The barriers to entry for driving on Australian roads are not high enough. Here’s why it’s a problem.
On the whole, driving on Australian roads is best aligned as an entitlement rather than a privilege. We see it in manifestation every day: drivers who can’t help but sit in the right-hand lane, road users who have no intention of indicating their directions, and people who lack the good grace and manners to allow others to merge.
I could go on all day about the bad traits Australian drivers have adopted, but I’m more concerned with how they’re bred in the first place.
Currently, most jurisdictions in Australia require prospective learners to: pass a straightforward learner permit test, drive with a supervising teacher (usually a parent) for up to 120 hours of road time, complete a Hazard Perception Test, and then pass a final practical test.
It’s not especially expensive (getting on the road in Australia typically costs less than a few hundred dollars), nor is it particularly taxing.
I think it should be harder.
Take Germany, for example. Widely regarded as having some of the most obedient and well-taught drivers in the world, Germany requires its would-be drivers to undergo a series of first aid training, eye examinations, professional driving lessons, and extensive theoretical tests. That’s even before dealing with the bureaucratic nightmare of booking appointments.
Then there’s the cost as well, which can range in the thousands of euros – especially if you don’t pass the test on a first attempt.
With the threat of paying extra on top of an initial hefty outlay – and the thoroughness of test content – it aids in weeding out the drivers who don’t need a licence in the first place.
The barriers are just as high in other jurisdictions such as Japan. Getting your licence can cost anywhere between 200,000 and 300,000 yen (AUD$2114 to AUD$3117), while driving lessons should be (and typically are) completed with an instructor. There are even driver-training centres that mimic real Japanese roads, but without the stress of integrating with actual traffic.
You’ll note these types of countries that require their citizens to undergo considered, lengthy, and detailed licence application schemes usually result in a higher calibre of driver.
As well, with such advanced public transport systems in the first place, only the people who really need to operate a car will end up with a licence. It’s the complete opposite in Australia where driving is seen as a rite of passage once you turn 17 or 18.
In our culture it represents freedom, the freedom of becoming an adult and being able to go anywhere at any time, and do anything you want.
But in our rush to afford freedoms for those who are simply old enough to be deemed responsible, we’re forgetting there are life and death consequences to being out on our roads.
Bad teaching leads to bad habits, which can lead to bad situations. Where I live in Victoria, the lives lost on our roads is up nearly 30 per cent compared to this time last year. Might it be a different situation if more care was taken in awarding driver’s licences?
Without sounding too gloomy and doomy, driving is a valuable part of our life in Australia and every person who wants a driver’s licence should be given the opportunity to apply for one. However, I maintain that a lot more needs to go into the process.
As a minimum, we should be insisting learners undergo driver training with professionals through driving schools, our testing procedures should contain more detailed tasks than a simple three-point turn or reverse park, and a first aid course should be mandatory.
Every person who wants to be on the road in Australia should be afforded the opportunities to get there. But if we can align the barriers to entry with some of the more stricter jurisdictions, I’d argue it would weed out the bad drivers, or better yet teach them to be good drivers, and make for a better driving populace overall.
What do you think? Is it too too easy to get on the road in Australia?
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