Griez

ok fine whit ppl who realy got baby on board, i know that you cant get baby in that baby seat while you driving, babies allways crying, riot and cant stay in that seat... i dont know how you done it, but my little brother never wanted to stay there and allways wery angry about it...

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dr1819

Er... I'd have to disagree with you Dr. Shoe.

I started driving when I was 15. In the last 500,000 miles I've driven over the last 28 years, and in 9 countries, I've had precisely ONE accident, despite the fact that I began with a "boat" from the 1960s, have owned one SUV, and two sports cars.

The accident I did have was my skimming the side-rail on a bridge to avoid a much more slowly moving car that swerved into my lane at the last second (I was going the speed limit - he was going about 40 below the limit).

I actually managed to avoid the other car, and stopped without injury to anyone - just a banged up automobile and a bent bridge rail.

So, no, I don't think tons of graduated licensing requirements is the answer. I think a good driving program in high school is the answer, combined with removing driving privalages until people have passed remedial training for those who cause accidents.

Sound driving skills can be learned.

I'm also a firm believer of reduced insurance for those willing to take periodic driver improvement programs, such as defensive driving courses. They do make people better drivers, better at recognizing accidents about to happen, and better at avoiding them before it's too late.

My father has easily driven more than 1,000,000 miles, also in a few countries.

He's had only one accident as well, when a guy ran a red light as he was going through a green. Even then, he managed to turn a broadside against the passenger door into a right-front quarter impact.

My point is that not everyone (not even most) needs to jump through super-expensive hoops to obtain driving privalages - some are just self-taught.

Guy N. Heels

Your point is well taken, Dr1819. However, I must point out that some people have a natural aptitude for driving and many others do not. Therefore, the really good drivers will most likely spend less time developing important driving skills. On the other hand, it is the drivers who do not exhibit a natural acumen behind the wheel that will need the greater amount of attention in learning and developing the skills they need. In my estimation, some will actually need years of training before they've mastered the necessary skills. So I think Dr. Shoe is trying to address how to regulate such a matter.

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Lindsay

I'm gonna have to agree with Dr. Shoe. Motorcyclists have to go through graduated licence tests so why not car drivers? Any one can drive a bus on a car licence so long as it's taxed as PLG in the UK. But that would be a scary thought that someone could pass their test in a car and jump into a 33 foot double decker bus! Driver improvement lessons are pointless unless you make them compulsory.

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Lindsay

johnieheel

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o...006/images.jpg
How about this one? We havepeople at work that complain there isn't enough handicap parking when they go in and push 1000lb. dumsters around all night long ,empty heavy trash cans, clean floors, lift 30-40lb bags of product etc.etc.

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johnieheel

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real men wear heels

johnieheel

If they would park out in the back of the lot, then they would'nt be so fat and have a bad back so it would'nt hurt so much to get out of bed, not to mention they could also give up the garbage they consume in mass quantities into their bodies every day thats clogging their arteries and further decreasing their health so they could get rid of that stupid handicap sign!

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real men wear heels

chris100575

I'm sick of 4x4s being vilified.

I drive a SWB Rav4, which is physically not much bigger than a Golf, it just sits a bit higher up. The reason? Because I used to live in the countryside on a road that nothing without 4WD would get up when it snowed, and it was the only thing I could find that had sufficient headroom for a Great Dane. Sadly, I no longer have either of those reasons, but why should I change a reliable car that I actually rather like?

Not all 4x4s are huge gas guzzlers driven 200 yards down the road to drop off one sprog. The government is already shafting us with tax on petrol and road tax, most of which doesn't seem to go anywhere towards improving our congested pot-holed roads.

If the government really wants to do something about the environment they should be pushing for all new cars sold in the UK to be dual-fuel, and be promoting bio diesel and LPG. Alternatively, they could get the public transport system to something approaching usable.

Chris

dr1819

In the US, anything larger than say, a 15-pax van, requires special licenses, after one takes special training.

That's not what I was talking about. What I was referring to were normal vehicles that most people drive.

That didn't stop me from pulling an 8,500# trailer with a load-balancing hitch towed behind my GMC Yukon half way across the US. Then again, I cut my eye teeth pulling a boat trailer, so I wasn't exactly new to it...

But what about a motorhome? About the only additional issue is that if you turn too sharp you might roll it. However, their center of gravity is remarkably low, and they're less prone to rolling than some SUVs.

Guy N. Heels

Well, I don't know what things are like in the great state of Ohio, but in Maryland you can't even apply for a handicap placquard without a doctor's statement. I keep one handy because I need it, but occasionally I will forego a handicapped parking space if I can walk without too much trouble; in order to give someone who might be in worse shape than me a privileged space.
But what with a neighbor in a wheelchair and with my regular visits to the VA hospital, I really get a burn whenever I see someone abusing this privilege. Just the other day I found a car from out of state illegally parked in a handicapped space without the slightest hint of a handicapped person on board. If the police had found that car they would've issued a $250 ticket, and rightly so! The judges around here also have little patience with abusers.

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