OK, so Noel Dempsey saw some sense and relented. I’m shocked that he didn’t realise this would be a problem in the first place but it does take some courage to admit you were wrong. So on to the issues of the test itself, namely oversight? I’m comfortable with the idea that non-dangerous and competent drivers should be passed. If it subsequently turns out they drive in a dangerous way then I have no problem in suggesting their license should be suspended. It’s a question of understanding what you can/can’t achieve with the test. The test doesn’t contain a psychometric element. It doesn’t actually determine if you’re the kind of lunatic who overtakes on the way into a corner. Or the kind of idiot who needs to overtake every car in front of him so he can be the first to stop at a set of traffic lights. So really, the test may reduce road deaths from bad driving but it’s only an element in improving road safety. Here are some suggestions. They’re not perfect by any means, just a starting point.
- Make speed limits less arbitrary. Arbitrary seeming speed limits encourage people to drive recklessly. If 80km/h can be sustained safely on a road then that’s a good limit. Don’t arbitrarily make it 60 as people will mostly drive at 80 anyway.
- Charge people a yearly penalty for each point on their license, if the point is accrued for dangerous driving or excessive speed. Make this a percentage of the OMSP of the car they drive, let’s say around 2%. Someone may think twice about exceeding the tonne in that 200k Ferrari if they’re going to pay an additional 8k per year for each speeding offense. Then again, they may not :). I’d be tempted to deduct this from income as a tax but that could have undesired consequences.
- Don’t give points for minor offenses. See above. We want to discourage dangerous driving, not unfairly penalise those who parked in the wrong place for a few minutes. There needs to be some discretion but the points system shouldn’t seem arbitrary.
- Introduce variable speed limits like in the UK. Sometimes it’s safer to drive fast than other times. Surely, this modestly complex technology could be used here?
- Make the test more about safety and less about a driving formula which isn’t practical and isn’t practiced by 99% of the drivers on the road. Have mandatory driver safety workshops where all drivers must attend every few years to refresh their knowledge of road safety issues. For convenience, and to reduce cost, some of these could be given as online courseware. The aim here is to educate not to create something onerous.
- Reward good driving with money! Give those who have no points on their licenses an allowance or tax rebate every year.
- Create an open and affordable racetrack whereby people can race approved and safety checked vehicles if they wish. Speed is exciting and probably inevitable. It would be nice if people could drive quickly in a more controlled environment, away from lorries, trucks, MPV’s with babies in the back etc. The outlet for this need-for-speed shouldn’t be a public road however.
I agree there are quite a few rough edges to these ideas, just planting some seeds.