Thread: Driver Under Instruction

Probably both... Some people should not be driving and some who have driven before should never have been on the road...

My mothers Aunty got her license for the first time at 74yo... Mum's uncle was no longer able to walk, let alone drive thus Aunty Billy had to get her license....

The Police examiner thought she was doing the test to maintain her license, so she quite politely explained she had only been driving for 4 weeks and last time she drove was over 50 years before and that was a horse and sulky from Widgemiltha to Salmon gums(between kalgoorlie and Esperance)...

She said he dropped his pen and pad and hung onto the door and seat until the test was over, she passed...

She deserved her license unlike a lot that are on the road...

PS, she had to quit drinking beer to get her license, she had been drinking beer since she was a young child(Coolgardie born and raised, beer was cheaper than water) first middie was for breakfast and that continued til bedtime...

In recent years i have noticed a vast increase in the number of drivers on our roads who have 'gained' their license through fair means or fowl in their country of origin who have zero comprehension of not only the road rules here but consequences of their actions. Having lived in south east asia for a number years i would think Singapore is probably the only country where you can not 'buy' a drivers license, and even there i have seen some absolutely dumb driving. Some reports i have seen say 99% of drivers on the road in india do not have a real licence. Though having a real license doesnt mean by any means you are a competent driver. I would not be suprised if the figures were the same in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia etc....

A friend of mine took their licence test in the Philippines and all they had to do was drive about 400 meter (in an auto) in traffic. It seems relatively easy for them to use whatever they have to get a license here without going through the whole L and P process.

Certainly makes driving in parts of Sydney more challenging than it needs to be and I feel for truckies that have to avoid them. Just keeping left would be a big start.

Originally Posted by travelrover

In recent years i have noticed a vast increase in the number of drivers on our roads who have 'gained' their license through fair means or fowl in their country of origin who have zero comprehension of not only the road rules here but consequences of their actions. Having lived in south east asia for a number years i would think Singapore is probably the only country where you can not 'buy' a drivers license, and even there i have seen some absolutely dumb driving. Some reports i have seen say 99% of drivers on the road in india do not have a real licence. Though having a real license doesnt mean by any means you are a competent driver. I would not be suprised if the figures were the same in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia etc....

A friend of mine took their licence test in the Philippines and all they had to do was drive about 400 meter (in an auto) in traffic. It seems relatively easy for them to use whatever they have to get a license here without going through the whole L and P process.

Certainly makes driving in parts of Sydney more challenging than it needs to be and I feel for truckies that have to avoid them. Just keeping left would be a big start.

I recently wrote a longish boring post in another thread basically suggesting that in some other countries there are some basic concepts that are diametrically opposed to what is the reality in Australia (and similar countries). (my personal experiences come from 19yrs living and working, and driving, in SEA too...)

(The linky clicky thing is here for that thread if interested - How on earth does this happen? )

In that post I am referring to examples like - in SEA typically pedestrians own their own safety wherever they may come in close proximity with vehicles - To the extent that even very good drivers operate their vehicles on the understanding that pedestrians look after themselves. It is like an unwritten social contract, so to speak, mutual expectation. Pedestrians thus are basically a non-issue in some places overseas.

I guess that idea (self preservation in SEA being different to what people in Oz understand it to mean) could extend further than behaviour on and around roads. In life generally there is little or no safety net, no nanny state, etc... but I digress.

Not so in Oz. Here there is no such unwritten "social contract" or expectation that pedestrians will look after themselves. Quite the contrary - so much is written down and mandated that pedestrians can feel much safer being careless on or around roads/carparks etc. This is not a bad thing! Just highlighting that some visitors/migrants to our shores may come from an environment where certain assumptions are vastly divergent to what is the norm here.

(another example would be - Here one expects lane discipline of all fellow road users. In other environments lane markings are assumed by all to be only for the guidance of fools. And where all practice under same assumptions/rules , whatever they are, things can work well)

Layer on top of that the issues you highlight above - about sham or meaningless licencing and enforcement. Fairly sure one could get a DL in parts of rural Malaysia for the price of a chicken (ref. your "fair or fowl" comment.)

Originally Posted by travelrover

Certainly makes driving in parts of Sydney more challenging than it needs to be and I feel for truckies that have to avoid them. Just keeping left would be a big start.

Car drivers, truck drivers, caravaners, motor cyclists and cyclists knowing and understanding the current road rules would be the best start.

Originally Posted by Mick_Marsh

Car drivers, truck drivers, caravaners, motor cyclists and cyclists knowing and understanding the current road rules would be the best start.

Knowing and understanding the rules is fine, but actually obeying them would be even better.

Originally Posted by johntins

Knowing and understanding the rules is fine, but actually obeying them would be even better.

Problem solved.

Originally Posted by tact

I recently wrote a longish boring post in another thread basically suggesting that in some other countries there are some basic concepts that are diametrically opposed to what is the reality in Australia (and similar countries). (my personal experiences come from 19yrs living and working, and driving, in SEA too...)

(The linky clicky thing is here for that thread if interested - How on earth does this happen? )

In that post I am referring to examples like - in SEA typically pedestrians own their own safety wherever they may come in close proximity with vehicles - To the extent that even very good drivers operate their vehicles on the understanding that pedestrians look after themselves. It is like an unwritten social contract, so to speak, mutual expectation. Pedestrians thus are basically a non-issue in some places overseas.

I guess that idea (self preservation in SEA being different to what people in Oz understand it to mean) could extend further than behaviour on and around roads. In life generally there is little or no safety net, no nanny state, etc... but I digress.

Not so in Oz. Here there is no such unwritten "social contract" or expectation that pedestrians will look after themselves. Quite the contrary - so much is written down and mandated that pedestrians can feel much safer being careless on or around roads/carparks etc. This is not a bad thing! Just highlighting that some visitors/migrants to our shores may come from an environment where certain assumptions are vastly divergent to what is the norm here.

(another example would be - Here one expects lane discipline of all fellow road users. In other environments lane markings are assumed by all to be only for the guidance of fools. And where all practice under same assumptions/rules , whatever they are, things can work well)

Layer on top of that the issues you highlight above - about sham or meaningless licencing and enforcement. Fairly sure one could get a DL in parts of rural Malaysia for the price of a chicken (ref. your "fair or fowl" comment.)

Hi tact

Yup all true!! Another 'observation' is the perpencity to pretend they don't see other vehicles or pedestrians. The 'if i dont see you then you are not there' approach but amazingly seems to work most of the time, and the way traffic signals (stop signs and traffic lights, etc) are completely ignored, as is driving on the correct side of the road.

I was in Medan, Sumatra a few years ago being driven along a 6 lane road, three lanes each way, then all of a sudden i noticed all the traffic was going one way, fortunately the same way we were.

Another time driving from Mumbai to Pune my driver was overtaking busses and trucks on the wrong side of the road on a blind right hand bend at 100kph!

You do see plenty of road carnage, just hope they keep it there.......

Recently we had the licensing people visit us, its an annual thing, renewals only and they do a few 100. One chap obtained licenses for his 4 and 6 year old, so may question the integrity of the system