The Goverment are to blame for this mess.
The problem would be easily solved if the Goverment ensured that Provisional Drivers Licence holders sat their tests within a guaranteed period of receiving the licence e.g. six months. This would allow them to take driving lessons and upskill.
Driving test inspectors don't fail someone who deserves to pass! Drivers who fail their tests should never be allowed to drive unaccompanied. Failure to pass a driving test is an indication of incompetency. This a basic fact that holders of repeat provisional drivers licences ignore for their own convenience!
The argument that people who need cars to get to work, or for whatever other reason, should be allowed drive unaccompanied when unqualified to drive defies logic! They may believe that they have a right to make a judgement regarding their own safety, but, they have no right to make that judgement when it potentially affects the safety of other roadusers.
Many years ago, the inconvenience of having to commute to work on public transport motivated me as a school leaver to pass my driving test as soon as possible. My parents would not allow me drive unaccompanied and unqualified. I would never admit it then, but, they were right! The accelerator was my favourite pedal! While passing the test did not make me a good driver, preparing for and sitting the test did force me to embrace good driving habits and to become aware of the rules of the road and safe driving methods. The argument whether I have remained a good and safe driver at all times is a different argument.
A dedicated highway patrol to compliment the penalty points system and more cameras would keep a lot of us drivers, both qualified and unqualified, in check.
Many people standing on soapboxes on this issue need to look at their own driving. Drive on the M1 from Louth to Whitehall any morning and it is obvious that non-L-Plate drivers far outnumber L-Plate drivers in terms of dangerous driving - tailgating and lane weaving at high speed, undertaking on inside lanes, refusal to indicate when changing lanes, refusal to look in inside (passenger side) wing mirrors when moving to an inside lane, refusal to queue by forcing their way in front of drivers already queued on exit lanes e.g. the M50 turn-off, fog lights permanently on, using mobile phones (I saw one middle-aged guy in a black BMW 5 Series 07D typing on a Blackberry!) by hand when driving, general agressive bahaviour etc.
The problem would be easily solved if the Goverment ensured that Provisional Drivers Licence holders sat their tests within a guaranteed period of receiving the licence e.g. six months. This would allow them to take driving lessons and upskill.
Driving test inspectors don't fail someone who deserves to pass! Drivers who fail their tests should never be allowed to drive unaccompanied. Failure to pass a driving test is an indication of incompetency. This a basic fact that holders of repeat provisional drivers licences ignore for their own convenience!
The argument that people who need cars to get to work, or for whatever other reason, should be allowed drive unaccompanied when unqualified to drive defies logic! They may believe that they have a right to make a judgement regarding their own safety, but, they have no right to make that judgement when it potentially affects the safety of other roadusers.
Many years ago, the inconvenience of having to commute to work on public transport motivated me as a school leaver to pass my driving test as soon as possible. My parents would not allow me drive unaccompanied and unqualified. I would never admit it then, but, they were right! The accelerator was my favourite pedal! While passing the test did not make me a good driver, preparing for and sitting the test did force me to embrace good driving habits and to become aware of the rules of the road and safe driving methods. The argument whether I have remained a good and safe driver at all times is a different argument.
A dedicated highway patrol to compliment the penalty points system and more cameras would keep a lot of us drivers, both qualified and unqualified, in check.
Many people standing on soapboxes on this issue need to look at their own driving. Drive on the M1 from Louth to Whitehall any morning and it is obvious that non-L-Plate drivers far outnumber L-Plate drivers in terms of dangerous driving - tailgating and lane weaving at high speed, undertaking on inside lanes, refusal to indicate when changing lanes, refusal to look in inside (passenger side) wing mirrors when moving to an inside lane, refusal to queue by forcing their way in front of drivers already queued on exit lanes e.g. the M50 turn-off, fog lights permanently on, using mobile phones (I saw one middle-aged guy in a black BMW 5 Series 07D typing on a Blackberry!) by hand when driving, general agressive bahaviour etc.
