Graduated Driving Licensing (GDL)

[Daisy]

There is a suggestion from the AA that newly qualified drivers shouldn't be allowed to carry young passengers for the first 6 months after passing the test. They should also get 6 penalty points if they're caught not wearing a seat belt.

The figures for deaths and injuries involving young drivers are horrendous - the Department for Transport figures say there were 4,669 people seriously injured on our roads where at least one driver was between 17 and 24, with 290 fatalities.

GDLs already exist in Northern Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia and Sweden.

It's all too easy for young drivers giving a lift to their mates to want to show off, or be egged on to take unacceptable risks with tragic consequences. I feel anything that can be done to improve safety for these youngsters is worthwhile. The horror of having to tell not one but two groups of students when I was teaching that one of their classmates has lost their lives in an avoidable accident stays with me. I can't even begin to imagine how a tragedy like this must be for the parents, families and friends.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c361g6nz5j1o

[Gemini]

I am very much in favour of this .
To be honest my heart sinks a bit when young drivers pass first time!
I think they can be too confident sometimes and careless.

I know the statistics for young newly qualified drivers being involved in accidents is frightening.

Daisy, how awful that must have been for you.
The niece of one of my close friends was killed in an accident not long after the driver had passed his test.

[Clover]

I so agree Daisy. It worried me that the GD of a friend passed her test and was off straight away on her own to drive over 200 miles on unfamiliar roads to visit a boyfriend.

[Daisy]

Gem, I feel the same! It's such a senseless waste of a young life, someone who had her whole life ahead of her. I also think there should be a cap on the power of the car they're allowed to drive until they are at least 21, and preferably 23. The trouble is, as we always said at college, testosterone kicks in and common sense and caution fly out the window. The driving test doesn't include motorways (although they can have motorway lessons now with a qualified instructor), and that's another worry.

Also new drivers may have little experience during lessons of driving in different conditions, like in bad weather or at night, or on different sorts of roads. Our roads are so congested and busy and new drivers need to build up experience as safely as they can.

Clover, I would have been worried about your friend's GD as well. That's a long way for a new driver to concentrate, and possibly on unfamiliar roads.

[Oma]

I agree , I have said for years they pass a test and think they are invisible, pick their friends up and show off,
Not all are like that thank goodness, my GS wouldn’t play taxi for his friends and he had a black box fitted so his driving and speed could be monitored,
Helped with his insurance too.

I did worry about motorway driving so soon after passing his test but he took to it like a duck to water,
Mind you B who has advanced driving gold with the police, did take him out on the motorway and country lanes , another thing they don’t get experience with,
Country lanes can be as hazardous as a motorway if you don’t know how to drive on them.

I think the test should be over say 6 months and tested every month to see progress, your test day could be a good day and you pass but you may not be a good safe driver other days,

[WeeGranny]

Oma, GS has a black box in his car too! They're a good idea I think!

In Australia newly qualified drivers have to have a Green P plate displayed on their car for a certain amount of time, which i think is another good idea. It also wans other drivers that they're new to driving.

[Gemini]

I heard on the radio today about the possibility of cognitive testing for drivers aged 80+

This is in the wake of a very sad story of a lady in her 90s with dementia who killed a toddler whilst driving

[Daisy]

I know of a 90 + year old who used to ask for a test every year to check that she was still competent to drive. This wasn't compulsory, of course, so I'm not sure who did this test, possibly an informal assessment by a driving instructor. But a good idea.

WeeGranny, some new drivers here use P plates. As. you say, it alerts other drivers to their 'newness'. Both GSs used them for a short while, but there was no compulsion to do so they quietly removed them fairly quickly.

Oma, for new drivers round our way a lot of their driving can be on unfenced roads (ie open to livestock) and with a blanket speed limit of 40. I think at night 40 is too fast on these Forest roads. I think there's a case for speed limits to vary between daylight and darkness on a lot of roads, especially residential roads when it's dark at 4 o'clock and children are still on their way home from school.