Driving Licences (Score 2, Insightful)

Bad driving makes me so damn angry, however black boxes are not the best solution. Like CCTV and other methods that invade privacy, they're only effective after the fact when it's too late.

The reality is that there are just too many bad drivers out there and that's what needs to change. There are some people who will NEVER be good drivers yet these people keep trying and trying to get a licence until they succeed. Doesn't it bother anyone that someone could try fifty times and fail and then get lucky one day? Scares the crap out of me.

And it's like that for a reason - because people think they have a god given right to drive. There are so many back doors in the system because if you remove them then people get angry. And why? Because a huge number of drivers know they shouldn't be behind the wheel. Sure, they're quick enough to attack other drivers for their sloppy driving but it's just another way of saying "My driving sucks, but it doesn't suck as much as that guy's"

My view is that good solid standards should be applied, the bar should be raised (at least slightly), - and here's the killer - licenses should expire after ten years and the driver should have to reapply for a license. How can it be right that someone can past a test when they're twenty and still be driving under the same license sixty years later. Laws will have changed, signs will have changed and the persons ability to drive will have changed. It's not just eyesight that can affect someone's ability to drive but their mental condition too. If drivers have to reapply for their license then it's more likely that the bad driving that results from any changes in the drivers temprament could be caught and disaster averted.

I can see good reasons why people would not agree to black boxes, but I see no reason to argue against regular testing. Funny thing is, I reckon most drivers given the choice of black boxes or regular checks on their driving will vote for boxes every time.