Routine licence re-testing - would you support it?

Take enough money of me with car & bike on the road...No No No

Instead of testing, what about assessments every 5-10 years, point out where you have picked up bad habits etc, no chance of losing your license unless dangerous exceptions.

[fizzwheel]

No, on the basis that I was taught to pass a test, not to learn how to ride... I dont see how regular retesting would help, apart from prove that I can ride in such a way to pass a test.

I'd be more in favour of regular training / rider feedback sessions at a reasonable price.

Yes all day long from me. Driving is not a right. Its a very adept skill. things change over the years. Yes some above have moaned about oldies driving but if you think that some where actually ISSUED!!! licenses instead of taking a test you can see my point. No doubt the rules will change and i'll need to learn new skills but without testing how do i know i'm doing it correctly??
Training more than a full re test. But i do think parking a car should be checked. its not hard to fit a car between 2 white lines!!! But just look at any supermarket carpark for howlers

[andrewsmith]

The mandatory retest is a good concept, but like anything that lines the coffers it'll cost.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

No, on the basis that I was taught to pass a test, not to learn how to ride... I dont see how regular retesting would help, apart from prove that I can ride in such a way to pass a test.

I'd be more in favour of regular training / rider feedback sessions at a reasonable price.

+1. If you took 10 newbie riders and put them through the bike test multiple times on different days, I'll put money that not a single one would have a 100% pass rate or a 100% fail rate. So much comes down to nerves and how people cope with tests etc. rather than the actual ability to ride!

Offering advanced training at a reasonable cost without any kind of formal 'testing' would be better!

Plus if you had been driving/riding for 20 years, had a bad day and failed your test - what then? They take your licence away!? As Dave numbers said, just going to get more unlicenced people on the road.

[Biker Biggles]

Originally Posted by mjc

no, i want the government to leave me alone.

agreed

Nope, having passed numerouse vehicle tests first time, i feel that i could pass the test, however that does not mean that i drive like a saint all the time, if at all, so to conclude just because you have passed a test even if it was 1 hour ago that doesn't make you a better driver, it just means you can pass a test if you chose to drive that way, you might choose to drive like a twonk.

Originally Posted by fizzwheel

No, on the basis that I was taught to pass a test, not to learn how to ride... I dont see how regular retesting would help, apart from prove that I can ride in such a way to pass a test.

It's quite a common answer that - "it just shows that you can pass a test." So why have a test to begin with? Surely to show that you meet a minimum standard? And why should that standard be any lower after 5/10/40 years?

I'm for it; apart from me who is patently perfect , standards on the road are fairly **** poor. I've long argued for regular retesting to ensure that standards are maintained. If anything, you could argue that a 10 year checkup should be harsher than your original test as you have all that experience - you've "learnt how to ride."

no - passing a driving test is pi$$ easy, and proves that you know how to drive in the test. it doesn't prove you can actually drive in the real world - hence why so many drivers have an accident in the first year. All it would do is make money from people. The police are meant to stop idiots from driving. Good motorists already pay for all the morons with sky high insurance, why shoud; we have to dip into our pockets again to weed out the minority who shouldn't be on the road in the first place. i'd prefer to see a longer and more comprehensive driving test (look at Finland for example) so anyone who does have a licence can actually drive well to begin with.