Did a defensive driving course on the weekend

[Astranomical]

So last weekend I went down to Gympie to do a defensive driving course. It was really good, I learnt quite a bit, had a bit of fun, got to know the limits of both my car and myself, and as a result I've come back as a better driver.

My question is though...why don't they make it mandatory for anyone getting a license to do a defensive driving course? After doing the course I really do think that if it was mandatory for everyone to do a defensive driving course, our roads would be a lot safer. You learn a lot about observation, car control, the limits of both you and your vehicle (with the course I went to, you bring the car you normally drive), tyres, etc. I do realise that it'll never happen...not only does the QLD Government seem to want to make it easier to get your license, rather than harder, but on top of that, doing a defensive driving course requires money and effort, which is a big no-no according to the government, and most voters.

[acarmody]

Been said a million times and will probably be said another million.

[ari666]

if everyone didnt speed, they would miss out on the revenue of speeding tickets
if everyone didnt crash the insurance companys would miss out on revenue
if everyone failed their licence test the testing companys would miss out on revenue
if everyone didnt crash the paramedics wouldnt be required and the medical system would miss out on revenue

so...

[Jesterarts]

Nice work on taking the initiative and doing this sort of driver education.

The reason they don't make it mandatory is because someone has to pay for it, and 95% of people on the roads think they are the safe drivers adn don't need more eduction on driving.

Therefore, if the goverment made it mandatory and made teh drivers pay for it, there would be a voting backlash.

And the goverment will never fund this sort of thing for drivers out of it's own pocket because, well, why spend money on driver education when you can simple put out a few more speed camera's on the roads, make money and call that your strategy for tackling road safety.

I think this sort of thing should be a requirement, driver education and testing is a joke in Australia.

[GenReaper]

Well said J, pretty smack bang on the mark.

[Ace_VP]

Its simple, they arent cheap course and if they made it compulsory then people would complain about the cost and the government is hardly about to pay for people to do it.

[soop]

Something like it needs to be included in school curriculum.

[edals]

I was lucky enough to get a free VW Driving course, managed to get in to the top 25 spots :-)

Was great to learn what a car can do when braking hard and swerving in the wet etc etc, and the stopping distance between 60 and 80

[Tsunamix]

Driver training FTW.

What I think the government should do, is to build a skidpan, with an administration section attached. Allow the public in, with their own vehicles, to explore the limits of those vehicles - so you learn how to control the car you at driving, when it all goes brown and smelly. Do the numbers so that the punters pay a flat fee of X$ for 30 minutes on the wet stuff.

Can also run packeged training deals, group discounts to schools etc, so you end up with a part publicly, part provatley funded facility, who's entire purpose is to improve drivers understandong of what happens when things go wrong.

[acarmody]

I would say that it would be nice for a private firm to do the same, but within a couple of months of building the skidpan, houses will be built next door and then they will complain about the noise and get it closed down.

[one_and_only2004]

Something like it needs to be included in school curriculum.

That would help, but a decent % of people I know are going for their license, and they finished years ago. Everyone - not just school kids - should have to do it.

[soop]

You've gotta start at some point though.
It won't make a drastic difference now, but in 5 or 10 years it will.

Problem is, we have shit drivers teaching new drivers.

[Stressball]

You've gotta start at some point though.
It won't make a drastic difference now, but in 5 or 10 years it will.

Problem is, we have shit drivers teaching new drivers.

You're not wrong there, it's unbelievable how many people on the road can't follow the most simple road rules. I can't drive for 30 seconds without having to slow down to avoid some twat swerving into my lane or changing lanes suddenly without indicating, seeing someone texting or talking on a phone, hauling ass doing 80 in a school zone, or just being a douchenozzle in general. People shit me. I am of the opinion that a person is fine; it's people that suck. Driving population is a perfect example.

[wickann15]

Dunno if they still do it but I remember years ago if you took out an insurance policy with AAMI they used to pay for you to go and do the defensive driving course.

