Should it be harder to get a driving license in UK?

poli_b2001

Test examiners now promote Pass Plus once a pupil has passed thier test, they cant force it.

I think the age should be put up from 17 though. 17 is far too young to be in control of a car.

They have also introduced a new law that if a new driver gets 6 points on thier licence within 2 years of passing thier test they get banned automatically.

So they have made it tougher on new drivers but TBH they are not the ones to worry about, its folk who have been driving for years and dont care one jot about other road users. The ones who cant be bothered indicating, or that drive right up your bum on the Mway because they want to go over the speed limit, or cut you up at a junction because they cant be bothered waiting 5 seconds till you pass

Putting Learners on the Mway would be a good idea, thier instructor is there with them, so they can have that confidence, the instructor can also take control of the car and tell the pupil exactly what to do and when. Mways are not that bad to drive on, its over taking and passing slip roads that are the issue, and learners will do exactly what they are told, its people who have been driving for years who get complacent because they think they know it all. Ive forgotten more about driving than most people know.

jed slade

motorway driving discipline and defensive driving techniques should be introduced.The hgv test is now a joke,in the old days you started heavy goods on light vans,5 and 7 ton flats,getting experience on correct loading,re axle weights, chemicals compatability, and many other items of lore and knowledge.Then, after several years, you were considered for work on artics/semi trailer rigs,after a few years on those, you went onto tankers, if you could get on,you had to be over 45 years old to get on tankers.Nowadays a 21 year old can pass an hgv test and go straight on tankers with no experience whatsoever.Many agency drivers, are being sent out on tankers,having only just got the haz., chem., certs., and passed their test,with tanker loads of dangerous liquids, that they have no idea of what to do with,in an emergency.

I believe they are in the process of upping the age to 18, which though disapointing for a lot of kids, will be a god send... I know at 25, Im not exactly the embodyment of wisdom, but I lost a friend in a one car accident in July, she had just turned 18, driving on motorway, speeding and went out of control... Grrrr, makes me so frustrated, this was a smart, beautiful girl and yet behind the wheel all her logic seemed to vanish.

I totally agree, make it harder, make motorway driving compulsary and make a minimum amount of lessons you have to take before doing the test...

geezablokechap

No... but it should be harder to keep one. Any offences should require a retest and maybe even a retest every 10-15 years or so. The worst drivers on the roads are the ones who've done it for years and get complacent (eg not indicating, forgetting how to act in certain scenarios, not looking etc).

joe

You are right, motorway driving should be included, but a learner drlver is not allowed on the motorway, this has to be redressed, perhaps an advanced instruction on the motorway after passing the test.

Andy F

Yes, I fully agree with you.
The amount of times I've been called to Motorway Accidents caused by inexperienced drivers is too many to remember.

jaw

The driving test has been updated at least a couple of times over the past few years, including recently so I seem to remember. At least the pass mark for the written test has gone up.

I tend to agree with you about the motorways though, but I think you need to give thought to the logistics. There is no way any driver whilst they're still on L plates should be let onto a motorway in my opinion. A percentage of people who are in pocession of a licence and driving on a motorway are a liability and dangerous anyway, without adding to that problem by putting learners on the motorways.

How about keeping the practical side of the test as it is, but adding a second test based on motorway driving, which has to be completed and passed within a year (for example) of getting their licence.

What do you think?

hats rock

I don't think it should be harder I think it should be different. It seems crazy that you only have to pass the test once and you can keep driving for years. Maybe it should have to be renewed or instead of having an exam perhaps a series of assessments. My grandad passed his test 50 years ago and still drives, he hasn't got a clue about lanes, roundabouts etc it's truly terrifying going in the car with him.

Gaynor

Yes i it should, and quite agree with what you have said, it should be very hard to get a licence here and not for just these youngsters but for all the immigrants as well, thet really dont know how to drive at all, only the other day i nearly had a bump with a car full of blck people who nearly had me off a roundabout i was furious

bugaboo

Yes..

Yeah I think they should. Maybe they can teach motorway driving when the learner is bit more experienced or when they pass they can drive on regular roads but not allowed to drive on the motorway until they have passed a motorway test. Think they should also teach them about how dangerous it can be to break the speed limits.

focus

We are retired and living in Spain. The standard of driving here is far worse than in the UK so don't knock it too harshly. Here they totally ingore any speed limits, drive straight through red traffic lights, motorcycles overtake on your right using the cycle lane. (we drive on the right here).

