Comment on This is the dumbest idea ever
blackn1ght@feddit.uk 7 hours agoso the driving test proves nothing
The driving test proves you can competently drive to a safe standard. I agree that you learn more through experience, but first you need to be able to drive to a particular standard before being allowed to drive on your own.
What’s the alternative if there’s no test? You just allow anyone who reaches the driving age to get in a car and drive on their own?
qwerty@discuss.tchncs.de 5 hours ago
Yes, the smart ones will start by learning the rules and training with friends/family in an empty parking lot, then once they grasp the basics they’ll move on to driving short distances to home/school/work under the guidance of an experienced driver. Once they memorize the road they’ll be able to drive by themselves until they feel comfortable enough to try a different route… Basically do the same things they would to train for the test, just without the cost and the time limit.
The dumb ones will do dumb shit no matter how many guardrails you put in front of them, especially if they’re legal and not physical. If someone won’t think twice before getting into a 2 ton bullet they have no idea how to safely operate because the prospect of pulling out in front of a semi or ending up in a ditch or wrapped around a tree don’t scare them then tickets, jail or other legal trouble certainly won’t either.
blackn1ght@feddit.uk 3 hours ago
I’m not convinced. There’s probably a chunk of people who don’t drive because they kept showing that they weren’t safe enough to drive by failing their test. If the aim is to reduce the barrier to entry for driving because tests are expensive (they’re £62 in the UK, really not that expensive) then those costs will only be countered by way higher insurance premiums as there will be more drivers who can just jump in a car and drive on their own and crash. Also as a driver and pedestrian, I really don’t want to be on the same road as those people.