Bluehighways

Australia is implementing a new, what they're calling a "U" Drivers License this December first.
"From December this year, anybody in South Australia wanting to operate what is categorized as an Ultra High Powered Vehicle (UHPV) will have to take and pass an additional test to earn a new U-License."
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a6...ecial-license/

M3Inline6

That is interesting. I wonder how this is going to go over with the masses.

Wilder

How is that a bad thing?

In Finland, it takes two years to get your driver's license and part of the test includes obstacle avoidance in the snow or ice.

In Vancouver, where I used to live, it seems like not a week went by without some moron making news after destroying a performance car until they punished everyone with absurd laws and fines.

Requiring to prove you can handle a high HP car before you can operate it seems like a perfectly reasonable idea.

Schn3ll

I see this as a good thing. Maybe the old geezers who don’t drive their cars will stop hoarding GT cars and free up allocations to those who will actually use them…

rwbern

Schwin - I appreciate the thought, but please do not classify all “old geezers” in that driveway trophy group. Many of us get it & drive the hell out of their cars.

Schn3ll

No doubt, and I drive with them in the mountains. Those geezers aren’t the ones in question, it’s the “I only bring my car to Cars and Coffee crew” that I am talking about.

bkrantz

How many US drivers would be riding the bus if we had actual rigorous standards and testing. My guess is 25%. Of course car makers, dealers, insurance agents, and every business that makes more money from more drivers might resist.

TikiLou

25%?! You mis-typed 90%

CurryPuff

After living in Australia and Europe, my experience in getting a driver's license in California was akin to opening a cereal box and getting a free license.
My driving test took all of 15 minutes, no Freeway driving at all. The 'hardest' part of the test was 'pull over to the kerb and reverse two car lengths'; didn't even have to do a parking manouver 🤦‍♂️.

You also notice simple things as 'left lane is for overtaking' where places like Germany, you overtake and move over. Here, the that is typically the slow lane and lane 3 or 4 is the fast lane.

bkrantz

I guess I was being generous. 25% might cover the truly incompetent. The next 25% would be just "poor".