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Learners driving on motorways
Dec. 31st, 2016 10:01 amThe UK's fastest roads are
This seems fine to me but Transport Minister Andrew Jones says that the current ban from motorways is
The Scottish Government suggests lower speeds for new drivers which sounds like a bad idea to me: I suspect that the lane changes or overtaking by the traffic moving around the slower cars may cause more problems than are avoided. It was for this reason that in driving on interstates in PA and NY I would exceed 55mph speed limits when the prevailing speed of traffic seemed nearer 70mph: below 55mph I felt like a hazardous obstruction. Focusing effort instead upon strictly enforcing existing limits might be a better move. They also suggest preventing nighttime driving which also seems odd to me because at night the roads are often much quieter.
This fuss about motorways came as something as a surprise to me. It is not as if there is any shortage of divided highways, or
When I was learning to drive I would take the A30 to get to the town that had the test center; that segment was partially 70mph dual carriageway and I think is now wholly so. Here we would use a 70mph segment of the A90 to get to either of the local test centers. I am all for learners using dual carriageways and I would hope that driving tests typically include some time on a fast one. I had no idea that people would consider motorways to be an excitingly scary step up from them yet, presumably in the context of this change to learning to drive, a transportation policy guy says how
motorways. Before one passes one's driving test the
provisionallearner's permit allows driving everywhere but on motorways. The government is considering lifting this restriction.
This seems fine to me but Transport Minister Andrew Jones says that the current ban from motorways is
often fatalwhich piques my curiosity: I wonder, how often? Are we talking, say, a couple of people per week being killed by learners not being allowed onto motorways?
The Scottish Government suggests lower speeds for new drivers which sounds like a bad idea to me: I suspect that the lane changes or overtaking by the traffic moving around the slower cars may cause more problems than are avoided. It was for this reason that in driving on interstates in PA and NY I would exceed 55mph speed limits when the prevailing speed of traffic seemed nearer 70mph: below 55mph I felt like a hazardous obstruction. Focusing effort instead upon strictly enforcing existing limits might be a better move. They also suggest preventing nighttime driving which also seems odd to me because at night the roads are often much quieter.
This fuss about motorways came as something as a surprise to me. It is not as if there is any shortage of divided highways, or
dual carriageways, which often also have a 70mph limit for cars: the main differences from motorways that come to my mind are that motorways allow neither slow vehicles nor U-turns. Oh, and the signs are blue. They may be busier on average but that is open to enormous variation by time and place.
When I was learning to drive I would take the A30 to get to the town that had the test center; that segment was partially 70mph dual carriageway and I think is now wholly so. Here we would use a 70mph segment of the A90 to get to either of the local test centers. I am all for learners using dual carriageways and I would hope that driving tests typically include some time on a fast one. I had no idea that people would consider motorways to be an excitingly scary step up from them yet, presumably in the context of this change to learning to drive, a transportation policy guy says how
many are so intimidated by the motorway environment; I wonder if those people are even comfortable on dual carriageways.
