learner drivers allowed on motorway in 2018

gov.uk link

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/learner-drivers-will-be-allowed-on-motorways-from-2018

"The change will only apply to learner drivers of cars - learner motorcyclists won’t be allowed to have motorway lessons."

i thought wtf when i saw this on bbc news this morning and then saw only for cars.

Me on motorway after just my cbt would have been suicide in all honesty lol

I think it's a good idea, the motorway is quite daunting when you are a new road user. I like that it's only approved instructors that can take them on and it has to be a dual control car too.

The Germans manage to include motorway training as part of gaining a bike license.. if they can do it?

at any school over there you are expected to do at a minimum.

5 hours riding on normal roads.

4 hours on the autobahn

3 hours riding on normal roads after sunset.

Oh... and there is also an obligatory (proper) eye test.

Lets hope that the instructors are trained and tested before they are let loose on the public and allowed to train on the Motorway.

Many instructors have no idea of how to drive on a Motorway, and it defeats the object if they are teaching stuff that is wrong/dangerous/incorrect.

I find the thought actually quite worrying. The idea is good in principle and long overdue, but lets hope the application is right.

Not read the link but yep im wondering is it only under the supervision of a approved dsa instructor or a friend of a friend whose mate has a licence gor 3 yrs and a day but never driven since passing ..what with smart motorways and all lane running ...

I cringe getting out my cab on a hard shoulder as it is with "qualified" drivers only on the road as that's bad enough with substandard road use ...

Time will tell and will be an interesting case to watch .

There are enough shit drivers on the motorway, one more isn't going to make any difference. At least the learners won't be stuffing a sandwich while looking for a CD.

Not read the link but yep im wondering is it only under the supervision of a approved dsa instructor

Yes. And that is just as worrying as being supervised by the friend of a friend.

I have examined many driving instructors, and 95% do not have a clue and their attitude was that they did not need to know how to drive on a Motorway because that is not what they teach regardless of the fact that they may use the Motorway network for their own personal journies.

It is a frightening thought.

There are enough shit drivers on the motorway, one more isn't going to make any difference. At least the learners won't be stuffing a sandwich while looking for a CD.

The worst are the ones that sit in the inside lane doing under 56 MPH, that's really irritating when driving a truck, 40 MPH on the Motorway? WHY?????!.

Or the ones who attempt to merge onto the motorway doing 40mph.

I make a habit of getting as far away as possible from people like that as clearly they have zero speed awareness!

The worst are the ones that sit in the inside lane doing under 56 MPH, that's really irritating when driving a truck, 40 MPH on the Motorway? WHY?????!.

That is a subtle way of having a pop at whatever traffic Police we have left on our roads.

55 - 60 is Police Motorway patrol speed (when they go onto thr Motorway)

The worst are the ones that sit in the inside lane doing under 56 MPH, that's really irritating when driving a truck, 40 MPH on the Motorway? WHY?????!.

 

That is a subtle way of having a pop at whatever traffic Police we have left on our roads.

55 - 60 is Police Motorway patrol speed (when they go onto thr Motorway)

Honestly it isn't, never experienced any problem with Trafpol, 55-60 isn't a problem, its people who pull onto a clear motorway at 40-45 then continue to stick at the same speed which are annoying in a truck, it's not such an issue in a car or on a bike, but to slow a loaded truck down from 56 to under 40 to give them a safe distance, then the worst bit is either getting into lane 2 to overtake them or being stuck at the same speed as them as lane 2 is too busy, it takes a lot of distance and effort to get a truck wound back up to its limiter.

What's the big deal letting learners on the motorways?

10 mins up the road from me is a 3 lane A-road - learners use that without exploding in a hail of fire and brimstone.

The Germans manage to include motorway training as part of gaining a bike license.. if they can do it?

at any school over there you are expected to do at a minimum.

5 hours riding on normal roads.

4 hours on the autobahn

3 hours riding on normal roads after sunset.

Oh... and there is also an obligatory (proper) eye test.

There is the issue of the majority of Scotland is no where near a motorway.

The nearest motorway to me is about 130miles away

Lovely a & B roads around Cornwall though!

