Less than 1/3 of drivers familiar with modern safety systems

Why the hell would we all want lobby to retake our driver's tests every ten years? Knowing the rules of the road and knowing a particular vehicle's extra safety features are two different things. Knowing a car's safety features can be remedied by reading the vehicle's manual, not re - doing a driver's test.

The whole suggestion of retaking road tests and written tests every 10 years is something everyone I know is in support of. I believe it would make the roads a little bit safer if people had to actually remember how to drive after they got their license. People losing them because they don't signal or check blind spots or know how to merge would wake them up that their skills aren't nearly as good as they think. It would probably also help reduce congestion while folks with suspended licenses take public transit until they can pass their exams.

Driving is a priviliege, not a right, and it's time for people to realize that. Take their license away because they suck and maybe you will save even one life.

Maria- Try re-reading the article. All of it. To the end. Then post.

The article was OK until the guy who wrote it suggested taking road tests every ten years. I've been driving for 30 years and never had a violation. I am very careful, I watch my speed and keep a safe driving distance from the car in front of me, I don't make a foolish habit of trying to run red lights or stop signs, and I always use my signal lights and check my blind spot. I'm not saying that I am a perfect driver, but why should I and other good drivers have to pay because a handful of morons on the road can't drive worth crap?

Make the crappy drivers retake their tests not the good drivers. The only people who should take a retest are those who constantly get tickets, or gets themselves into too many accidents. I'm sick of this society's politically correct thinking of when a minority of people screw up the majority has to pay. Let the individual pay for their stupidity.

To the one poster who said that everyone he/she knows supports retesting is full of crap. What? This person asked everyone he/she knows about it? And every people this person knows supports it? That person is full of BS! He/she must be a do-gooder politician, or works for the Ministry of Transportation? Any person I've had conversations with (this does not mean everyone I know) on retest only support it on those who have too many violations.

Also this person says, "while folks with suspended licenses take public transit until they can pass their exam" really? is he/she saying that someone who lives in the country or up north can take public transit? What public transit? The last time I took a drive in the country I did not see one ounce of public transit, no buses or subways for miles and miles. People who think like this need to get a clue. There are people who live in communities where a drivers license and a car are a must as not all communities have public transit or taxi service.

John - maybe Maria was just voicing an opinion that the comment at the end is inconsistent with the other 90 % of the article. What waste of time!

Driving is a right - everyone that is physically and mentally capable has the right to apply for a license and then to drive. I've had my license for over 45 years and agree with the concept of retesting regardless of how good a driver you are or how good a driver you perceive yourself
to be. It won't eliminate all that bad habits or make us better drivers - that's up to the indivdual
but it might serve to reinforce some of the forgotten or never learned skills, techniques and rules of the road. The most telling line in this article is that most consider themselves to be 8/10 and everyone else 5/10. It wouldn't hurt for any of us to be reevaluated. Anyone watch Canada's Worst Drivers lately ? Good education and a resounding call for regular retesting.

Trevor is bang on! And I agree with Yolot's first point that people have a right to drive if they are good responsible drivers. Testing drivers every 10 years is just another big money grab/make work project, if you don't follow the rules of the road and don't feel confident and fully aware behind the wheel go take drivers training because your the problem not the responisible drivers. Let the drivers that have too many demerits pay for drivers education & higher insurance rates and leave the good drivers alone! Good drivers have earned the right to have lower insurance costs and no government interference.

Based on the standard of driving around Toronto or lack thereof this seems like a good topic of discussion. After 35 years of driving I still wouldn't look forward to the parallel parking bit. Not to wander off topic can anyone explain the logic behind producing vehicles that are capable of speeds of two to three times the maximum published speed limit currently in place anywhere in this country. Is that so you can take your new C7 corvette and its what...500 HP engine and go 300km/h across a grass field which isn't covered under the respective provincial traffic act ?

We live in a free country. Yesterday a transport truck driver nearly took my mirror off at a speed of 110km/hr. I almost got killed. Last year my friend was killed by a truck driver on the way to work. The truck driver was from another country and not used to the winter conditions here. My advice is to live free and live for today.You might not be around tomorrow.Training isn't going to solve anything. Everything is about percentages. Double the population double the accidents.

For the person asking why cars are built to do 3 times the speed limit. If you want to drive fast then drive fast. If you want to blow a stop sign then do it when no one else is around. If no one else is around you are not going to get caught. If you get caught, pay the consequences. This is the only freedom we have left. Hopefully that explains the logic. When rules impose on our freedoms to the point where we have no more choices to make, for example speed or spin your tires, we have no freedom left. You ever wonder why suicide bombers pick the career path they do?

