Its getting stupid now:

diddlydum

Top Gear is about driving fast cars very quickly, but they do it on an airfield or on a racing track. That's what people should be doing if they want to drive fast, go and do a track day somewhere. It only costs £50 and you won't kill anyone.

People forget that driving fast is fun, though, and people will always do fun things. Whether it's drinking, eating, having sex, no amount of moralising will stop people doing it.

Top Gear is an entertainment programme. If you take everything they do seriously then you're an idiot. Taking Top Gear off the air won't stop idiot drivers doing idiotic things. You'll always get idiots, but until you make everyone in the country take their test again you'll have the same issue.

I wonder if these people have the same anger for the old granny I followed along the A1 last week doing 28mph on a dual carriageway? She's the deathtrap, not me doing 75mph.

nomoneytoday

Maybe people should take responsibility for their own actions, instead of trying to blame a telly programme...

Idiophreak

diddlydum wrote: »

Top Gear is an entertainment programme. If you take everything they do seriously then you're an idiot. Taking Top Gear off the air won't stop idiot drivers doing idiotic things. You'll always get idiots, but until you make everyone in the country take their test again you'll have the same issue.
....
I wonder if these people have the same anger for the old granny I followed along the A1 last week doing 28mph on a dual carriageway? She's the deathtrap, not me doing 75mph.

There's an obvious link here between re-runs of Heartbeat and Last of the Summer Wine and driving dangerously slowly. Both should be banned post-haste

Anyway, I quite agree with the bold part. There are a couple of things the government could do that would make an immediate and substantial impact on the quality of drivers on the roads (not just their speed)

1) Mandatory re-testing every 12/24 months.

2) *Vast* increase in spot-checks for insurance, tax, vehicle condition and driver status.

The government's reluctance to do these things only goes to highlight their lack of commitment to road safety - and exposes their speed cameras as the cash-cows they are.

Hintza

Idiophreak wrote: »

1) Mandatory re-testing every 12/24 months.

I can understand your sentiment but come on that is another £62 everytime you sit it.

Personal responsibility what is that nowdays? :mad:

diddlydum

Most people think their driving is acceptable. I'm sure the old granny doing 27mph on a dual carriageway thought she was driving safely too.

The test now is very hard, but the tests in the 1960s and 1970s were really quite easy in comparison. Those are the drivers who are causing the problems. A test every 5-10 years would help people's driving and make the roads safer.

MX5huggy

Idiophreak wrote: »

1) Mandatory re-testing every 12/24 months.

Not really pratical 20m drivers tested every year would take nearly 600000 driving test examiners 1 hour per test 35 tests per week presuming no days off for sick or hoildays.

Idiophreak

MX5huggy wrote: »

Not really pratical 20m drivers tested every year would take nearly 600000 driving test examiners 1 hour per test 35 tests per week presuming no days off for sick or hoildays.

If you take the £62 figure, each examiner would bring in £434 a day, more than covering their wages - and, on your math, 600,000 more jobs would be created in the country...I'd also suggest that half hour would be plenty long enough for the renewal test, provided the test centres were positioned sensibly.

Sure, everyone would have to pay out for a test each year or so, but for safer, quieter roads this is a cost worth paying, surely?

I've no doubt it's a major change, but each day I spend on the roads makes me a little more convinced that major changes are needed in this country...

diddlydum

The biggest dangers I see on my commute to work are cyclists. I don't know if it's the good weather or the price of petrol or what, but the roads seem to be full of cyclists who don't seem to understand the basics of road safety.

The next one who weaves 2" in front of me in a line of slow-moving traffic is going to get punted off his bike.

Idiophreak

diddlydum wrote: »

The next one who weaves 2" in front of me in a line of slow-moving traffic is going to get punted off his bike.

Where are they weaving too/from?

diddlydum

They seem to be weaving from the inside of the traffic line to the outside, or vice versa, to cut through the queue quicker. Several times I've had to swerve or stamp on the brakes to avoid hitting them, which is absolutely ridiculous when I'm only doing 10mph in a line of traffic.

A favourite of mine, too, is the number of cyclists I see riding down the dual carriageway, getting in everyone's way, when there's a dedicated cycle path on the pavement.

It seems to be novices who don't understand how to ride properly. The ones I see in winter don't ride like this.