No wonder driving standards don't improve

paul_onabike

Sorry for another crappy video, but what chance have we got when driving instructors allow their pupils to drive like this.

https://youtu.be/j1wqmbk2PCA

And before you ask, I am pretty sure that was a pupil driving as there were 2 in the car.

fenix

https://www.gov.uk/complain-about-a-driving-instructor

cooldad

And much hand waving ensued...

meursault

Paul Onabike wrote:

Sorry for another crappy video, but what chance have we got when driving instructors allow their pupils to drive like this.

https://youtu.be/j1wqmbk2PCA

And before you ask, I am pretty sure that was a pupil driving as there were 2 in the car.

I feel your pain, but you need to try and let it go, don't let them spoil your ride.

meursault

oxoman wrote:

Currently using driving instructor to thrash the basics into my eldest, one of the first things he was rollocked for was going to close to a cyclist. I am topping up the lessons and have made him drive down my local club runs when busy just for extra experience. I think he's got the gist of it as he rides occasionally with me and has been involved in a few near misses. My understanding is that updated tests to come through next hear will have more focus on cyclists. Unfortunately not all cyclists are blameless either.

Sounds good.

I was taught defensive driving and I hope it has served me well. It's the culture that needs to change. According to Highway code, cars priority is behind Pedestrians, Horses and cyclists, they just need to realise it.

fat daddy

oh come on ... when the learner started making the overtake the van was parked and there was enough room to go past you with a sensible gap ..... look at the van then start to pull out to drive on .... the learner is already in the middle of the over take when the gap closes.

do you expect a learner driver to be able to react quick enough to that situation and drop back ... they have probably never experienced that before

then you start to escalate the situation .. effectively bullying a driver that's trying to learn how to drive

what you should have done is realise the danger that is now approaching you and drop back yourself

sloppyschleckonds

fat daddy wrote:

then you start to escalate the situation .. effectively bullying a driver that's trying to learn how to drive

Agreed, and if you continue to antagonise drivers like that your liable to get yourself in to a whole heap of trouble

mfin

OP, learners make mistakes, they are learning, and all at different stages of it.

Nothing really dangerous happened, the driving instructor would have problem ticked them off a bit and taken a moment to point out the pointlessly aggressive over-reacting moody cyclist in the rear view mirror that was giving us all a bad name.

meursault

fat daddy wrote:

oh come on ... when the learner started making the overtake the van was parked and there was enough room to go past you with a sensible gap ..... look at the van then start to pull out to drive on .... the learner is already in the middle of the over take when the gap closes.

do you expect a learner driver to be able to react quick enough to that situation and drop back ... they have probably never experienced that before

then you start to escalate the situation .. effectively bullying a driver that's trying to learn how to drive

what you should have done is realise the danger that is now approaching you and drop back yourself

It's not clear the van is parked or not. Either way the gap is too small for a car and a bike to get through. Either the learner or the instructor should have waited and not attempted the overtake in a hazardous position.

Palladium

What an absolute load of nonsense.

fat daddy wrote:

oh come on ... when the learner started making the overtake the van was parked and there was enough room to go past you with a sensible gap ..... look at the van then start to pull out to drive on .... the learner is already in the middle of the over take when the gap closes.

Should the van have pulled out? No. Should the learner driver have overtaken? No. Why?

• It was unsafe to do so, I remember my driving instructor telling me to watch out specifically for delivery vans as they have a tendancy to stop/start quite a lot.
• Having failed a practical test for a very similar situation, don't overtake if you are not 100% sure it is safe to do so! It doesn't matter how situations later unfold, if the car didn't give the cyclist 1.5m of room then it's dangerous.

do you expect a learner driver to be able to react quick enough to that situation and drop back ... they have probably never experienced that before

No absolutely not, it's not the learner's fault is 100% the driving instructors fault. He told him/her/it to overtake, if he felt it was unsafe then he had his own brake pedal as well.

then you start to escalate the situation .. effectively bullying a driver that's trying to learn how to drive

Probably the only thing I would agree with you on

what you should have done is realise the danger that is now approaching you and drop back yourself

Nah slipstream the learner to get a better avg speed 8)

cycleclinic

The instructor should have told the learner not to overtake. I did the IAM course once I passed and the one thing they drilled into me is to think ahead about all possible hazzards, seen and unseen. given the parked car and the cyclist in front it was unwise to attempt an over take until the cyclist had cleared the parked cars full stop.

The OP is right about the incident, his response to take his hands of the bars is naughty. consider yourself spanked.

I dont think the OP had much chance to slow down and hold back. This sort of thing happens to me all the time. I have on a couple of occasions nearly ended up in the back of the offending vehicle.

Everyone should do the IAM or rospra course. The driving test should also not be a one time affair.

The driving test may actually need to be longer than an hour maybe 3 tests in total over three seperate days. The one thing I do know is many people dont really learn how to drive after they pass because the test does not really access your ability to drive but to instead it see if you can use the controls of the car properly.

Pilots have to demonstrate there skills regualrly why not drivers? We both need a licence and both vehicles are deadly if misused. That would be one way to reduce traffic volumes. It is all moot anyway in ten years driverless cars will mean driving instructors will be redundant and this silly nonsense will stop.

meursault

thecycleclinic wrote:

The instructor should have told the learner not to overtake. I did the IAM course once I passed and the one thing they drilled into me is to think ahead about all possible hazzards, seen and unseen. given the parked car and the cyclist in front it was unwise to attempt an over take until the cyclist had cleared the parked cars full stop.

The OP is right about the incident, his response to take his hands of the bars is naughty. consider yourself spanked.

I dont think the OP had much chance to slow down and hold back. This sort of thing happens to me all the time. I have on a couple of occasions nearly ended up in the back of the offending vehicle.

Everyone should do the IAM or rospra course. The driving test should also not be a one time affair.

The driving test may actually need to be longer than an hour maybe 3 tests in total over three seperate days. The one thing I do know is many people dont really learn how to drive after they pass because the test does not really access your ability to drive but to instead it see if you can use the controls of the car properly.

Pilots have to demonstrate there skills regualrly why not drivers? We both need a licence and both vehicles are deadly if misused. That would be one way to reduce traffic volumes. It is all moot anyway in ten years driverless cars will mean driving instructors will be redundant and this silly nonsense will stop.

Spot on, the voice of reason, chapeau.

cooldad

I have a much simpler method. Make new drivers spend two years riding a motorcycle before getting a car licence. If they're still alive they will probably be decent drivers.

MrSweary

thecycleclinic wrote:

It is all moot anyway in ten years driverless cars will mean driving instructors will be redundant and this silly nonsense will stop.

Yes delighted my little-un will never have to learn to drive (probably). She isn't happy about it though. Happier when I explained that the cars will talk.

rpherts

I was taught defensive driving and I hope it has served me well. It's the culture that needs to change. According to Highway code, cars priority is behind Pedestrians, Horses and cyclists, they just need to realise it.

That's a natural choke point ahead, car and van stationary and near each other. You should immediately think "hazard" and think twice, three times about doing anything. My guess is the learner driver (and the instructor) didn't even look that far ahead and just saw the cyclist.

sprinter2012

That white van pulled out and caused the issue well after the learner would have started his/her overtake.

Although I agree that the instructor shouldn't have allowed/suggested an overtake in that location in the first place given then fact there were parked vehicles on both sides of the road.