Not saying I'd prefer a nanny state, but...

Something that's confusing me: this constitutes a distraction:



But this does not:

 

No distracting HUD for me. Just my Garmin occasionally when I need GPS.

 

Don't stop there, it applies to numerous other things too.

E.g. alcohol is both deadlier than cars and guns combined, and far costlier than the later (though not former). But since the great majority of the population partakes in this luxury indulgence to some extent, they are not willing to accept the same level of restrictions and access limitations that are already imposed on the later, an actual civil right but which has about half as much constituency.

"Don't tax you. Don't tax me. Tax that fellow behind the tree." That old saw doesn't apply to just taxes, but to freedoms as well. People are generally willing to give up freedoms valuable to just others, but not the ones in which they themselves partake.

 

On my semi-regular trips to Britain, I'm always struck by how much better British drivers are than Australian ones. The difference isn't so pronounced on city streets, but on motorways there's a huge difference. British drivers understand lane discipline, keep their distance, look where they're going, use their mirrors, know how to signal, and understand that this is not a PlayStation and you do not just press reset if you die. Australian drivers fail on all of these counts.

Although the speed limit is about the same (70mph in Britain and 110km/h in Australia), I find that British drivers go a lot faster in clear conditions with light traffic - 85-90mph - and that they slow down significantly for heavy rain (I have witnessed days in Britain when it wasn't raining), heavy traffic, and poor visibility. Australians drive at 105-115km/h, whether the road is empty or heavily-congested, and whether it's sunny, pouring or foggy.

British drivers are safer and more predictable. They understand what they, their cars and the road are capable of, and what can't or shouldn't be done.

Not sure about America, but if your problems are similar to those in Australia, I think the way to do it is with unmarked police cars. What's dangerous here isn't speed (not speed per se, anyway, although speed that's inappropriate for the conditions is a problem) but carelessness and indiscipline. Tailgating, undertaking and wild lane-changing don't get caught by speed cameras or parked cops with radars; unmarked cars would allow the police to spot and pull over dangerous drivers.

 

No. You drove on the other side of the road for the rest of your life. In Britain, you drove on the correct side.

 

I remember hearing about this when I was a kid, but I'd assumed that it had changed. Do you still have no driving test? That's remarkable.

My great aunt was an appalling driver. She was Italian but lived most of her life in Scotland. In the 1950s, she needed to drive, but knew she wouldn't pass her test. So she went to Ireland, where, at the time, you could just get a driving licence by going to the Post Office and applying for one. She got it, and then went back to Britain, where you could get a driving licence by showing your foreign driving licence, as the British didn't at the time realise that every other country was run by idiots. So she got her British licence without ever having done a test.

You could tell.

She was 4'7", and could barely see over the steering wheel. She had a Fiat 126 (pictured with Tom Hanks), and then a 127 (pictured without Tom Hanks), with wooden blocks tied to the pedals so she could reach them. She drove like a maniac. It was less of a problem in the 126 because it was so slow, but once she got the performance of the 127, everyone in Paisley was terrified.

 

I'd say this.....



.... is less of a distraction than this.....



.... and I've seen that, lots of times.

Also, I think people who are lost and late are more of a danger on the road than people following their satnavs.

Certainly there's a problem with distraction, but I think it's the least of many evils.

 

I have a vague recollection of seeing something about what sounded like an excellent satnav HUD on either a new Jaguar or a concept Jaguar.

Instead of giving you directions, it just projected a picture of a car onto the windscreen. It would get into the appropriate lane, and signal, and do everything else it needed to do. All you had to do as the driver was follow it. It sounds like a good way of making sure people follow the right route and minimising distraction.

 

I was unaware of any states without driver testing of some sort, both written and road. Granted, the tests are much too easy to pass.

I was first licensed at age 14 (daylight only until 16), though that state has since raised its minimum age. Back then, at least one other state issued licenses as early as age 12 in rural agricultural areas.

 

In New South Wales, it's 14 if you live West of Bourke, and 17 for everyone else.

The kids in Bourke really do need it - "The Back of Bourke" means "the middle of nowhere" in Australian.



But even closer to civilisation, near Dubbo, I knew kids who were driving, unsupervised, on their parents' property by the time they were six. Not on the roads, though. And not anything good - just a Ford Falcon with its lethal live rear axle.

 

The kids west of Bourke can't drive outside of that zone until they're 17.

And in NSW - and it's about the same for the other states in Australia - you need to pass a series of tests.

First, you have to be 17.

Then, you have to do a written test. Once you pass that, you get a Learner's Licence. With that, you can drive on public roads, but only with a qualified driver over I think 25 supervising you, and you can't drive at more than 80km/h (50mph). And you can't drive a car with more than 6 cylinders, or a petrol turbo. You have to drive with a yellow "L" plate on your car.

Then, you do a driving test. If you pass, you get your Provisional (I) Licence ("Red Ps"). You drive with a red P on your car, for a year. You still can't drive a car with more than 6 cylinders, or a petrol turbo, and you can't drive at more than 90km/h, or with any alcohol in your system.

At the end of that year, you do another test. If you pass, you get your Provisional (II) Licence ("Green Ps"). You drive with a green P on your car, for 2 or 3 years I think - it varies between states. You still can't drive a car with more than 6 cylinders, or a petrol turbo (but you can get special dispensation to do so), and you can't drive at more than 100km/h, or with any alcohol in your system.

And at the end of that period, you do another test, and that's when you get your full licence. You can drive with alcohol in your system (0.05g of alcohol per 210 litres of breath), and you can drive at the speed limit, and you can drive any sort of car.

And yet, after all that, they're still terrible drivers.

 

That is also how my spouse describes where I grew up. Though she is likely using a different scale for 'nowhere' than most Aussies would use.

No licensing needed here on private property. I was working the fields with the easiest tractors at age 9, driving a pickup truck on farm two years later. First time driving on a public road was probably at age 12 (on border of farm), involuntarily upon dad's orders. In my driver ed class at 14, only a single student had not already been driving.

I believe that applied here too, young teens with licenses couldn't drive in other states with higher age requirements. Most states were / are 16, Hawaii was 18.

 

You know, even if your postings were way out of line I'd still follow them for the amusement factor alone!

Much as I'd like to agree with you, it breaks my heart that it is not so IMHO. You must have been extremely fortunate to totally avoid the Killer Klutz Klub of morons who drive at ridiculously fast speed in the far right lane (we keep to the left side normally) in strong wind, heavy rain and even fog!!!!

 

I have to admit, I'm not even sure what functions are on that big display. It is the navigation, I understand. Is it also requirement to change any crucial settings while driving, say heating/ventilating mode, temperature, recirc, stuff like that? Or is that at least still done with buttons, albeit unergonomic, eyes-off-the-road buttons?

To clarify, our dash looks like this:

 

Man, that is like soooo 2010 . . . .

 

I miss the 1980's look: HVAC dials and sliders with detents, that you could operate without having to divert attention from the road, for the most part.

 

Sounds a lot like my 2014 4Runner TEP dash.