Today, ladies and gents, I’d like to talk about something dear to my heart, that I enjoy very much, which is increasingly becoming a nightmare… Driving!
Ever since I passed my test – even before then, since the day I took my first driving lesson one sunny spring morning – I’ve loved driving. The masculine sense of power and control as the engine throbs and roars at your command. The exhilaration of the speed you travel at. The freedom granted you by that construction of rubber, steel, glass, and plastic. I loved it even when I was driving around in my little Mk. I Nissan Micra (affectionately known as ‘The Shitmobile’) with a top speed of about 80mph if you didn’t mind the screaming of the engine and vibrations severe enough to shake your fillings loose. So you can imagine how much I love it know that I own a PT Cruiser with an average cruising speed of 85mph (I haven’t tested his top speed yet!).
However, there are several things which are making this love of mine more and more trouble. I’m not going to start a rant on the Petrol crisis, because the thought of the 85% tax the government charges us Brits for fuel will drive me into an insane rage should I dwell on it for too long, and then my boss will know that I’m not really working! I’m going to focus on the actual driving.
Anyone that owns a car and uses it regularly (particularly to commute), will know what I mean when I say there are some real idiots on the roads! We’ve all seen it; not giving way to traffic with the right of way, blindly pulling out onto a road without so much as a glance at what’s coming, running red lights, ignoring the big ‘KEEP CLEAR’ boxes – general, basic road craft that you are taught from your first lesson, and that is essential to passing your driving tests. I’m consistently amazed at the poor standards of driving I’m forced to avoid/drive around/suffer when I’m out and about. I’m not saying I’m the greatest driver in the world – I’m too aggressive, an I drive too fast – but I’m always in the correct lane, I always indicate, and I always follow the road markings and signs.
Of late, I’ve noticed that the number of these awful, dangerous drivers is increasing, and I’ve been wondering how this is possible. People have said it’s because more young people are driving now than ever before. But I’ve seen increasing numbers of older people driving like they’ve never had a lesson in their lives. Plus, the DVLA continues to make the driving test harder. For instance, when my Dad took his test, it was a drive with the examiner, an eye sight check (”Read out the numberplate of that car over there”), a handful of questions on the Green Cross Code, and bosh “sign here, enjoy your new licence”!
When I took mine, before I even saw the Examiner, I had to take a theory test, which tested my knowledge of the Green Cross Code over the course of thirty questions, and then sat in a little booth and took a Hazard Perception Test, which tested my ability to locate and analyse hazards in a simulated driving environment. In the correct order, with points lost for clicking too many, or not enough, or in the wrong order! Then it was on to the practical, which incorporated everything my father did, plus having to check and point out various things on the car (how to check tyre wear, oil and water levels, brake fluid reservoir, etc). Then since I passed all of those, I was given my licence.
Now the DVLA want to force new drivers to have to take a second test before being allowed to drive on the motorway (I’m not entirely against this one – it’d stop people like my sister being such awful motorway drivers!), restricting the size of the engine they can drive, not allowing them to take passengers under the age of 21, and allowing no passengers at all between the hours of 7pm and 7am.
So, let’s see, the DVLA make the tests harder (but don’t make old people have to re-take any part of it), and yet the overall quality of drivers is decreasing… so by that logic, surely the harder they make it to pass your test and drive legally, the worse the level of driving ability is going to be? ARGH!
If it gets much worse, I may have to sell the Duke and buy a tank. It’s the only think that I know will be safe from all the lethal drivers out there!
TTFN
2 Comments
June 23, 2008 at 2:00 pm
Hehe I know that silly. I just don’t know how to use this thing haha. I love you xxx
June 23, 2008 at 2:04 pm
How do you get it so all the entries are on the same page like yours? I have two entries but are somewhere else. This websites hard haha xxx