Improving driving skills

After reading and commenting on the "is this justice" thread about the Lady doctor who killed a biker through ridiculous driving. It got me thinking about how you could pratically implement a system which would encourage better driving skills as a whole.

One thought, was to give penalty points for accidents regardless of severity. If you are involved in an accident and it is found to be your fault (i.e. insurance reportable = point assessment) then you are liable to points. you could introduce a sliding scale say shunts 2 points, "t"bones 3. You could make this even better, by offering people points or courses on observation and better driving.

Discuss and ridicule this as you see fit.

[Sid Squid]

Interesting idea. Not that I think it's without merit, but I foresee a possibly undesirable consequence:

More points = dearer insurance.

The cost of which is already - in part at least - responsible for the uncomfortably high number of drivers and riders who aren't covered now.

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

Interesting idea. Not that I think it's without merit, but I foresee a possibly undesirable consequence:

More points = dearer insurance.

The cost of which is already - in part at least - responsible for the uncomfortably high number of drivers and riders who aren't covered now.

True, however more accidents now, means higher insurance so I dont see how they could justify higher costs simply because you get points as well.

I can see the merits of giving points and more for more severe accidents. However I feel this is a tad unfair as some accidents are down to stupidity in which case the harsher the punishment the better however what about those that are just plain old human error?

I think there should be more promotion of advanced driving courses, or perhaps something like bikesafe, but for cars (hold on, i got a name! carsafe!) could be set up....and promoted.

And since the bike test is getting harder from next year, so should the car test

Matt

Driving courses for people causing accidents already exist.

The bloke who hit me and eviltwin has got to go on a driving course or give up his licence.

[fizzwheel]

Originally Posted by alpinestarhero

And since the bike test is getting harder from next year, so should the car test

I agree, I was quite dumbstruck by the whole thing when I passed my car test, driving by myself was very different and I realised I had a lot to learn.

I think the whole trouble with car and bike licenses is that you're taught to pass a test and not how to drive / ride.

Perhaps something akin to the pilot license thing where you have to clock up a number of hours of experience would work, but then thats going to put the cost of getting a license up and its already expensive.

I also think that regular retests might be in order, but again theres a cost involved in that isnt there.

Perhaps the police should be given more power and that if you cause a huge prang instead of getting a fine / points you get your license taken away and have to resit your test etc etc..

[Biker Biggles]

There should be incentives to get further training.You would think that insurance companies would go for this,but maybe it's just too much trouble for them when they are essentially a closed shop.We all have to buy their product.A graduated licence might work.You would need certain levels of advanced training to drive a vehicle of more than a certain power,or to drive on motorways.
All still expensive of course,and bureaucratic.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

I agree, I was quite dumbstruck by the whole thing when I passed my car test, driving by myself was very different and I realised I had a lot to learn.

I think the whole trouble with car and bike licenses is that you're taught to pass a test and not how to drive / ride.

Perhaps something akin to the pilot license thing where you have to clock up a number of hours of experience would work, but then thats going to put the cost of getting a license up and its already expensive.

+1. I also think that the standard that some people are allowed to pass at is far below that which is safe on a public road. There should be some sort of attitude and intelligence test - this may prevent some people from driving at all. That may be unfair, but its not as unfair as some idiot killing another person because they were not responsible enough behind the wheel, or didn't have the mental capacity to deal with the demands of handling a 2 tonne killing machine! Some people on the roads should never have been given a driving license.

As bikers, we are usually above average drivers as we see our driving as a skill to be improved on constantly and learn fro our mistakes (hopefully). It's the people who think they can drive just because they have a license that are the danger.

My suggestsions:

A significant (IE 30-40%, as opposed to 5-10%) reduction in insruance premiums for those who pass an advanced driving/riding test. Perhaps even allow these people an extra 10mph speed on NSLs?

A banning of protected no claims bonuses when the accident is your fault (obviously it could still apply for if you were the victim of theft, an uninsured driver, etc.).