Comments on: Cross (about) training

By: Bushby_23

Bushby_23 — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 05:30:35 +0000

Right. Im like holdenman, 15 going on 16 to get my license this year. In Queensland, They are going to change it from 100hours of supervised driving, to 200, about a monthe before my birthday. Why not put driver training courses in instead of doubling the time? At the end of the year, my school is setting up a trip to Willowbank Raceway for a driver training course, which I will gladly pay the $150 odd for a whole days worth of training. For once, my school does something cool. And where is the government on this, nowhere, the lazy shits.

By: Teh Shadow

Teh Shadow — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:01:22 +0000

I’ve just sat here in disbelief reading some of the comments here (dunno why though, given my faith in the fact that most humans are for the best part stupid)
Daniel, is the best way to learn maths or english “going out and getting experience” Or does it help to have some lessons first?
Melbournian, seems to me like you have some sense, have you told your boyfriend he’s a maniac and scares you?
Stanza_nate, 6k’s? what else did you do buddy? are we hearing all the story, have you not seen the ads about “wipe off 5″?
Just because there is nobody on the road (that you can see – like the cop that got you for instance), doesn’t mean someone won’t randomly step out in front of you in the dark… (I’ve seen it happen)
In these days of road safety awareness it strikes me mad that, in addition to the required log hours, some formal training is not required. Boo Hoo “my sister only had to do 50 hours” you admit that this won’t make you a better driver. Why? Because your parents are crap teachers. Before you go off tap, Of course they are. Because they have not been trained to give professional advice.
We will never see the end of this arguement, because NOT ONE politician has a child that is learning to drive and has been seriously injured/died. That and the fact that they remember what it was like to learn, “back then” not NOW.
I’d like to see THEM retake their tests and then, only then, we might see a review on the yearly death toll.

By: olddognewtricks

olddognewtricks — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 05:19:31 +0000

These posts reveal the real problem,
everybody lokks at the problem from a self centric position.
As the recent Federsl Government moves prove, nothing succeeds like bribery.
So Insurance Companies and Government, if they are for real with their claims that they have our interests at heart should give premium and rego discounts and for drivers with defensive/advanced driver training.
Now the bit people my age normally start these missives with: I’ve been driving for 150years and never had an accident. Well thats bullshit, but I have been driving for a while and yes I’ve a couple of accidents. After the last one about 30 years ago I attended a defensive Driving course a truly believe that is why I am still alive. So endeth the sermon.

By: Stephen Corby

Stephen Corby — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:00:51 +0000

6km/h over? Do you live in Victoria, by any chance?

By: stanza_nate

stanza_nate — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:06:21 +0000

Firstly, I’d like to say idiots will be idiots, whether you teach them to drive or not. You might as well show them what to do so they have more chance of escaping killing themselves or some innocent family in the process. No-one who is sensible will turn into an idiot just because someone has taught them correct car control and driving techniques.

I’m a big believer that driver education is a necessity, although admittedly I have not yet undertaken a course myself. I do, however, compete in grass roots motorsport – both tar and dirt – so I have a fair handle on the behaviour of my cars (far from perfect though). If I can learn more in one Sunday at a motorkhana than I did in my entire 110 hours on my Ls and a few months on my Ps I’d love to know how much I’d learn with an instructor…

It might help if they actually eased up the P plater laws a little too, you get so sh*t scared of getting caught that you end up concentrating on your speedo and looking for cops instead of actually driving. I have lost my licence from forgetting to put P plates on twice, as well as getting caught doing 6km/h over at 8:30pm on a Sunday with no traffic at all – a little harsh, no?

Just comes back to the whole revenue-raising thing… Driver training costs them money, why would they do that when they can make money fining people? Maybe they should put the money from those stupid pinky ads and ‘Fixing the Pacfic Highway’ signs into teaching us to drive?

By: holdenman

holdenman — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 04:21:31 +0000

im 15 going for my licence hopefully later this year, but im sick of all the politicians changing the rules, my sister only had to do 50 hours of supervised driving, i now have to do 120 possibly even 150. Will this make me a better driver then my sister?, i think not. The government is also considering changing the driving age to 16 9 months, they are absolute IDIOTS if they do that. One, all young people leaving school, seeking an apprentaship wont get taken on, because in many cases, employers only take people with licences, so that is going to be 9 months with probably half the amount of apprentases, 9 months of half the amount of registrations etc. i really hope that they dont put up the age.

By: Stephen Corby

Stephen Corby — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:21:54 +0000

From Alisso: “Have you tried to merge into steady traffic doing 110 when you’re doing 80? It’s terrifying!”

It strikes me that no, thank God, I haven’t. And it’s a point we’ve made before. Making learners and P-ers drive more slowly than the prevailing traffic is not just stupid, it’s dangerous. Not to mention annoying.

And:
The governmental reluctance to educate drivers properly seems to stem from a concern that, if you teach young people how to push a car to the limit, they’re more likely to keep doing it.

I just don’t get this, nor the attitude of others who say it makes people more dangerous. Perhaps I’ve done the wrong courses but in the Murcotts one, for example, you never get above 60km/h and the only way you push your vehicle to its limits is by emergency braking.
The main skills you get from these courses are mental things, the stuff with the traffic cones etc is useful but it’s the smallest part.
Learning to lift your eyes and look ahead – rather than just reacting when the set of brake lights in front of you goes on – is one of the smallest, simplest life-saving skills, and it’s something that, clearly, 80 per cent of drivers don’t do.

By: Melbournian

Melbournian — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 22:09:23 +0000

I agree with Daniel (post #12) – Driver training can in fact give you an inflated sense of your skills behind the wheel. My boyfriend has done a driver training course and I still fear for my life every time he’s the one in the driver’s seat. Perhaps driver training is something that should come once you have some experience driving solo on the roads and have a better sense of your abilities, rather than while you’re learning to drive and don’t have that experience on the road.

By: DRU842

DRU842 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:59:27 +0000

For me the additional driver training that I’ve done has been worth every cent. I’ve taken something valuable away from each one; safety, defensive and performance courses.
It can be a confronting experience for those who will rightly have their skills and equipment put to the test in a controlled environment.
I also thank the day my parents insisted on professional instruction for my basic skills & test.
For those saying they can gain the required experience on the road, including the RTA, what other ‘life or death skill’ are you not tested for regularly and asked to keep up with latest qualifications.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 20:03:56 +0000

I’ve never taken driver training. It hasn’t been recommended to me from any of the people I know who have taken it. I think it gives people a false sense of security because they believe that they are better drivers on the roads. To me the only way to improve your driving is by experience.