Would you resit your driving test every 10 years?

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#2227947 30-Apr-2019 13:17

robertsona:

Sitting in back seat of my sons' AA driving lessons, I was made really aware of some of the poor habits I've developed and some gaps in my knowledge.

A periodic refresher and test can only be beneficial.

If you've been driving for more than a year, you're driving illegally.

You're allowed to drive for up to 1 year on your Aussie license, then you've got to convert it (which does involve sitting a test, but not having to do an actual get-in-the-car test)

Source: Me, I had to do this. (we're talking 2001-2002 though, maybe it's changed)

surfisup1000

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#2227948 30-Apr-2019 13:25

martyyn:

I could not disagree with this more.

Stop blaming the roads, stop blaming the conditions, stop making people go slower on ever road and start educating people to be better drivers.

Looking out of my office window right now and there are two people talking on their cell phones at a set of lights. I can do this all day long and see dozens of people.

Get drivers of all ages onto defensive driving courses and make improve the attitude of those behind the wheel.

And, I could not disagree with you more. People already know it is against the law to talk on cellphones. Making them sit a test telling them it is illegal to use a cellphone while driving is not going to stop them.

Sitting a course improves their attitudes for the time they are doing the course only.

Just my opinion though, I don't know what the research says.

elpenguino

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#2227955 30-Apr-2019 13:35

I wouldn't be against periodic re-test - I faced a similar situation when wanting to re-new a firearms license. To make such a system practical you need the same criteria for drivers old and new so I imagine we would have 10 year licenses and everybody does a practical and theory test to renew.

re the wider debate of driver safety I often find myself comparing the road safety situation to something like the recent Chch massacre. Look what force and finance the state chooses to apply when one guy deliberately kills 50 people on one day.

I think our group lack of response to a month of road massacres speaks volumes about our attitude to spontaneous road deaths. The Chch situation is going to be hard to repeat with a reduction in the numbers of semis and who can own them - but road massacres go on month after month. As a matter of public safety we should be demanding more action and more of our own behaviour when we drive.

We've all marveled at other country's road networks and a lot could be done to improve that of NZ. SH1 in the north island is narrow and often very windy with a terrible lack of passing lanes even when the land is flat and straight. Why isn't Himatangi continuously 3 or 4 lanes? I'd prefer to see separate carriageways which not only prevent headon crashes but also make it much less stressful driving at night.

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

surfisup1000

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#2227957 30-Apr-2019 13:38

I did a quick google search and found that research says defensive driving courses can increase the risk of accidents.

The reason is the course can give people a false sense of self confidence about their own driving ability.

elpenguino

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#2227959 30-Apr-2019 13:42

surfisup1000:

I did a quick google search and found that research says defensive driving courses can increase the risk of accidents.

The reason is the course can give people a false sense of self confidence about their own driving ability.

Maybe defensive driving is the wrong training then. What do you suggest, photos of wrecks and corpses?

Most of the posters in this thread are just like chimpanzees on MDMA, full of feelings of bonhomie, joy, and optimism. Fred99 8/4/21

afe66

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#2227962 30-Apr-2019 13:53

One big issue is near are crap drivers with entitlement issues.

Any talk about fines and punishments invariably degenerates into claims it's just revenue gathering....

BoerieGalore

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#2227965 30-Apr-2019 13:58

surfisup1000:

I did a quick google search and found that research says defensive driving courses can increase the risk of accidents.

The reason is the course can give people a false sense of self confidence about their own driving ability.

Advanced driver training or defensive driving training? People seem to confuse them these days.

Advanced driver training is more about track racing in my opinion. If you familiar with how to handle and race a car around the track you will be better than 99% of NZ drivers. One hardly ever hears of racing car drivers being killed in motorcar crashes and thats because these people know how to handle cars better than most other drivers. Defensive driving courses are a waster of time. I would rather my son learned how to handle a car around a track before he starts driving on NZ roads.

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surfisup1000

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#2227970 30-Apr-2019 14:10

elpenguino:

surfisup1000:

I did a quick google search and found that research says defensive driving courses can increase the risk of accidents.

The reason is the course can give people a false sense of self confidence about their own driving ability.

Maybe defensive driving is the wrong training then. What do you suggest, photos of wrecks and corpses?

If it is shown to help, then yes. I will back research based evidence . If resitting driving tests is demonstrably proven to significantly reduce accidents, then go for it.

As I suggested , better roads, better cars, and more enforcement. I believe drivers will make errors and poor driving choices at times. We should minimise the chance of a drivers mistake resulting in theirs or other peoples death.

I guess I am pessimistic (or realistic) about most peoples willingness to change their attitudes, or that human error can be eliminated.

mattwnz

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#2228010 30-Apr-2019 15:16

richrdh18:

No, this would just end up being another money grab by the govt/testing agencies and wont solve the road toll. Just my 5 cents worth. If I am unsafe to drive, then I will remove myself from the roads when the time comes.

