"Ike" (untitledcarshow)
07/10/2015 at 17:59 • Filed to: Road rules
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"Ike" (untitledcarshow)
07/10/2015 at 17:59 • Filed to: Road rules | 1
| 9 |
Should there be a license for better drivers?
So your stuck on the same stretch of 2 lane road you could get by, but the 2 cars in front of you are driving the exact same speed.
( Side note; how does this happen? Did they pull out of the drive way at the same time, are they synchronized swimmers? What’s going on here.)
Any who this got me to thinking, why isn’t the American public taught better and blah blah blah. This is a common theme here in the states, traffic laws aren’t enforced the way they should be, a lot of people think we should force more traffic school on Americans.
I say no.
“What!?” I hear you say; “But Americans can’t drive and training is important, why are you against it?”
I’m not, I agree I think we should be better trained.
“What!? Now I’m confused” you say?
Well let me clear it up. I think we need more driver training, but mobility is the key to the American economy. So making a whole group of people go through training. Or making the barrier to entry any higher then what is current will have a negative impact on the economy.
So what to do?
Well why don’t we come together and have a national standard on what makes a driver an “expert driver”?
We could make this a money maker for the states, make the certification just costly enough to make it profitable. Have the special plates cost more then the standard plates. Make vehicle inspections on the cars more stringent.
“Well this all sounds awful for the expert driver.” You say.
Well the upside would be, we could mark a lane on most roads for expert drivers only. Much like the ineffective HOV lanes I see dotting the DC area. You could give those drivers a higher speed limits, perhaps no speed limits.
Thoughts?
Ike is co-host of the Untitled Car Show ( untitledcarshow.podomatic.com ) he has owned 2 Dodge Challengers; a Volvo C30, a V70XC, a V70R, 740; and a Saturn Ion . He is a new father and loves driving and autocrossing. He can jerry rig with the best of them, and he wrote his bio in third person. He also has 2 dogs, 2 cats and is a crazy person some say!
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Officer Jim Lahey is not a real cop
> Ike
07/10/2015 at 19:01 |
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“Should there be a license for better drivers?”
There should only be licenses for better drivers!
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Ike
> Officer Jim Lahey is not a real cop
07/10/2015 at 19:02 |
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In an ideal world yes I agree.
ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> Ike
07/10/2015 at 20:04 |
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I am very much in favor of a graduated licensing system. Similar to how one must have a motorcycle endorsement added to their basic license to be allowed to drive a motorcycle.
Basic license allows for sub-200 HP* cars and city streets. Need to use the highway? You have to have the next tier license endorsement. Want to drive a more powerful car? That’s another tier as well. Each successive tier requires more advanced training and testing.
Now, I know this won’t stop people from doing it anyway. So make the fines the same prices as taking the extra instruction and testing. Get caught and get a ticket for driving above your tier? You have to pay the same price as you would have if you had taken those classes and tests, only now you have a court order forcing you to do it.
* Or possibly a certain power/weight ratio, overall vehicle weight or engine size as restrictions. Certain cars would also have a limit on how long one has had a valid license plus endorsements in good standing before they are allowed to be driven. So no V8 muscle cars for 16-year-olds. Everyone who would drive said car requires all necessary endorsements, so it can’t be the ‘parent’s’ car and they let Jr drive it anyway.
I know, it’s too logical. It will never happen. Logic and reason have no place in government. And heaven forbid we curtail people's divine right to drive in the name of saving lives.
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Ike
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
07/10/2015 at 20:14 |
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I'm all for this as well, but I feel if you did this it would raise the barrier of entry to high for a lot of people who would normally buy and operate a car. There's a trend away from car owner ship, and I don't want to increase that trend.
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ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> Ike
07/10/2015 at 23:24 |
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The extra testing doesn’t have to be exorbitantly expensive, the time commitment is an obvious burden; though necessary. One cannot learn proper and advanced car control without practice.
I agree that encouraging more car ownership is a good ideal. However should we continue to almost blindly allow people to drive without any practical skills or knowledge just because us enthusiasts don’t want car culture to die out? I think that’s quite selfish.
Driving is, and always should be a privilege. It should take skill and knowledge. Testing costs money. Car ownership is sadly an expensive proposition. We should have enough public transportation options to cover the gaps, but that is another conversation.
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Ike
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
07/10/2015 at 23:29 |
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Hmm see my thought was put in a lane for better drivers, butaybe we should have a special slow lane for bad drivers?
I think with the way America is laid out city/suburb I don't think public transit will ever be viable ( unless a thing like Bob lutz predicts on our podcast). I agree a better system would be a higher barrier to entry, better training and enforcement. But with the tools and equipment we have right now. This could be a reality.
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ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> Ike
07/10/2015 at 23:42 |
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There is zero reason we cannot have better training right now. We just choose to remain oblivious to the simple effort it would take to do it.
Instead we plea for technology to save us and protect us from ourselves.
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Ike
> ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
07/10/2015 at 23:51 |
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That's a good point, perhaps if we get some of the enforcement cameras from Germany they use to enforce traffic regs, (keep right for example) and launch a massive ad campain. It would be a start. I think training is important but enforcement is where the rubber meats to road so to say
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ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable)
> Ike
07/11/2015 at 00:06 |
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No extra traffic cameras, thanks. I would much rather just make it perfectly clear during driver’s ed that these rules are set in concrete. Then we allow local police to enforce poor lane etiquette. Make those tickets painful and enough people will start to behave.
The only issue is that we have allowed states to dictate their own driving laws. We’d have to convince everyone to follow these rules.