I'm usually my best behind the wheel after 2 or 3 beer. I hope they bring back drinking and driving.

anti lock brakes and traction control are not officially mandated in Canada, they are optional on many vehicles, while most do have them it is still possible to buy a new car without them, i purchased a grand Prix new in 2008 and it has none of that expensive crap, sure it could have been ordered with it, but then there is more to go wrong, and those so called driving aids contribute to people in general being worse off behind the wheel, too many people drive like idiots because they are confident the car will keep them safe, but if your a competent driver there is no need for that junk.

perhaps these authors could get their facts straight before writing these pointless articles

Auto-safety systems like blind spot monitoring, lane-keep assisting, and radar based adaptive cruise control sound like crutches that encourage people not to become better drivers and are obviously meant to raise the cost of a vehicle. Radar based cruise control? Why would you ever need such a thing unless you were not watching the road. I wouldn't buy them in any car unless it was required by law to have them. The statement "most people are familiar with Anti-lock brakes" is idiotic because everyone knows what they are because they are ACTUALLY USEFUL. By the way if you are going to make claims like "obviously perception and overconfidence are playing a role in bad behaviour" you should actually back that up with FACTS instead of unsupported bullshit. i.e. How many accidents vs. how high the people scored themselves, etc. I do happen to agree with the ten year driving test idea though, there are a lot of drivers using blind spot monitoring that could do with losing their licenses.

Jay

I'm sure there is someone from MADD who would address your comment regarding drinking and driving even if it was in jest. I am sorry to hear about your friend. I have actually spent several years living in the middle east and know a bit about some cultural aspects/practices from that part of the world....how they tie in with road safety in Canada I have no idea. The article in question discusses safety devices in Canadian vehicles. My question is are these safety devices a last line of defence for responsible drivers who have the misfortune of being in a serious accident or are they a first line of defence for irresponsible people who have no consideration for the safety of others they share the roads with. Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle is not a personal freedom in this country.

A combination of these comments nails the situation right on the head. Driving IS a privilege, but is treated as a right in North America. That's because the population feels entitled to everything, and because there ARE lots of areas, usually rural, where there really are few options. There are always going to be more cars on the road. Combine this with the increasing numbers of sub-standard or 'poor' drivers out there, and it gets dangerous. These people don't care, or don't even WANT to be behind the wheel. So all of these driver safety system, though intended to be used to help these drivers or make life easier for the good ones, results in them becoming more lazy.

This is why I support mandatory re-testing/training.

I'm a car enthusiast, and consider myself to be a good driver. Can I drive faster than the speed limit safely? Absolutely. Can I drive safely after drinking? Sure. (My body metabolizes alcohol faster than normal.) Can I drive safely while talking on a cellphone? Yep, even while navigating through HEAVY traffic and using my signal lights with a manual transmission! Now, before you all get in an uproar (because everyone thinks, "If *I* can't do it, you can't either."), do I yell and scream and shout at all the laws against these things? Nope. I fully support them, and follow them as best I can. While these laws might restrict ME, they help to cap the ones that are REALLY dangerous. Those that think they can, but really CAN'T.

@Trevor: I know lots of drivers with the same stats as you. Lots of years driving, no violations or accidents. Good drivers, right? Nope. I'm not saying this is YOU, but luck has a lot to do with it as well. You might scream, "You're a bad driver! You MUST have gotten a speeding ticket!" Yep. Just a few weeks ago I was clocked doing 110kph in a 90kph zone. Of course, this was a on a deserted 5-km long straightaway in an isolated area (no houses and no traffic) that had been a 100kph zone until a new toll highway was constructed parallel to it, and they were doing a 'crackdown' on the area... but the point is that you can't judge drivers by a small snapshot of their lives. I've gotten speeding tickets from AVOIDING an accident that WOULD have happened had I stayed within the speed limit. Of course, the officer's viewpoint was "I didn't see it, so I don't believe it."

I tried out as a driving instructor for Young Drivers, and the instructor pointed out why he thought I wasn't good enough. Apparently, they want to teach everyone to do the exact same thing. "You can't do that," I said, "because everyone is different and has different abilities and skills. Conditions change all the time, and you have to teach people to adapt for the conditions." He just looked at me like a deer in headlights. So what are our new drivers being taught? How often do you hear the phrase, "That's what insurance is for," these days?

So, in the end, all of these safety systems are helping pave the way for the self-driven car. Although I'll miss the joy I have behind the wheel, when I consider everything I just said above, I can't wait until they get here. I'll feel MUCH safer.