Thursday, Jan 12, 2006 at 08:52
One of the problems on our roads is driver attitude. There's too much "lead or get outta my way" attitude in
young (and many older)drivers. Too little understanding that the speed limit is just that. A LIMIT. Not a compulsary speed. Doing 110 in a 100 zone is NOT compulsary. Nor, in many cases, is it safe, even if others are doing it in the mornings to get to work. Better late, than dead on time.
I knew a bloke who would sit his car on a certain speed OVER the limit, but wouldn't exceed that speed. That speed was the speed at which he would be fined the least if he was caught by the radar. It had nothing to do with road or traffic conditions. What a hero !
Notice I'm not talking about
young people here.
Modern vehicles can easily lull a driver into doing things that are unsafe at speed. Coupled with aggression, lack of experience and a complete disregard for anyone else, these factors can be deadly. We need an attitude change in the motoring
population. We need to be convinced that it's cool to drive defensively, not cool to hoon because we can't see a cop. We need appropriate driver education.
BUT
School curriculae are crowded enough, there is little space for passing more parental responsibilities to the schools.
It's all very well to say "teach them in school" but when ? By the time a kid has been "exposed" to the academic, sporting , social and cultural activities that society has dumped on the system, there's very little time left over.
If we're really serious about
driver training, then we need to prioritize and fund it as a distinct compulsary subject taken over the six years of secondary education. And this, my friend, will come out of your taxes.
How long is it going to take us to realize that a good education is useless if the child doesn't survive their driver's license?
I've never forgotten what the policeman who gave me my license said.
"Congratulations, here's your license to kill."
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