North American Car Culture

[Hans Jaeger]

Interesting article...

http://www.wheels.ca/article/552516

[Skarbo]

Whew.....What a weekend....:emot-angel:......ANYWHO...
This guy has it pretty close IMO...:emot-angel:



People have got an attitude that, as soon as they get into their car, they're in their own little world,"
No ****




If you take that as a given, as Buckman and Falconer do, then driving at the speed limit can actually be one of the most dangerous things you can do, especially in the middle or outside lanes of a highway. You become a platelet, the one everyone else is jockeying to get around.

Buckman's when-in-Rome advice: "Sometimes you have to go above the speed limit."
See above response with added comment..within limits..


"There's a societal pressure to make getting a license easy," says Falconer. The predictable result: We are, collectively, not the finest of motorists. "People just have bad skills. It's too easy to get a license compared with Europe."
I always thought a quick IQ test at the counter would be a good idea....Anybody under 50 would not pass....That in itself would eliminate about 40% of the traffic on the road :p

[bzhyoyo]

just FYI, to get a driving license in France, you need to have a test about the regulations: you make more than 5 mistakes out of a 40 multiple choice test and you can't have the driving test. Once it's done, you need to take a 20 hours course of driving lessons before being allowed to have the driving test, during which you're made to drive on a highway, on urban roads, and you have to park your car along a pavement, between two cars.

[Hans Jaeger]

Ontario has a "graduated" licensing system; it takes almost two years to become fully licensed, but you do not necessarily have to take a driver training course:


Graduated licensing lets new drivers get driving experience and skills gradually. The two-step licensing process takes at least 20 months to complete.

To apply for a licence, you must be at least 16 years old and pass a vision test and a test of your knowledge of the rules of the road and traffic signs. After you pass these tests, you will get a Class G1 or M1 licence and a driver information package for new drivers. You must pass two road tests to become fully licensed.

New drivers earn full driving privileges in two stages and have five years to complete the program (Classes G1, G2, M2 or M2 with condition "L") and graduate to a full licence (Classes G, M or M with condition L).

Class G1

New drivers of passenger vehicles learn to drive with six important conditions with a G1 licence. A new driver must hold a G1 licence for a minimum of 12 months before attempting the G1 road test. This time can be reduced to eight months if you successfully complete a Ministry-approved Beginner Driver Education Course . Drivers earn more privileges after passing their G1 road test.

As a G1 driver, you are required to:

* maintain a zero blood alcohol level while driving;
* be accompanied by a fully licensed driver, who has at least four years driving experience, and a blood alcohol level of less than .05 per cent, in case he/she needs to take over the wheel;
* ensure the accompanying driver is the only other person in the front seat;
* ensure the number of passengers in the vehicle is limited to the number of working seat belts;
* refrain from driving on Ontario's "400-series" highways or on high speed expressways such as the Queen Elizabeth Way, Don Valley Parkway, Gardiner Expressway, E.C. Row Expressway and the Conestoga Parkway;
* refrain from driving between midnight and 5:00 a.m.

New drivers must hold a G2 licence for a minimum of 12 months before they can attempt the G2 road test. At this level, you have more privileges because of your driving experience. You may drive without an accompanying driver on all Ontario roads anytime. However, you are still required to:

* maintain a zero blood alcohol level while driving;
* ensure the number of passengers in the vehicle is limited to the number of working seat belts.

Our Graduated Licensing System has been a resounding success in reducing death and injury among novice drivers. Ontario research shows that new teenage drivers are almost three times more likely to be involved in a fatal or serious collision when they are carrying teenage passengers. In fact, research shows the more teenage passengers, the higher the risk.

To further protect youth on our roads, effective September 1, 2005: the number of young passengers that teen G2 drivers can carry will be limited from midnight to 5 a.m. as follows:

* Initially, G2 drivers 19 or under can carry only one passenger aged 19 or under.
* After the first six months, and until the G2 driver earns a full G licence or turns 20, they can carry up to three passengers aged 19 or under.

The passenger restrictions do not apply if the G2 driver is operating a motor vehicle after 5 a.m. and before midnight.

These restrictions will not apply if the G2 driver is accompanied by a full "G" licensed driver (with at least four years driving experience) in the front seat, or if the passengers are immediate family members.


you have to park your car along a pavement, between two cars.

Yes, this is required here too, and it's one of the most difficult things for a new driver to learn. Here it is called "parallel parking".

[CybrSlydr]

Don't have to do that here anymore. :D

Thank God! :D

[Willy]

Tennessee has a graduated drivers license system as well.