Enforced cycling for car drivers!
Jan 17th, 2007 by Jason
To follow on perfectly from my previous post, I have just learned that one of my friends was knocked off her bike this morning, at a junction. The lady in her car admitted she was busy trying to look for a gap to squeeze into and did not look properly.
Fortunately my friend is unharmed, other than perhaps a little shock, thanks in no small measure to regular Aikido ukemi practice. As the bike was taken from under her she was able to execute a graceful landing and immediately spring up and get out of the road before the next idiot arrived!
As a cyclist and motorcyclist, (not to mention former driving instructor and advanced driver) I think there would be a lot of benefit to a staged driving licence qualification. This should begin with traffic education/road safety at school, or available at evening college. Having passed this basic theory, you should have to pass a cycling proficiency test, again usually to be done at school age. (Alternatives for people unable to ride to be made available.) Having a good idea of the road at this stage, a limited motor-cycle test and experience should be the next stage.
To ride a motorcycle safely requires a good awareness of your surroundings, the road surface, traffic procedure and other peoples intentions and behaviours. You are very aware of your own vulnerability, which is a great aid when beginning to develop risk assessment. An advantage of this compulsory experience would be to raise the amount of bikes and motorcyles on the road, and so increase awareness of them in the public mind. Add to that the knowledge that many of them would be young and inexperienced and perhaps drivers would treat them with a little more respect.
Only after a person had demonstrated that they could use the road safely and developed their risk assessment and judgement would they be in a position to start driving a tonne of steel or a more powerful motorbike.
Three years after passing a full licence there should be a retest, at an advanced standard. A fail would be accompanied by advice and a compulsory training course. 3 fails in a row would mean a lost licence and a car test retake.
This need not be expensive, and the reduction in road fatalities and associated costs would soon cover the costs of implementing this. More importantly, with improved roads, everyone’s quality of life would be improved. You never know, more people may be encouraged to cycle and benefit the environment.
you make some good point Jason, but new drivers are only part of the problem. there’s alot of people that passed their test years and years ago that will tell you they are safe on the road, but they are not.
I agree something needs to be done, and i think the idea of retakes for all ages is a very good idea.
I’m glad your friend escaped unscathed. I can remember doing cycling proficiency at primary school, at about age 7 - 8 and it was a good start to road safety education.
As a car driver and motorcyclist myself, I totally agree that it would be great if everyone had to take a CBT. From my personal experience, I learnt so much from my motorcycle training - the observation, having to think ahead so much more and being very aware of my own mortality. It would be great if more car drivers had some empathy for (motor)cyclists.
Having said that, idiot car drivers, motorcyclists and cyclists of varying ages can be seen frequently on our roads. Whilst it would be impossible to eliminate this entirely, frequent assessments would be a great step towards educating people to drive/cycle more safely.
[quote post=”23″]As a cyclist and motorcyclist, (not to mention former driving instructor and advanced driver) I think there would be a lot of benefit to a staged driving licence qualification. This should begin with traffic education/road safety at school, or available at evening college. Having passed this basic theory, you should have to pass a cycling proficiency test, again usually to be done at school age.[/quote]
I heard recently that the government are thinking of toughening up driving examinations. I think there needs to be a well established education system from a young age, for millions of future drivers.
There are too many people on the roads who tail-gate. Either in the city or on motorways, and of course many people need to be far more spatially aware of people around them… including cyclists and motorbikes.