thulfi

Would you want an accomplished 20yr old Doctor with years of experience to re-sit his med school finals every so how many years?

Re-testing someone who should have years of driving experience with the same test that a 17year old does is pointless. It would only serve a purpose if it was a progressive type test.

ie, 15 years after your driving test you would expect to be able to competently perform the skills you demonstrated on your initial test, but the bulk of the assessment should consist of refreshing and reminding people of the basics, whilst teaching them new ideas and skills that they may not have come across.

The problem is, people really learn to ride/drive by themselves. The test is simply a hurdle that needs covering, and I would be sceptical if it made much difference to drivers on the whole. They would see these re-tests as having to jump through hoops - so they'll jump through them and go back to their 15 years of bad habits as oppose to 1 days revision/new material.

It's a nice idea, but I don't think it can realistically happen, and be of much benefit. How many re-tests would people really need to have between 17 and 65 in order to improve the standards of those liabilites behind the wheel.

People know not to drink and drive, they know they should signal when changing lanes, they know they should check their blindspots, they know they should keep left unless overtaking - but its x drivers habits that determines how he/she drives/rides, not what they know.