Learning to Drive

[monster]

UK vs US and stuff.....

In the UK, we learn(ed) to drive at 17. we are/were taught at home. Mostly not by parents -this is the time to hire a private instructor -about the only thing UK parents will uniformly agree is worth private tuition fees.

In the old days -when I took my test- there were a few theory questions after the practical, I believe that now they may have a theory test first (not sure -I'm so old I've been driving for 20 years). But the practical test was hard and many people take two ot three tries to pass and from what I've heard there's been no let up. I have taken a US (Michigan) driving test -it's the law. It was scarily easy. I had to reverse park in a space the size of an aircraft hangar, and turn on the radio while driving. the tester told me that I was the third brit she had tested that week (we came en masse) and she loved it, we were so easy to pass. Well hell i should think so, we're old enough to have children we've been driving forever on a tiny crowded island in Europe..

But I digress...

BrianR's recent comment in the truck strike/slow down thread about the way car drivers treat trucks got me thinking -you have all this driver's ed in school -do they not teach this or is it simply that kids don't pay attention because it's school? I remember very clearly in the 10 hours tuition I had, being taught how to pass trucks (lorries), how to join the freeway (motorway) safely from the ramp (sliproad) and hard shoulder (at speed, not from fucking standing, folks...) ...also how if you get in the wrong lane at an intersection, you don't stop traffic waiting for some sucker to let you in but you carry on, turn round and come back ...this maybe more of a cultural difference, though....

You have all this driver's Ed in school which seems like such an awesome idea, but what do they actually teach in it? Are the lessons good and you all know the theory, you just choose to express your freedom by not applying it? or is it just a way to keep the kids quiet while they get the necessary expeeriece hours to get they keys?