It has been suggested by quite a few people, including me, that car learner drivers should be allowed onto the motorways where one is available.
I don’t mean on their first or even second day of instruction but more towards the end of their training.
My opinion is that they are allowed to do 70 on a dual which can have hazards such as cyclists and pedestrians which they should not encounter on motorways, therefore the motorway should be an easier place to drive.
By not letting car learners use the motorways I think it instills a false fear about them to many.
I agree, it would probably stop my missus from dawdling. Shes got her test on the 04.11.08 she can drive but abit too slow if she had a good run on the motorway then her judgement of speed might improve. The only dual carriageway she has been on is only 1.5miles long.
thing is ont he day of ur test if you take a lesson beforeit you cant go ont he motorway yet as soon s you pass the test mayby 2 hours later youve got free roam on any road you want so mayby you should be allowed on them at non peak hours and quiet ones eg not the m25.
we’re lucky in peterborough in that we’ve got a 70mph dual carriageway all the way around the city and most of the junctions alternate, that is if one junction is above you, the next is below you.
i have two junctions supplying where i live, one up and one down plus the test centre is in my area too so i get to see learners (hgv and car) every single day practicing their craft on and off the ramps.
if my experience on our parkway is anything to go by, there will be a great increase in accidents at motorway junctions, so i’ll say no
I personally don’t think that they should be going onto a motorway during training. Not because of their ability, but due to the way drivers are taught.
The methods used to get a student to pass the tests are very uptight and rigid.
Driving on a motorway needs to be much more of a free flowing experience, I think it needs a lot more relaxed driving style. Its dangerous to be driving in a very rigid style on a motorway.
Pass Plus is a brilliant scheme - I did it, and it saved my bacon more than a couple of times in the first few months of driving. Taught proper journey planning with a map, lots of motorway driving, night driving.
My instructor was just out of the army and he did practical elements of some of the theory syllabus - such as controlling skids, understanding oversteer and understeer. Was a great 2 days for a new driver.
For £120, and 10% off your insurance bill, I don’t see why any new passes don’t do it.
But just letting people who haven’t passed on a motorway? no, because 90% of their concern about driving will go the second they hear those “you’ve passed” words.
I personally don’t think that they should be going onto a motorway during training. Not because of their ability, but due to the way drivers are taught.
The methods used to get a student to pass the tests are very uptight and rigid.
Driving on a motorway needs to be much more of a free flowing experience, I think it needs a lot more relaxed driving style. Its dangerous to be driving in a very rigid style on a motorway.
Pass Plus is a brilliant scheme - I did it, and it saved my bacon more than a couple of times in the first few months of driving. Taught proper journey planning with a map, lots of motorway driving, night driving.
My instructor was just out of the army and he did practical elements of some of the theory syllabus - such as controlling skids, understanding oversteer and understeer. Was a great 2 days for a new driver.
For £120, and 10% off your insurance bill, I don’t see why any new passes don’t do it.
But just letting people who haven’t passed on a motorway? no, because 90% of their concern about driving will go the second they hear those “you’ve passed” words.
Alex
when i passed i was gonna do this until ic hecked what the insurance would be with me passed it
£20 difference no point, plus i have been driving since i was 12, raced minis for a couple of seasons.
i wouldn’t know the correct wat too implement it, but do think in theory its a good idea.
i’d rather a learner/new driver, had some sort of tuition, on motorway driving, as well as having actually done it in practice, so they were at least a little prepared, for when they venture out on their own.
what is the current situation?
is it a case of no actual training for the test, then the minute someone passes, they can that same day, venture out onto the motorway network?
I tried racing in minis when I was part of the drag racing team but I found them too tight around the thighs and they kept riding up while I was running.
chilistrucker:
what is the current situation?
is it a case of no actual training for the test, then the minute someone passes, they can that same day, venture out onto the motorway network?
Yep, its illegal for a learner to go on a M class road in the UK. However as soon as they have passed (Quite rightly) they have the same rights as any other road user.
tachograph:
No, absolutely no way should learner car drivers be allowed onto motorways, it would be dangerous for them and the rest of us.
I disagree. For a start, they’ll be nearly at test pass level which is higher than a lot of the muppets on the road. Secondly they’ll be under instruction.
My only worry is that I see a lot of learner cars on motorways being driven by instructors between jobs and the poor standard of driving worries me.
tachograph:
No, absolutely no way should learner car drivers be allowed onto motorways, it would be dangerous for them and the rest of us.
It may be time for compulsory extra training before being allowed to go onto a motorway.
Question - why, when there are more hazards on duals
Can you imagine the consequences of a nervous learner doing 25 mph on a busy motorway.
You say there are more hazards on a dual carriageway but the fact is that most dual carriageways don’t have the density of fast moving traffic over long distances that’s often found on motorways, I honestly don’t think that motorways are the right place for novice drivers .
I agree that there should be motorway training but think it would be better after a learner has proved themselves capable of driving in an appropriate manner.
Perhaps it’s time for a two part on-road driving test, first part normal driving and second part motorway driving.
tachograph:
No, absolutely no way should learner car drivers be allowed onto motorways, it would be dangerous for them and the rest of us.
I disagree. For a start, they’ll be nearly at test pass level which is higher than a lot of the muppets on the road. Secondly they’ll be under instruction.
My only worry is that I see a lot of learner cars on motorways being driven by instructors between jobs and the poor standard of driving worries me.
No mention has been made of professional instruction, just should learners be allowed on motorways, though I suspect ROG was referring to supervised by qualified driving instructors.
I live close to a test route, in fact I can’t leave home without going over part of one of the local test routes so I frequently see learners having instruction and frequently get held up by them, no problem there we all had to learn some time and I and most people I see give them as much room and time as we can.
However I frequently see three or four learners having instruction in reverse parking, three point turns ec’t all within sight of one another, the instructors seem oblivious to the fact that they’re blocking the road in several places and for some time, I can’t deny that it can lead to people losing patience with the learners even though it’s really not their fault.
I wouldn’t want to tar all instructors with the same brush but there’s no doubt that there are irresponsible and inconsiderate instructors out there, could we really trust them all not to take people onto motorways who simply aren’t ready.
To add to the discussion, you can supervise a learner driver as long as you’ve held a license for three years, so does anyone think that learner drivers should be allowed onto motorways without being supervised by a qualified instructor ?
And what standard of driving should be attained before being taken onto a motorway ?
tachograph:
No, absolutely no way should learner car drivers be allowed onto motorways, it would be dangerous for them and the rest of us.
It may be time for compulsory extra training before being allowed to go onto a motorway.
Question - why, when there are more hazards on duals
Can you imagine the consequences of a nervous learner doing 25 mph on a busy motorway.
You say there are more hazards on a dual carriageway but the fact is that most dual carriageways don’t have the density of fast moving traffic over long distances that’s often found on motorways, I honestly don’t think that motorways are the right place for novice drivers .
I agree that there should be motorway training but think it would be better after a learner has proved themselves capable of driving in an appropriate manner.
Perhaps it’s time for a two part on-road driving test, first part normal driving and second part motorway driving.
My idea was to have the motorway part of instruction done near the end of training after the learner could prove that they could sustain 70 on a dual.
For me no too many people get taught by a friend or parent who themselves cant drive properly on a motorway and also the slightest mistake by the pupil could result in a horrific accident.
instead when you pass your driving test - it should be made mandatory to take the pass plus scheme.
