Sunday Drivers

[Charles]

Every Sunday morning I take the same journey from home to the rugby ground in order to coach a bunch of 11 year olds the art of the finest game.

And every Sunday morning I come across at least half a dozen people who are completely asleep and take offence when I wake them from their reverie by overtaking them (how dare I?) or daring to clearly indcate my intentions by using my indicators AND THEN do what I indicated I was going to do.

Now, I have a theory that Oxford drivers are the worst of the lot anyway - they always brake when approaching green traffic lights - but in more general terms do others experience the Sunday Driver syndrome?

[chad5k1]

Yes and not just on Sundays Charles.
People seem to think that overtaking is an offence, with all manner of flashing lights etc!
As long as it's done appropriately there should be no problem.

[rcshott]

And I thought it was just a few 'locals' in the bush, down here! Yeah, it is annoying, isn't it? Especially when they travel at 80kph in the 100kph zone Then they flash their lights after you pass? There is nothing more boring, frustrating (& dangerous IMHO) than travelling in the wide open space at a maximum of 100kph (62mph). I say dangerous because the driver easily loses concentration. The latest Lambo will do 340kph (212mph) but the U.S claim they have a faster car. All a bit academic, really.

Mind you, I think the 'boys in Blue' (or, more accurately...Governments)have something to answer for. During hollidays it's "double demerit points, and double the fine" pretty well everywhere now. They seem to scare the daylights out of many drivers, hence poorer driving habits.
But the worst part is;
Number of cars on the road is up
Number of people killed is up (annually) Rarely less
Fine numbers are up
Amount collected is WAY up
Amount spent on roads is up slightly (only 18%) of collected revenue is spent on road safety???
Road rules are constantly changed with NO NOTICE to drivers

At the expense of repeating...EVERY driver should be re-tested at EVERY licence renewel, written & physcial, at his/her expense
All drivers should be tested day & night, town & country, wet & dry conditions, including skid pan & track. Could all be done in a 1/2 day (or am/pm) course.
I recently read of 2-3 countries (U.S., Sweeden included) where road speeds have been increased & the number of crashes & people killed has REDUCED. I sent a copy to my local MP
Even my local RAC (who advocate better driving skills) tell us how fast particular cars will reach 100kph. Some idiot member recently suggested governing all cars to 110kph...so...that means (only) a top speed of 110kph including a built-up area

[Charles]

At the expense of repeating...EVERY driver should be re-tested at EVERY licence renewel, written & physcial, at his/her expense
All drivers should be tested day & night, town & country, wet & dry conditions, including skid pan & track. Could all be done in a 1/2 day (or am/pm) course.

Jim, this is a point that I have made several times.

In the UK, once you have passed your test (note that this is different to learning to drive in my book), the next time you are required to put yourself forward for any form of reassessment is when you reach 70 years old.

A driving licence is a privelege not a right and as such, drivers should respect it. By introducing a reassessment every, say, 10 years, which the driver must finance and linking the retest with insurance records would mean that drivers would be forced to continue focusing on their driving skills.

The downside, based on our current monitoring systems, means that more drivers would be uninsured on the roads.

So, take it a stage further and introduce a combined licence/insurance card which would need to be swiped every time a driver wants to fill up with fuel and then only licenced and insured drivers can purchase the fuel to allow thm to use the roads.

Sure, some poeple might "borrow" someone else's card, but introduce biometrics into the equation - fingerprint recognition linked to fuel delivery - and suddenly this would change the perspective.

Unfortunately, a combination of civil liberties and the government's complete inability to look after personal records in a safe and secure manner and this idea is holed below the waterline. However, I believe that there must be some radical thinking required to counter a number of issues - driving standards, uninsured drivers, cars without MOTs - in order to make the roads safer for those of us who follow the rules and make every effort to maintain quality behind the wheel.

[rcshott]

Ahhhhh, Charles...YES we are on the same (safety) wavelength methinks.
I'll vote you in as PM if you'll have me as 2 i/c

ADDED 28/10/07
Authorities are realy 'no-brainers' aren't they...I reckon I could get into just as much mischief/trouble driving a Gogomobile or an Isetta as in a B5!

TRAINING, TRAINING, TRAINING & TESTING, TESTING TESTING. Licences are obselete imo.
Pure revenue raisers.

[Charles]

Ahhhhh, Charles...YES we are on the same (safety) wavelength methinks.

I'll vote you in as PM if you'll have me as 2 i/c

That would be seriously reckless - but fun