Wasn't one of the reasons for moving to a 10 year license, from the lifetime license, supposed to bring down the number of road deaths? It does require people get their eyes tested every 10 years, so I suppose that potentially helps. I don't think the problem is going to be solved by people having to resit their license, as part of the problem is peoples attitudes and bad roads, plus a lot more cars on the roads, and a larger population using those roads. many of the roads weren't designed for the capacity they now need to carry.

Instead more driver education on the rules and changes is probably necessary. But a simple online test could be enough for that. if more bad drivers were dobbed into the police, then we would get a lot of the bad drivers either off the road, or forced into resitting their license.

Journeyman

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#2228049 30-Apr-2019 16:00

Would I like to resit my licence every 10 years? Nah, not really. It'd be a PITA. Do I think everyone ought resit their licence every 10 years? Yes. The resit test should include all the rules that have changed in the preceding 10 years.

Davy

196 posts

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#2228077 30-Apr-2019 16:43

Yes, just the theory test would be a good compromise.

Also, dangerous driving (like tailgating, swinging in and out of lanes, blind overtaking and multiple speeding offences) could be rewarded by downgrading the idiot's licence back to provisional status.

SpartanVXL

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#2228080 30-Apr-2019 16:55

I agree in that its probably a good idea.

Realistically speaking, I don’t think it’ll change much aside from being a once in 10 year annoyance.

Problem with vehicles is that you have every joe/jane average potentially needing a licence to get around/ go to work etc. so you need a balance between ease of access and a decent standard of driving.

What you can’t do is keep putting in more things that make it hard for people to get/keep their license. Making it difficult (testing or financially) just make it so people will more likely skip doing the license properly. They need to drive to work and working keeps the lights on ergo they will keep driving. You know what learner drivers do when they need to get home after 10pm? They take their plates off and put them back later(or not at all).

Which comes to the last point, enforcement. Really, you won’t be able to catch the majority of people driving crap unless you get something out there that will catch them. Be it more officers on the road, AI cameras or automated cars that snitch on you.

Dratsab

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#2228141 30-Apr-2019 19:16

surfisup1000: I did a quick google search and found

{insert whatever side of any particular debate you happen to be in}

sen8or

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#2228163 30-Apr-2019 19:56

If there was a single answer to the road toll problem, it would have already happened, its a complex issue requiring multi faceted solutions -

Driver re-test. A feel good "solution" that I doubt would have a significant impact on either the road toll or peoples driving habits. Brush up before test, pass test, revert back to how it was. Shame but fact of life for many.

Driver training - this can certainly be improved. I like the Australian approach to licensing, L plates, 2 sets of P plates before full license, about 3 years all up with limitations on speed being one of the restrictions on the P Plates.

Don't know about defensive driving courses, my brother did a "skid control" course some 30 years back, reckons it saved his bacon a few times. I did Holden's "advanced driver training" maybe 15-20 years ago, I know it saved mine. Did either of these two courses change the way we drive, not likely on a day to day basis, but they give you the tools to get you out of a trouble situation.

Driver distractions. They are trying with cell phones, but everyday without fail at least 1 or 2 on Brougham St in CHCH on cell phones. You can probably add GPS and Spotify into the list of distractions. I have caught myself out a few times trying to put in an address or select a tune on Spotify and had to correct my driving line, or stop more quickly than I like. Easy to say "don't do it then" but how many people drive with these things on a daily basis?

Speed - In itself, speed is not the evil it is made out to be. Does the speed impact the severity of a crash, absolutely, but does speed cause crashes, rarely. Driving faster than your ability, road conditions, traffic conditions, vehicle condition, weather conditions or any other variable on the road is the cause, speed is simply the multiplier. Its easier for Govts to target "speed" than it is almost anything else (even drink driving).

Age of fleet - too many old cars with not enough safety features - crumple zones, airbags, decent restraints etc

Not wearing seatbelts - thats just plain stupid and a poor habit.

Roads - How many other countries that we try and compare our road toll to have 90% (pure guess here) of their high(er) speed roads not separated by anything other than a white line? 80km roads I can understand where it may be marginal to put in some sort of barrier, but 100km roads, our main state highways, limited excuse really.

The other thing missing from the horrible statistic is what that number represents as a % of the road users. Tragically, the number represents human lives lost on the roads, most likely needlessly because of various factor, but, if we have doubled or tripled the number of cars on the road and the resulting number of fatalities hasn't doubled or tripled, haven't we actually improved?

I am sure there is heaps I have missed.

For the record, I would be nervous about a resit on my license. I think I drive OK, indicate as a matter of habit, keep good following distances, happy to be patient and courteous where necessary, not afraid of any "3 point turn, parallel parks, reversing round corners" type skills, but to have someone critiquing your driving and your ability to work relying on that, not good.

SpartanVXL

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#2228332 1-May-2019 08:37

Another point would be to include education about vehicles themselves. “How cars work” to teach people not just how to drive but understand the principles behind how your slab of metal and plastic gets you from A to B. Crash course on physics perhaps?

Of course again, it can/will be put in the too hard basket for a lot of people who simply have no interest except getting to where they want to go.

I advocate for self-driving cars mainly for this reason as it would help in solving this problem (while creating others).

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