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Re: driver's ed. is a joke



Bradley Charles McFeters (ac923@ccn.cs.dal.ca) wrote:
> Maybe you should take a look at the new system we have in Nova Scotia, 
> Canada.  Around a year ago, the system was changed from what I think 
> yours is: a test consisting of road signs and simple road rules which you 
> recieved a (minimum) 60 day beginner's license upon completion.  This allows 
> you to drive with an experienced driver.  After the 60 days, a 20 minute 
> test for a "real" license.

> Now, the new system is called Graduated Licensing.  Nova Scotia modelled 
> it after the system in place in New Zealand, however I think other 
> Canadian provinces have it as well (Ontario?).  The way it works: At 16, 
> you take your test for a beginners license, and the test is now harder.  
> That license must be held for 6 months before the next stage.  After 6 
> months there is another written test and the usual driving test.  At this 
> point you recieve a special license for 2 years.  The restrictions on 
> this license are: no driving between midnight and 5 am (exception if you 
> have a job requiring use of a car), zero tolerance for alcohol ie 0%, # 
> of passengers limited to # of seatbelts, and if you recieve a ticket or 
> any other refraction during this period you have to start over again with 
> no accumulated mileage.  At the end of two years of clean driving, and 
> after completing a certified 6 hour defensive driving course, you move on 
> to a "real" license.  BTW, this is not just limited to teens, every new 
> driver no matter the age must go through this system.

> What do you think?  Does it make sense?  Supposedly in New Zealand, the 
> model, statistics show a decrease in the number of crashes involving 
> people between the age of 16 and 24.  Some people argue that's just 
> because they aren't on the road.  In any case, that's our current 
> system.  Comments?

Ah, yes. graduated licenceing. We have been blessed with that in
Ontario for about a year now.

It sounds like a good idea - right? Force new drivers to get more
experience before we let them loose on the roads, etc.

What graduated licenceing does not address is the silly things you
have to perform in order to get your licence. Paralell perking,
3-point turns and other stupid things like that. When will the driver
testing system move out of the 50s and into the 90s?
They need to test highway driving, passing and mergeing skills. Skills
you need every day on the road.

Until the government testing becomes more comprehensive, most "drivers
ed" schools will only teach you the minimum required to pass the test.
Thus, graduated licenceing will only address part of the problem. 


Tom
_____________________________________________________________________
Tom Foottit                              Computer Systems Engineering
tfoottit@chat.carleton.ca                Carleton University


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