts (manual trans.). After we got back to the test centre he then asked me a few questions on the highway code (ie. signs, do's & don't's etc.). After all that he then told me that I'd passed the test!!! To give you an example of how stringent the test is, I nearly failed it because I almost forgot to make sure that the car was in neutral before starting the engine (they don't care if you disengage the clutch, the car should not be in gear when you start it). Another item which they will fail you on is not covering the brake pedal and looking carefully when you go through a cross roads, even though you have the right of way. When I moved to Montreal about a year ago and took their test, I was no longer amazed at how bad the drivers are here. I spent more time answering questions about driving than I actually spent on the road (about 5 minutes on the road). Now I don't know what driving tests are like in the States but I suspect that they are not much more demanding if at all (please correct me if I'm wrong). In conclusion, if you want to be a GOOD driver then go to the U.K. and learn there. Once you've done that you can always stay another few months and take the advanced drivers course and test. The insurance rates drop significantly if you manage to pass that one! Scott Pace, Philips Information Systems, Montreal, Canada philabs!micomvax!othervax!pace
chris@scgvaxd.UUCP (Chris Yoder) (03/06/85)
In article <76@mit-athena.UUCP> boris@mit-athena.UUCP (Boris N Goldowsky) writes: >I think that the driving test is much too easy and requires much too little >knowledge and skill. Why have a test at all if it doesn't weed out really >bad drivers (like I was?). > >Comments? > >-- >Boris Goldowsky > decvax!mit-athena!boris > boris@mit-athena.arpa I've always been of the opinion that everybody who is applying for a licence (renewal or new) should have to take a driven test. I believe that some sort of emergency handling test should also be included, perhaps this could be done on a simulator so that real cars weren't torn up by the test. I am continually surprised by the basic lack of good driving sence that I see on the roads, but then one considers that you can miss up to 20% of the questions and STILL get a drivers license (and miss a few points on the driving test to boot...) then it becomes painfully obvious that there are a lot of people out there who don't know what to do in all driving situations. Why people are allowed to miss more than 1 question is beyond me (I'll give them one because there are bound to be some "tricky" questions). Actually my main pet peve is against people who insist upon driving when they aren't in full control of thier facilities... I wish that people would *think* when they drive instead of zoning out in the fast lane. -- Chris Yoder UUCP --- scgvaxd!engvax!chris <Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're not out to get you...>
lee@unmvax.UUCP (03/07/85)
> see on the roads, but then one considers that you can miss up to 20% of the > questions and STILL get a drivers license (and miss a few points on the > driving test to boot...) then it becomes painfully obvious that there are a > lot of people out there who don't know what to do in all driving situations. > Why people are allowed to miss more than 1 question is beyond me (I'll give > them one because there are bound to be some "tricky" questions). Interesting... I recently let my license expire and went down to take the tests again. For the automobile, I missed that "1" question. It was a real beaut. "What is the maximum allowable height for a vehicle in the state of New Mexico?" Lower than the lowest bridge? :-) Then came the interesting test. The motorcycle test. I have been riding mine for 8 years pretty straight now. Only one accident involving another vehicle. This was when a truck pulled out in front of me from a blind alley. It was raining. Sliiiiiide... CRUNCH! Anyway, I ended up missing a BUNCH of questions on that test. If I had missed even one more I wouldn't have a cycle license now. Every one of the questions involved some form of "in this situation would you ride in the center of the lane, the left part of the lane or the right?". It only took me a couple of misses to decide that to pass the test you merely answered "center" every time. The rationale (as explained by the machine) was that this gives one more options. Just to be ornery I decided to answer those particular questions in the same manner I ride. The answers were easy then, "where is the farthest away from the potential hazard?" I can, honestly, think of three times that if I had been following their rationale I would be mangled, if not dead! I think, too, that a driving test (I didn't have to take one) tells a bit more than these questions. Oh yeah, I was planning to flunk that test. I really tried, believe me. I wanted to take the state to court. To disagree with you on one thing; NOBODY knows what to do in ALL driving situations. They may "know" what to do but remembering is pretty hard when your staring down a BIG truck, apparently, intent on removing you from the earth. --Lee (Ward) {ucbvax,gatech}!unmvax!lee