should foreign drivers take a british driving test?

Question

road accidents involving immigrants have doubled

Answer 1

Yes and here's why: a Polish guy I worked with wanted to buy a car, and needed me to translate for him.
I thought he was just going to "window shop". When he pulled out a wad of money and accepted the keys for a bashed up Peugeot 306, I started writing out my last will and testament. No offence to the man but he had been in the country a few weeks and couldn't speak (or more importantly read) a word of English.

It seemed like we flew out of that garage on two wheels, and during the journey (about 8 miles) we went round two roundabouts the wrong way, jumped three red lights, and spent over half the journey being beeped at. I was surprised we weren’t stopped by police, even more so that we made it home alive.

Less than a month later he wrote that car off (on a roundabout unsurprisingly), but the next day just went out and bought another... no real problem there I suppose, but it was his "whatever" attitude that was worrying.

It should be mandatory that foreign drivers wishing to drive in England take a test, especially considering that we have a completely different driving style and system. Our rules are stricter than those in many other countries, and driving etiquette plays a certain part, as opposed to places like Poland, Greece, and India etc where it's each driver for themselves.

Saying that, I've seen many a crash in places like Spain and Greece where English drivers are on the wrong side of the road. The English should also be tested, if they wish to drive abroad - it does work both ways.

Answer 2

No you have not really thought the implications of this question through, mate. Accident statistics clearly show the majority of casualties result from young male UK drivers who have passed their test within the past few years. So passing the driving test provably does not mean you are a safer driver. This is further substantiated by fact that, according to insurance research, older drivers in the UK who may have taken their test 30 years or more ago are provably less likely to have an accident than younger drivers who took their test within recent years. That is why they pay a lower premium.

Apart from that, you have also conveniently overlooked the fact that when immigrants are prosecuted after being observed committing a driving offence in a great many cases it is found they do not even have a licence from any other country nor in some cases do they have insurance cover! So if a driving test was indeed mandatory for all new arrivals it would just be ignored anyway.

So what you propose is the wrong answer to the problem you highlight?

Answer 3

It would be nice to think that that would solve the problem of foreign drivers , however I am afraid it wouldn't as it would not treat the main problem ?.
The problem is Foreign drivers are ??? foreign and as such are usually over here for two or three weeks and then back off to their own country , to create mayhem on their own roads . So if they took no notice of the driving test requirement ,they would still be in another country by the time it came to court . So what I believe it needs is a system whereby any foreign driver who commits an offence in this country is arrested and held till the court hearing , the same as we would be if we committed an offence in their country . Then perhaps they might think before they drove recklessly on our roads thinking that they cant be prosecuted .

Answer 4

Hang on a minute! Most people advocating foreign drivers should take a test before being allowed to drive in this country. WHY?
Road signs are international for a start.
Big difference, of course, is driving on 'other side' but with care should present no problem to the average driver.
As someone with many years of European driving experience, with many different vehicles, would that mean I would have to take a test in every country in which I drive?

Answer 5

What about British drivers abroad then?Should we be expected to take French/German/Dutch etc driving tests?Same thing.
What should be compulsory is foreign lorry drivers made to watch a video on driving rules and laws in England.When they come ashore at the channel ports there should be a holding bay.Then drivers made to watch videos in their own language before being allowed to drive in England.That way their would be no excuses that they did not understand our driving laws.Wouldn't cost much to set up,compared to the lives it would save due to ignorance.The vast majority of accidents on Motorways involving Lorry's is nearly all ways with foreigners.

Answer 6

What a good point!
Have you ever seen the driving in some other places!
I have driven for years and have never had an accident, so far, but you wouldn't find me driving in abn Italian city for instance!
There seem to be no rules at all!

Answer 7

I completely get what you're asserting yet i think of that the logistics of sorting out all drivers who are available and distant places could be a nightmare and fantastically a lot impossible to source. There are already respectable waiting lists for utilising checks and that they could get a lot, a lot worse, leaving united kingdom citizens unhappy and complaining. i think of that the only answer could be some form of ecu or international minimum regular of utilising or sorting out. that's certainly regular that for the period of a few international places the regular of utilising sorting out is particularly undesirable, and utilising licenses might nicely be offered like a commodity with none practise haven taken place. that may no longer merely a situation with distant places drivers in the united kingdom, the situation additionally exists with united kingdom drivers in different international places. we are fortunate that our sorting out regular is fantastically intense in this united states, however the themes of left area and proper area applies to all and sundry and all and sundry while they first adventure that shift. As I say, i could want to work out a international regular that could desire to be finished till now you're allowed to force in different international places, and particularly while it consists of drivers of economic autos. we don't want to any extent further deaths on the line than we already have.

Answer 8

Anyone who wants to drive a car in the uk should be made to sit a uk test as our driving habbits are totaly different to those in other countrys the least they should be considered to take something like pass plus just so they learn the bassic's of driving in britian

Answer 9

I think some british drivers need to take their tests again still!!

Answer 10

Of course they should - blimey it's actually a bit worrying that people can just come over here and start driving without any knowledge of our roads. Christ, this country takes the biscuit - I suppose it would be against their human rights to make them actually do something.