DrMoriarty
Moderator
- Messages
- 5,173
I like your way of thinking, Comrade Chamar!Chamar said:Well, I'd start with banning "Fair City" and work from there...
Only [broken link removed]who took the test last year passed, the rest failed and carried on driving on the roads.
Surely this lack of preparadness is contributing to the poor standard of driving on the roads and the backlog of applicants waiting to take/retake the test?
A system, such as the one in operation in Switzerland and, I believe other European countries, should be adopted by the authorities here.
Before being allowed to pass the Swiss driving test, you must be 18 years of age to obtain a provisional license for which you are required to pass a two hour written exam after attending eight hours compulsory lessons in traffic theory and ten hours of first aid training. Before passing the practical test a minimum of 20 hours of lessons from a professional driving school is required. While you are learning to drive you are only allowed to drive under the supervision of a driver who is at least 23 years old and has held a Swiss driving license for at least three years.
Surely this lack of preparadness is contributing to the poor standard of driving on the roads and the backlog of applicants waiting to take/retake the test?
A system, such as the one in operation in Switzerland and, I believe other European countries, should be adopted by the authorities here.
Before being allowed to pass the Swiss driving test, you must be 18 years of age to obtain a provisional license for which you are required to pass a two hour written exam after attending eight hours compulsory lessons in traffic theory and ten hours of first aid training. Before passing the practical test a minimum of 20 hours of lessons from a professional driving school is required. While you are learning to drive you are only allowed to drive under the supervision of a driver who is at least 23 years old and has held a Swiss driving license for at least three years.
We had a car that did this in the Middle East and it wasn't dangerous, but was very irritating. The car was also modified so that the radio volume went down when the alarm sounded and couldn't be turned up manually to drown out the sound. It worked really well, but I suspect anyone with some knowledge of cars could disable it.
DrMoriarty
Moderator
- Messages
- 5,173
I remember my sister-in-law's car, a Jap import, having the same thing — a low (but growing) 'ding, ding, ding...' that kicked in at 65kph. Nearly did my head in, driving from West Clare to Dublin one day! — but I can see that it might serve a useful purpose if properly adjusted, and it certainly wasn't the kind of thing that could startle you into panicking and having an accident.
I think delgirl's comparison with the Swiss régime is also very illuminating. When I worked in France, back in the 80s, Irish people living there would fly home to do their (perfunctory) driving test 'back home' rather than submit to the rigours of the French system. The Irish driving test was an absolute joke at the time, and it's still way behind best practice in other countries. I also think it should be mandatory to pass a new test every 10 years or so (with a reduced monetary charge), or immediately following any conviction/fine for a driving offence. Or if you have one of those Sylvester Barrett licences..!
I think delgirl's comparison with the Swiss régime is also very illuminating. When I worked in France, back in the 80s, Irish people living there would fly home to do their (perfunctory) driving test 'back home' rather than submit to the rigours of the French system. The Irish driving test was an absolute joke at the time, and it's still way behind best practice in other countries. I also think it should be mandatory to pass a new test every 10 years or so (with a reduced monetary charge), or immediately following any conviction/fine for a driving offence. Or if you have one of those Sylvester Barrett licences..!
C
Chamar
Guest
umop3p!sdn said:
My God.........
Do you carry a little red book as well?
delgirl said:
At the end of the 10 hours first aid you also have to pass a first aid test. One of my friends here has just passed the swiss driving test, in the first aid exam they were given 3 "test rooms". The first one was a fire in a kitchen, the second a ski accident, the third a car crash.
In the kitchen scenario, there were 2 dummys a mother face down, and a baby in a high chair there was a pan on fire and the room was full of smoke. My friend said most people including herself failed this room as they went and removed the baby first, where as first they should have put a fire blanket (which was in the room) or wet cloth on the pan. It seems to be really comprehensive first aid and good basic training for all scenarios. I think I would have failed this room too.
All swiss drivers also carry a red collapsable traffice triangle in the boot of the car. So for the 3rd scenario, part of the first aid is to walk some metres away from the accident to place out your triangle to warn oncoming traffic.
very comprehensive
Z
z107
Guest
Actually, I believe it was Rainyday. It doesn't negate the argument though.
I'm not really 'resorting' to anything, just highlighting a very well known case of civil liberties abuse. There are many more examples I could have used, Tiananmen square for example.