True - the report states that there are no plans to make motorway training compulsory citing the difficulty of those in more rural areas. I was kind of reflecting on suggestions that have been made in the past (IAM?). My main concern is CBT.

I agree with you on a CBT style prequel to the driving test. I don't understand why what the government (and EU) thinks is good for learner motorcyclists shouldn't apply to cars (power restrictions, basic off-road training etc.)

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I can understand why in the mainland UK it would be more of a worry as in Northern Ireland weve very little motorways with most only being 2 lanes.

Personally i think no its not a good idea, it will cause accidents not the learner themselves but from people who get annoyed behind them as they pull on the motorway or generally coming behind them, having to slow down and then try and over take into the middle lane which always seems to be bunged up.

Then you get into a section of road where all the traffic is in the outside two lanes and no one except the learner on the inside lane, causing more potentual for accidents.

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Plough on

So let the powers that be get all the articulated lorries, old fogies, classic cars etc. off the motorways as well......

Regardless of how much we like to have free flowing roads, sometimes we just have to slow down. Is seeing/reacting to/being held up by a slower vehicle ahead - beit a learner, lorry, OAP or whatever - any worse than a motorcyclist having to look out for wet manhole covers/oversized banding/potholes on the apex of a bend, in the dark, in the pouring rain and holding up cars in the process?

In any case, you kind of hope that an instructor wouldn't take a learner on to a motorway if they weren't ready for it.

Half (or quite possibly MOST) of the problem is as Keithblade pertained to - that there's not enough tolerence, respect or understanding on the roads. And why is it that common sense isn't...um........err.........COMMON!!!




IPSGA!!!!!!!

I must admit that I do not have a lot of experience on UK motorways. I did Folkestone to Shrewsbury and back last year, but did not notice any special difference in the behavior of motorists compared to the dense busy motorways in Belgium and the Netherlands.

So that begs the question for me: why would it be so much more dangerous to allow learner drivers on motorways in the UK? It does not seem to pose any problems on the continent.

I guess it's because UK motorways are a lot busier and more congested than most of those in mainland Europe....

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I've had allot of experience riding on the 'other side' of the road, be it Poland, Romania, France, Spain, Benelux, Scandinavia to name but a small portion. Driving standards, rules, accepted rules, etc vary. But one thing that stands out, that draws a distinct line between mainland Europe and the UK is tolerance and attitude. Busy is busy, but busy with intolerance is very different.

Probably, with the exception of Northern Italy (where every 2nd car has crash damage), the UK has by and large the worse driving attitude I have ever seen. In the OP I mentioned one incident, this was at 10:00 on a Sunday morning, quiet roads, and involved a stall at a roundabout. An incident that held someone up for maybe 30 seconds, but the attitude and reaction of the other driver was typical, it's only because I recorded the event that he received a warning. But this type of thing happens every day in the UK and goes unpunished time and time again.

Typically, what we have to deal with is;

none-use of indicators,
tailgating (drivers following too close)
inappropriate use of speed
lack of forward planning, reaction driving
Lack of respect for others

I'll bet every UK based driver/rider on here has experienced one of these in the last day or so.

So what you have on the Motorways is intolerance, bad attitude and high speed. Combine that with an inexperienced driver and it is a situation I wouldn't want to be in.

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

I would suggest you're already in that situation Darren and have been for a while.
It's not necessarily the lack of experience of learners that's a problem - it's the lack of everything: control, confidence, understanding etc.
Which is why I suggest CBT is an absolute MUST before new learners are allowed on any road let alone motorway.

But we should also bear in mind:

One never stops learning.

One is merely taught to pass a test.

And clearly, some drivers seam to have got their licence free with a packet of cereals!

I agree with every word

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Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Hmm.......I feel a Number 10 ePetition coming on.
(For CBT, that is)

Who's the most elequent and fancies the task???