New P's regulations 'RUMOUR'

[red900ss]

A written test is a simple way to see whether someone has absorbed information...which is the goal of education.

Used in conjunction with a practical test it's an effective assesmant tool.

[Guest Boxhead]

ahh well used in conjuction with would be ok,

but i still think written tests do sfa on their own,

all ppl will do, is learn for the test and drive like they were previously

[Guest GTBO5S]

if you sell your car for that reason Dave....THEY HAVE WON.... and acheived what they wanted to do in the firs place...read:intimidate!!!

[Airzone]

There is no substitute for practical experience. Text books can't teach you how to avoid a kid (or other thing) that suddenly runs on the road from nowhere. I reckon you'll find that with most potentially tragic situations, you need to react, not think. And the only way I can see people learning to react is through practical training.

I did my license in the old P's scheme. I was out driving at every opportunity with my old man for long distance / defensive driving, and the old girl for town driving / parking / etc.. I drove as many different cars as I could get my hands on - v6 Magna, VW beetle, Laser, Celica, VT Commie... And then there was also an aquatience of mine who was the same age, got her license at the same time, could not reverse, could not drive safely at over 50kph, couldn't corner very well, rough on gears, etc. We had exactly the same privaleges and conditions placed on us. If that wasn't a screwed up system, then what is? IMO the only place for a written exam is for road rules. All other driver testing should be behind the wheel. And if parents are unable or unwilling to aid the learner with experience, then the government should free of charge.

[dAVE]

Airzone - I fully agree about trying to drive as many cars as possible. I drove just over 100 different cars when I was on my L's as my old man gets a different car each week... it makes such a diff.. before I had my P plates I had driven everything from some of the most powerful rear/front and awd's to the least powerful.

Thinking about that - i think that tests should somehow involve extra training in both fwd & rwd cars...

[dAVE]

Originally posted by GTBO5S

if you sell your car for that reason Dave....THEY HAVE WON.... and acheived what they wanted to do in the firs place...read:intimidate!!!

not much I can do about it.. I lost 4 points for those 2 p plate fines, then when I moved back to vic, i got done overtaking and lost 11 points... in the end i was hit with over 18months suspension (i was speeding, but officers lied about speed, they also lied and said i had overtaken on double lines & they also lied saying that my p plates were not visible.. which they clearly were)

so now im waiting to go to court, but fat chance if that is going to help.. its their word against mine... although i have one thing on my side... i was booked doing 115 in a 60zone.. when it wasnt even a 60zone... lets see how they explain that one.

[Roy]

I like the idea deducting the cost of driver ed from a traffic infringement.

Fine $500, course $200. So as an incentive half the points lost and send them off to driver ed with a $500 less $200 = $300 fine. (Like the Math, pretty impressive)

Advanced driver skills will not be mastered in one day, nor will they be recalled in 2 years time when called upon to avoid an accident, however an attitude conducive to safer driving will hopefully be ever present with a driver.

[red900ss]

Originally posted by Airzone

There is no substitute for practical experience.

Agreed

Text books can't teach you how to avoid a kid (or other thing) that suddenly runs on the road from nowhere.

Agreed, however they can teach you the theory behind avoiding such a situation.

I reckon you'll find that with most potentially tragic situations, you need to react, not think. And the only way I can see people learning to react is through practical training.

Sure there are going to be situations all the time where this applies. There will also be times where they can be avoided by good judgement.

There's an old saying in aviation:

"The superior pilot uses his superior judgement so he doesn't have to demonstrate his superior skill."

Corny maybe, but it works for me.