A letter to the editor of my local paper states: “In most European countries, which have statistically the safest roads, a driver must pass a series of rigorous written and practical tests, including anticipating hazards, evasive actin, highway driving, city driving, sign observation, etc. In England, the practical test lasts at least 40 minutes and many drivers fail at least once.”
You Brits can confirm or deny the English driving test. And you Europeans can confirm or deny the statistics. But I know that some European countries, notably Germany (I don’t know of any others, so I can be edified here as well) have no speed limits. I just cannot believe a country that has no speed limit is one with the safest roads. Well, the roads may be safe, but the drivers aren’t.
So, my questions are: (1) Is the English driving test so tough? (2) Are European roads so safe? and (3) What countries in Europe have no speed limit?
First, you’ll have to give us the idea of what do you want to focus on:
The U.K.?
Germany?
Europe as a whole?
Europe considering all its individual member-states?
mmm… no. Certain stretches of the Autobahn have no speed limits. And stretches of the modern Autostrada will show speed limits but they’re… err… “suggestive”.
I drove on the Italian Autostrada in a rented Opel one day. The teeny tiny sign (not kidding, here) said “130” (km/h). I was cruising between 150-180. The cop passed me without blinking an eye at about 200.
Now you have to understand something about these highways in Germany and Italy: they’re seperate from the rest of the road system. They have long … well to call them “on-” and “off-ramps” doesn’t give you the best idea. They’re more like acceleration and deceleration lanes.
You can’t blast through the city at any speed you want. For one thing, traffic won’t let you.
Backroads and non-autbahn/strada routes are patrolled and filled with the same types of radar traps you know and love.
So, you’re saying that every driver who speeds is a bad driver? Gosh, we’d better make sure Häkkinen, Schumacher, Fittpaldi and the Andretti family hand in their driver’s licences! :rolleyes:
You heard right that the roads here are safer. At least from a day-to-day perspective. But, yes, there is a trade-off. (keep reading)
Don’t know. An English(wo)man will answer this question soon enough.
Sorry, but this is a badly written question (no offence, but it’s rather vague)
The roads themselves are safe, yes. Most any road is safe.
Euro highways are generally better built than many American (I assume that’s what you’re comparing to) highways in that they’re built as separate highways (opposing traffic is separated=less chance of head-on collisions AND separate from regular roadways with no traffic lights) with banked turns and high guard rails.
None. All countries have speed limits. Various highways have lax or no speed laws for sections of high-speed-engineered highways… but there’s a reason for this.
You see, the question you should have asked is:
“What kind of driving school and tests exists in the various countries in Europe? Which ones are the hardest? Why?”
Germany and Sweden have the longest (and most expensive) driver’s ed programs in Europe. I can’t cite for all, but I know that Sweden does follow the German system.
According to an old Road & Track magazine I had, getting a German driver’s licence takes months (to a year), and a few thousand (read that again) American dollars.
There are printed materials,
Lifesaving techniques in various accident situations,
Night driving,
Adverse weather driving (fog, ice, etc),
Back country driving (different driving surfaces),
and you can still fail.
Now, you put a bunch of people who’ve passed this test on a highway with no speed limit.
You’d better believe I feel safer knowing that the person in front of me, behind me, and a few hundred meters ahead and to the left of me know what the heck they’re doing.
…as opposed to, say, the jagoffs on American roads who are given drivers licences because they know that THIS pedal makes you go, THIS pedal makes you stop, and THIS is how you steer.
Nope. I’m not interested in moving to North America again.
Now, I’ve been going on for a while, I know, but there was one other thing I mentioned above: “The tradoff”–
There are fewer accidents in countries with high speed highways and better driver’s education requirements, but the ones that do occur are more likely to be fatal because of the high speeds involved.
Anyway, I could bring up various sites, but I know talk of this subject has been touched on before in this board, and I’m certain if you did your own homework, you’d find various internet sites also dabbing in the subject. (I remember coming across one, now I just have to find it again…)
(1) I don’t know about the English test, but it sure sounds like the Danish one. I’ve had the privilege of taking it three times (car, truck, motorcycle). I flunked car twice, probably should’ve flunked truck but he was in a good mood. I did make motorcycle on the first attempt .(Well, there was a previous attempt, but the intercom broke down. Only time a driver’s test has ended in a draw.)