[Ace_VP]

You're not wrong there, it's unbelievable how many people on the road can't follow the most simple road rules. I can't drive for 30 seconds without having to slow down to avoid some twat swerving into my lane or changing lanes suddenly without indicating, seeing someone texting or talking on a phone, hauling ass doing 80 in a school zone, or just being a douchenozzle in general. People shit me. I am of the opinion that a person is fine; it's people that suck. Driving population is a perfect example.

And this is the problem, whilst driving skills is one thing, following simple road rules and road signs doesnt take that much skill at all, it just rquires a little bit of effort, effort that alot of people CBF putting in.

[dirt drifter]

Driver training FTW.

What I think the government should do, is to build a skidpan, with an administration section attached. Allow the public in, with their own vehicles, to explore the limits of those vehicles - so you learn how to control the car you at driving, when it all goes brown and smelly.

+1 for this idea. if people, especially young people who like to have fun in their cars , had somewhere to go to legally have a play and find their cars limits then not only would they be a safer driver in an emergency situation. they would get the urge to do fishies etc out of their system on the skidpan hence less of this terrible "hooning" would be happening on public roads.

as it stands now, city folks are (mostly) pretty well catered for as far as having somewhere to take your car for a play when the need arises, however country people might have to go hundreds of km's to find the nearest track, skidpan etc. now im not suggesting to build a skidpan in every second country town but most of them have an airstrip just out of town that does nothing all year, i know where im from in northern nsw the airstrip has no planes, no hangers, just a big chunk of tarmac wide enough to do top-gear style slides on that gets used 3 times a year for 1/8 mile drags and thats about it.

why cant airstrips like this be opened up every other wkend? all thats needed is a water truck to wet it up and a few witches hats to mark a course out.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

As has already been touched upon, revenue would drop if everyone followed the road rules and drove safely.

The problem as I see it is that people that want to go for their license are taught how to operate a car, not how to drive, then they are taught how to pass the license test, not how to drive.

The onus should be on the teachers a bit more, include driver training in the lessons and maybe the next generation of road users will have a bit more respect for the road, themselves and others.

[wingwang99]

+1 for this idea. if people, especially young people who like to have fun in their cars , had somewhere to go to legally have a play and find their cars limits then not only would they be a safer driver in an emergency situation. they would get the urge to do fishies etc out of their system on the skidpan hence less of this terrible "hooning" would be happening on public roads.

as it stands now, city folks are (mostly) pretty well catered for as far as having somewhere to take your car for a play when the need arises, however country people might have to go hundreds of km's to find the nearest track, skidpan etc. now im not suggesting to build a skidpan in every second country town but most of them have an airstrip just out of town that does nothing all year, i know where im from in northern nsw the airstrip has no planes, no hangers, just a big chunk of tarmac wide enough to do top-gear style slides on that gets used 3 times a year for 1/8 mile drags and thats about it.

why cant airstrips like this be opened up every other wkend? all thats needed is a water truck to wet it up and a few witches hats to mark a course out.

In brisbane there is only one skidpan at Mt cotton, which for me is about an hours drive away, hardly down the road. If the government was running these courses then the costs would be dramitcally reduced, the queensland government already owns the Mt cotton training area, the only cost to them would be the staff to run the courses.

[Darren_L]

I agree it would be a good idea to make it mandatory for new drivers to take a defensive driving course.
However I think it should only be made mandatory after the first 12 months of holding a provisional licence.
Reason I say that, is most of it will be forgotten by new drivers. The first 12 months of driving unsupervised is a steep learning curve. If you start throwing too much information at them during that first 12 months, most will tend to forget it soon after.

After the first 12 months, most P plate drivers tend to feel a bit more comfortable behind the wheel, have far more road experience and would probably be able to relate to the defensive driving training far more effectively based on their own road experiences over the past 12 months

[sleepa]

I have done a defensive driving course that I got really cheap, the tank of fuel wasn't so cheap but still it's worth it.

I am pretty sure that insurance companies give you a discount if you do one which would pay for itself in a few years anyway.

The skidpan idea is good, it would make people better drivers as once they tried it out for the first time they would realise they suck and then get progressively better, and not try to learn on the street.