Interestingly when taking a test, the instructor sits in the front and the examiner in the back. The only set exercise is the reverse park. No fast roads, no braking exercise, no 3 point turn. At 16 you can ride a moped without taking any test and once you have had your car licence for 3 years you can ride a 125 motorcycle without taking any sort of test.

noitall Yorkshire England (U.K.)

It cant get much easier,judging by high standard of numpty flying about,assuming any of them have a license,scraped quite a few off the road in my time. (Ex Firefighter)

country bumpkin [sheep nurse]

yes there should be a tougher test.do it in stages restrict engine size to 1100cc for 2 years then another test for motorway driving only then full licence be given.too many boy racers on roads and 17-22yr olds killed nower days.

jet-set

I've been saying this for years! It's absolute madness to allow a newly 'qualified' driver onto the motorways! Not only can they be a danger to themselves, but every other motorist on the motorway too.
It's definitely time the rules were re written. Allow a 2 part test, Part one for ordinary roads, part 2 for motorway driving.

Zweiblumen

No, it shouldn't be any harder to get a license, the test is quite hard enough, but it should be much much easier to lose your license, and harder to get it back once you've lost it.

You're barking up the wrong tree with the motorways complaint, though. First, driving on the motorway is the easiest, safest kind of driving there is (see source). Second, using the middle lane is dumb but not dangerous. Third, the dangerous driving I see on the motorway is by the most experienced motorway drivers, the reps and managers in their big, powerful company cars.

gilly g

Are you mental? British roads are the safest and have the best drivers in the whole of Europe.

Sarah G

To true. I have been driving for 20 years now and I have to say the standard of driving in the UK is at an all time low.

mazzer

Are you having a laugh? I am 30, and I passed my test 4 years ago, but it took me 10 tests to get there. I know that is a lot, but I got picked up on every petty little thing going, and learned something new from every test. I paid hundreds of pounds out on lessons and tests, and took two years to get from new learner to passed. I think alot of it was my confidence on a test, as I was fine with my instructor, but they seemed to fail me on silly things all the time. I was so relieved when I finally passed that I would never ever do anything to ruin that.

Younger drivers have probably got alot more confidence and that is why they pass quickly, but for a 26 year old woman with children that test is a real big thing, and you just don't get any help.

As for motorway driving, the reason for this is because it is dangerous to put a learner on a motorway, and no one should go on a motorway untill they have been driving on there own for a while and built up their confidence.

555

No
It is easy

luscious_linz

Nope, thats bull!!
It's hard enough to get a driving licence.Yeah the reason they don't go on the motorway is because it's dangerous for learners to go on the motorway.But once you've driven on dual carriageways in your lessons, then passed your test, motorways aren't much different!

I only passed my test in May, and went on a motorway for the first time with my bf about 2 weeks and I was fine.It scared me thinking about it but once I'd got on there, it was exactly like a dual carriageway just with an extra.

No way they should not make it harder to get a driving licence, the same way as they shouldn't higher the smoking or drinking age.Englands rules are becoming ridiculous!

I've only been driving 4 months and not crashed once, you can't blame young drivers for the crashes!!It's the careless drivers that cause the accidents, and that's nothing to do with how hard it is to pass a test!!

Whether it's difficult or not, people who pass their test, once they've passed it, forget everything they've learnt and drive how they want.So the difficulty of the test doesn't mean anything!

Prodigal Son

Not necessarily harder but for younger drives their license should be taken in stages that way we will cut down on the amount of them crashing. A good friend of mine has crashed twice and they've only had their licence for the past six months so this proves my point.

Thank you!!

yesyoucancancan

It is hard, the hardest thing I have ever done. Though I did mount the kerb an my test and passed anyway!! It was the worst I had driven in months but the tester said I was good.
I do not necessarily think it is the new drivers that are the worst, however, as they have not really got the confidence to break the rules in a lot of cases. You should see my father-in-law on roundabouts - I have to close my eyes! Lol. And he is terrible on the motorway, he is in every lane and no indicating!!! So he has been driving for 40 years and I have been driving for one year but I consider that I have a better grasp of the current rules and driving environment because it is still all fresh in my head thanks to the theory test.

riyadsabbas

I thought it was but I passed first time.

ellie

I dont know, maybe it should be, I dont drive but that is the cost of getting it all sorted that puts me off rather than the difficulty. Maybe your right theres alot of careless drivers out there

PHATMAX

No it is not hard call me & I will tell you how

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