Drivers’ ed include lessons on a closed track to practice braking-and-avoiding and driving on slippery roads. Lessons must include driving on all sorts of roads and driving after dark. Pretty comprehensive.
Theoretical tests for all three were pretty hard - I had to take lessons to pass motorcycle theory, even though I’d been driving a car for 10 years. Practical knowledge wasn’t enough.
(2) I haven’t got any good comparative stats, sorry. Suffice it to say that when things go wrong on the Autobahn, they do so spectacularly. But I for one feel reasonably safe there - traffic is attentive, friendly, but also pretty damn friggin’ FAST.
(3) Germany is the only EU country with no speed limit - or, more exact, stretches of Autobahn with no speed limits. There’s a recommended speed of 130 km/h, and if you’re in an accident above that speed, you’re partly responsible, no matter what.
Well i can tell you that the English driving test is pretty damn stringent. I’ve failed for putting my signal on too early. The next i took the test i failed for putting it on too late. I took the test 5 times (yes 5 times) and each time was failed by a single cross. In the end i gave up and moved to London - god bless the tubes.
Those are undoubtedly the best drivers in the world, but they do their racing on a speed track. Even then, there are many accidents. The only reason there are few fatalities is that their cars are built to protect them.
If you read my first paragraph, I merely used the same wording as the letter.
I don’t have enough experience with European highways to say that they’re absolutely safer than American highways, but I’ll tell you what I’ve noticed. But first, a couple of other things:
Sounds exactly like an American interstate to me.
I don’t know specifically which countries have no speed limits, but I’m quite sure Germany is not the only one; Austria and Italy, for example, have stretches with no speed limit.
Anyway, from my limited experience, sure, they do drive faster on European highways; however, in a lot of ways the European highways did seem to me to be more orderly than American highways. For example, I didn’t see people cruising in the left lane, causing people to pass on the right; I believe they’re more strict about enforcing that over there. As a consequence, I also didn’t see people swerving in and out of traffic like people often do here. (Again, however, this could just be because of my limited experience).
I read somewhere that in Germany if you fail your driving test more than three times you have to go to an interview with a psychiatrist/psychologist to asses your state of mind.I suppose the thinking is that if you have failed the test after all the extensive preparation there is something wrong in your psychological make-up.
I believe that’s not the case. The signs at the Italian border clearly states a maximum speed of 130 km/h for highways. Or did, when I passed them last year. I’ve, admittedly, never been driving in Austria.
When I took my driving test in 1988, the procedure was as follows: you go to a test centre where they test your eyesight by asking you to read the number plate of a car a certain distance away (~ 35 yards, IIRC). The examiner then gets into the car with you and you drive around, following his directions.
During the course of the test, you are evaluated on your general driving ability, use of mirrors, anticipation, etc. You are also asked to do a numer of specific maneuvers, including: three-point turn, emergency stop, reversing round a corner and starting and moving off while facing uphill (not a trivial task in a manual car).
After the practical part, you return to the test centre where you are given a verbal test. The examiner asks questions such as “What must you do at a box junction?” and “What is the stopping distance at 60 mph?” He also shows you pictures of signs and asks you to say what they mean.
The whole process takes about an hour. Most people fail the first time and many fail three or four times before passing (or give up trying, like Fransesca :)). It is very easy to fail, since you can be failed on a single fault. This might be something specific like touching the curb while reversing round a corner, or it might be something vague like not making sufficient use of your mirrors. Basically, they have a lot of leeway to fail you if they want to.
Since then, a written test has been introduced which I believe consists of multiple-choice questions on the Highway Code. I don’t think it’s too taxing, but you have to pass it before you can go on to the practical. I believe they have also introduced parallel parking to the repertoire of maneuvers on the practical test.
I’ve only ever spent about four weeks in the USA, but I would say that US roads are much safer than British roads. British drivers are very agressive whereas US drivers seem to be quite polite.
A driving licence from any EU country is now valid in any other EU country. Some British people who are having trouble passing their test go to Germany to take it, which would tend to suggest that the German test is easier.
There are two sets of speed limits on major roads in France.When it rains,or there is other bad weather,then all limits are reduced by 20km per hour-ie motorways from 130 to 110 kmh.
