Is the driving test failing our learner Drivers

If passing the driving test is the holy grail of driving, why are these same drivers so over represented in post licence crashes? Are courses in advanced and defensive driving the answer?

Why are Provisional P plate drivers so over represented in crashes?

So why do they pick on you so much why are you over represented in the accidents to the point where they want to make it impossible for you to share the joy of driving. After all, you qualified, you completed 100 hours of supervised driving, you passed the driving test, you have progressed from being the learner driver to the Provisional Licence holder.

I mean we have all been there, we all experience the joy of the first car adventures, that first road trip, first dates in our relationship, the first job in the start of  our career

There is no greater loss your parent’s lives when something happens to their kids (you), but the real question is for the parents whose lives have been irrevocably changed when the worst scenario happens they campaign with such emotion for rules that somehow justify why they don’t have their kids anymore

But these rules don’t even work for you the in fact that work against you      Link to aca story

 

So where does it really go wrong.?More rules, more restrictions, you have to do 100hrs of driving offer 12 months. So why do parents and politicians believe your driving is so high-risk they want to take all of your privilege of you?

It comes back to how you learned to drive, not whether you passed the driving test.

Here is a car in its most basic form

Essentially a frame, up top is the body, where we sit, pack our luggage, wrapped up and transported. We are protected from the elements and feel safe.

The frame connects the wheels via two axles, front and rear, called solid axles, Suspension is via Cart springs.

Yes this is not that far removed from a horse and cart.

How to start and drive a Model T

 

Here is a car your parents drove

Basic specifications

• 85 Kw (114Hp)
• Solid rear axle
• Independent front
• Bench seat
• 3 spd manual gearbox
• Drum brakes all round, disc brake front option.
• ¼ mile time 20.1 seconds
• Top speed 141km/h

Driving and owning a HR Holden

 

This is a car you learnt in

• 

  Independent front and rear suspension

  • Cabin improvements in NVH (Noise Vibration and Harshness
  • Bucket seats
• Improved chassis dynamics and performance
• Efficient engines, more performance
• 169kw (twice as much)
• 14 seconds (six seconds faster)
• Six speed geaerbox and DSG technology

 

 

 

So the cars are faster, have more performance, improved braking, passenger safety and a host of other advantages. SEE HERE

The differences in engineering and outcome are astounding and this also highlights one of the problems.

The cars your parents learnt to drive in were basic in the extreme.

See these old cars, you had to actually drive then, no power brakes, sometimes no synchro between gears

They didn’t stop, they didn’t turn and most importantly, they didn’t do those things together

So mum and dad learnt to drive, they learnt to work with a car, they learnt mechanical empathy. Cars had vinyl bench seats, skinny low grip tyres on steel wheels and brakes the size of a kiwi shoe polish tin. Learning to drive meant skill.

Driving was different back then too. It was an adventure

Trips into town could take an hour or more, just to do the shopping

Road trips, family holidays were adventures in the making. Life was new and exciting and the car, was an integral part of our journey as Australians.

Watch here

So fast forward a few decades and we are in an age where we want and expect everything to be done for us.

The bench mark of driving has changed, it is about passing the driving test. The bench marks of cars have changed, it is about fashion, colours, connectivity.

People want to learn in automatic transmissions, but today’s cars are so good, that the two pedals literally become on and off switches for survival. this creates “Reactive Driving skills” Essentially the driver is always trying to manage the chaos they created.  Driving is a constant mode of crisis, only the driver does not realise it.

The focus is just on passing the test. And statistically, you do that incredibly well.

Here in lies the real problem.

You are being taught everything, except how to drive, that you are learning as you go. That is why the post licence accident spike is a straight line of failure of 3000% crashing, the day you get your licence.

See, this is what the stats are really showing us. The entire focus of your learning is how to pass the test, yet today’s cars are so good, you are not really learning the mechanics of how to drive.

Now physics is physics, and limits are still limits. But the window of information the car is giving you is so much less than in previous models.

That is what improvements in engineering really does, raises the bar. So today’s cars stop, turn and even do both at the same time. But the information they are giving you has gone from the car yelling in fear at you, to whispering to you. But you haven’t been taught to understand its language.

What the statistics, the fear stories the worried parents, everything really is telling you, is we are forgetting to teach you how to drive, how to work with the car, how to be in control of what you create as a driver.

That is what driver training really is, it is not about passing the test, that is the basics, the very basics in vehicle manoeuvring.

So you, as an individual, as a generation, can create the change and the voice to stop the oppression of excessive rules and restrictions.

It is not that you are being distracted, it is that your work rate as a driver is too high and you are not coping. This is all part of learning to drive, the rightway, from the beginning.

So driver training, a specialist, structured program, that incorporates skills in defensive driving and advanced driving, actively change driver behaviour from reactive to proactive. You see more, anticipate and become engaged in the act of driving. You are safer, better, most importantly, you are prepared.

Contact Total Driver today for courses in learning to drive, defensive driving, advanced courses and for those getting back on the road again, rehabilitation and Assistance for those with disabilities.   1300 887 352.

To find out more about Total Driver programs CLICK HERE