Driver Training - Killer or Savour?

[Mad Murphy]

People fail at driving because driver training and testing in NZ focuses almost entirely on the urban environment where speed and cornering don't really come into play, ie. the only corners you take are intersections where you have to stop/give way anyway. There's precious little training about driving on the open road and highways where it seems almost all of these horrific accidents happen. I remember just after I got my restricted I had to drive over the Port Hills for a camping trip, I had absolutely no clue what to do as the grand total of what my driving instructor had taught me was a couple of trips up a small hill near Halswell and said go down in the same gear you went up in (3rd).

[Sh0ckwave]

Haha, well I live/learned to drive out in the sticks so I tend to take most corners (not intersections ) at 100 kmh

[sergei]

When I used to sell cars at car yard, I used to go for a test drive with customer as a passenger, being driven by some of the morons at 50kph made me feel a lot safer as a passenger in a rally car doing 180k around a bend. Some people are extremely hopeless.
It is so bad that person who can't even keep the car straight on the straight, left and right all over lane got some how licence.

What they actually test? Parallel parking and reversing around the corner. What about proper car control? I laughed at the hazard question when I set my full.

It is too easy to get the licence, and keep it in NZ.
All you need to do is basically do not exceed the speed limit.
You could be total moron and drive 50 in 100 zone and speed up to 110kph on passing lanes so people would not be able to pass you. But that is fine with Mr Policeman.

Or being an idiot who drives 70 next to another idiot who does 70 as well in 100k zone. Oh yeah, they get very upset when you flash the lights to make them move, it never occurs to them it will be more courteous if they follow the guy in the left lane as anyway they do the same speed.

Or idiots who cut through 3 lanes to get straight into right lane, which is jam packed compared to left lanes, but then again left lanes will be full of safe drivers that think that exceeding 70k would cause instant death to at least 20 newborns.
All Mr Policeman does is sit with his laser gun and catches speeders, what about "slowers"?

There is another stupidity going on in Auckland, people merging from on ramps at 50 while every one is doing 80-100 on motorway. Once I saw a truck braking very heavily with trailer about to take out people in right lane because of some moron that decided it is safer to merge motorway at 50 right in front of a truck that does 90.

I say remove all the speed limits, that will sort all the idiots out.
That will also free police to catch leftover morons.

[Mr Revhead]

i too hate slow mergers... or worse... ppl who STOP at end of merging lane and treat it like a giveway!! have had some rather nasty experiences coming across those.....

speaking of auckland... they dont let u merge there!! was up there in december, and omfg auckland drivers do not want to let you merge on on ramps! ho

[no_8wire]

You just need to driver faster to get into the gaps...

[holden_fan2005]

i too hate slow mergers... or worse... ppl who STOP at end of merging lane and treat it like a giveway!! have had some rather nasty experiences coming across those.....

speaking of auckland... they dont let u merge there!! was up there in december, and omfg auckland drivers do not want to let you merge on on ramps! ho

The easiest way if you have a crappy car is just to keep merging like a zip. I always find the other person letting me in

[Mr Revhead]

but your here, not auckland

[BlakJak]

i too hate slow mergers... or worse... ppl who STOP at end of merging lane and treat it like a giveway!! have had some rather nasty experiences coming across those.....

speaking of auckland... they dont let u merge there!! was up there in december, and omfg auckland drivers do not want to let you merge on on ramps! ho

The easiest way if you have a crappy car is just to keep merging like a zip. I always find the other person letting me in

I tried that - the asshole in the 4WD behind me decided to run his bullbars up the side of my GT-Four and put a big ding in my drivers door, etc. My alternative would've been a hard stop as I'd run out of on-ramp.

The guy refused to pull over until he'd found a cop to pull in behind.
We both told our stories. I got the ticket, as I was the one changing lanes.

Stupid friggin old man. (55-60ish)

[BlakJak]

oh yeah, btw, bump but I couldnt resist.