I stand corrected. The only experience I have with it is a little driving in Europe last summer. I was basing what I said on the posted speed limit/end speed limit signs I saw along the highways; when you leave any of the congested areas on the highway, I would see signs indicating the end of a 100 km/h (or whatever) speed limit, but I never saw a sign for a new speed limit, so I assumed there wasn’t one. (In America, you can’t go very far on the interstate without seeing regular signs reminding you of the speed limit, even if it’s a constant 65 mph). If there are signs at the border indicating a nation wide speed limit is always in effect, I probably missed them.
Us locals know (or should know) the relevant max speed, so “no posted speed limit” defaults to “insert local max speed here”. Except of course for the Autobahn where they mean “Twist right wrist till you hit the stops”
When you enter a town or village in the UK the speed limit for that built-up area is posted on signs (usually 30 m.p.h).When leaving a town you will see a white circle with a black diagonal showing the end of this limit.On most of the European continent this is not the case.The actual town or village sign is the start of the speed limit and a line through the town sign shows the end of this limit and the return to the higher speed for the highway.So you must remember what the speed restriction is for built-up areas because you will get no help from the roadside signs.
The hardest test in the UK has to be the bike test.
There are several differant ways to acquire your bike licence, its rather Byzantine I’m afraid.
First before you even get out on the road on any combustion engined two-wheeled machine you have to pass your compulsory basic training(CBT).This includes basic bike examination, looking at fork seals, chain tension, tyre condition, steering head play and the like [sub]you may think my definition of a motorbike is somewhat long winded but there are some powered 2wheelers that the law hasn’t yet caught up with such as powered skateboards, electrically assisted bicycles and a few others[/sub].
You can fail this, or at least be called back for further training.
This CBT certificate is valid for 18 months during which time you must take your full test and pass, if you don’t then you used to be off the road for 2 years but I believe there has been a change here, I think that if you fail your test you have to do CBT again, but if you don’t take a test in that time I think you are off the road for one year.
Before doing any further road examination you must be in posession of a theory test pass certificate, you might already have one if you have a car licence otherwise you have this to do.
To be honest this is so easy that I did the 40 minute test in less than 8 minutes-100% correct, if you fail this you have other problems besides learning how to drive.
Next is dependant on your age, if you are under 21 but above 17 then you can pass your test on a 120 to 125cc machine and then you ride around on any machine you wish so long as its restricted to 33bhp.
You are stuck with this for at least two years, or until 21 whichever is the later. After that you can ride what you want(if you can find someone to insure you-not always straightforward)
I have seen a 33bhp restrictor kit for a Suzuki GSX1300 Hayabusa!!
If you are over 21 you can either do the 120/125cc test and ride around for 2 years on 33bhp or you can take your test on a 46.6bhp or above machine and if you pass you can ride anything you want this is called Direct Access
The failure rate for Direct Access is very high, usually fewer than 1/3 pass and it’s an expensive business since you have to hire the bike, and an instructor to escort you to and from the testing centre, by the time you have shelled out everything it can easily cost you £150, and that’s just to fail once, most people fail Direct Access several times, it is incredibly tight.
My friend was failed during the emergency stop because he used two finger on the brake lever rather than all four, despite the fact that he stopped well within the safety zone.
If you are 17 or under there are other rules that apply, needless to say that whatever test you do you will not be going anywhere fast on the bikes you are allowed to ride, furthermore you have to take another test to allow you to ride anything with more than 6bhp.
If you are a naughty person(160mph is considered by the law as being rather cheeky,booziness is one hell of a no-no) you can be made to go through the whole process again, but this time the test is twice as long to give you more chances to fail, and the test itself costs more too.
The number of motorcycles killed per mile has fallen but since it has become more popular this does mean more fatalities.
The most likely to kill themselves are not the kids on their dayglo scooters, oh no, its those responsible adults that maybe passed a test years and years ago and went out to buy a shiny bike or the summer rider with his matching helmet boots and leathers, rides maybe 2000 miles a year and just passed their Direct Access.
Maybe they had an old Triumph or a tweaked up Norton but nowadays even a Honda CB500 commutor bike will see these off.
They leap upon their R1’S or Fireblades and when some grubby looking,all year round, 20000+pa, rider such as myself rips rips past them they decide to show how they can handle their bike, after all they can’t have their expensive bike insulted can they ?
Trouble is they don’t have the experience to know whch bends you can teararse around and which ones not, their bikes are so deceptively fast and easy to ride that by the time they realise it they are in the hedgerow bottom.