The Germans manage to include motorway training as part of gaining a bike license.. if they can do it?

at any school over there you are expected to do at a minimum.

5 hours riding on normal roads.

4 hours on the autobahn

3 hours riding on normal roads after sunset.

Oh... and there is also an obligatory (proper) eye test.

 

There is the issue of the majority of Scotland is no where near a motorway.

thats alright.. if they dont want training to ride or drive on a motorway... then they wont be insured to do so.

If.. however they do want training on a motorway, then they're going to have to make a little bit of an effort.

The more people who exclude themselves from motorways - the better.

Large parts of England and most of Wales is also going to have issues

Large parts of England and most of Wales is also going to have issues

 

Luckily.. for those regions. I dont make policy.

and theres no sign of this becoming mandatory.. yet.

Can you imagine the mass freak out if they did make this an official part of training.. without a 'no use' get out clause. the world would probably come to an end. with heads exploding hither and yon.

Motorway driving is quite controlled. Common sense would dictate that you aren't taking a learner out in peak traffic and you would only be taking a learner out after the learner has demonstrated safe control when driving at higher speeds.

Of course this would never be mandatory, but I would really urge that learners pick up motorway driving. It's a basic skill.

Me on motorway after just my cbt would have been suicide in all honesty lol

Did you not go on any major dual carriageways?

The A2 is a four-lane road between Greenhithe and the M2 but I have been up and down that section countless time on just a CBT.

Plenty of motorway-like A-roads. Apart from one random remaining roundabout the A3 is uninterrupted from Kingston until about seven miles north of Portsmouth, where it becomes the A3(M) and, I guess, far more dangerous.

Heading east out of Portsmouth the A27 goes to four lanes, and you need to get into the third one to stay on the road rather than end up on the A3(M) slip road. (Although there is a slip road coming off that slip road for a roundabout, so you could stay left and come off and rejoin if you are unable to change lanes.)

It makes me wonder if the fetishization of motorway partially intimidates new drivers, rather than just seeing them just as major A-roads with different colour signs.

I want a new test to include a minimum of three hours track time at Santa Pod (to end sitting at junctions for nine hours), how to order effectively and quickly from a drive-thru, and being made to stand next to a car listening to their superloud hands-free phone conversation for an entire weekend.

That'd improve the roads a bit.

Me on motorway after just my cbt would have been suicide in all honesty lol

 

Did you not go on any major dual carriageways?

The A2 is a four-lane road between Greenhithe and the M2 but I have been up and down that section countless time on just a CBT.

Plenty of motorway-like A-roads. Apart from one random remaining roundabout the A3 is uninterrupted from Kingston until about seven miles north of Portsmouth, where it becomes the A3(M) and, I guess, far more dangerous.

Heading east out of Portsmouth the A27 goes to four lanes, and you need to get into the third one to stay on the road rather than end up on the A3(M) slip road. (Although there is a slip road coming off that slip road for a roundabout, so you could stay left and come off and rejoin if you are unable to change lanes.)

It makes me wonder if the fetishization of motorway partially intimidates new drivers, rather than just seeing them just as major A-roads with different colour signs.

That type of road most learners can and do access. Roads such as the A9 has slip road type access to get used to that part of the process. There are dual carriageway sections where the limit is 70mph. The step from that kind of road to a motorway is small since motorway slip roads tend to be longer and the lanes are often wider than 70 mph A roads.

Me on motorway after just my cbt would have been suicide in all honesty lol

 

Did you not go on any major dual carriageways?

The A2 is a four-lane road between Greenhithe and the M2 but I have been up and down that section countless time on just a CBT.

Plenty of motorway-like A-roads. Apart from one random remaining roundabout the A3 is uninterrupted from Kingston until about seven miles north of Portsmouth, where it becomes the A3(M) and, I guess, far more dangerous.

Heading east out of Portsmouth the A27 goes to four lanes, and you need to get into the third one to stay on the road rather than end up on the A3(M) slip road. (Although there is a slip road coming off that slip road for a roundabout, so you could stay left and come off and rejoin if you are unable to change lanes.)

It makes me wonder if the fetishization of motorway partially intimidates new drivers, rather than just seeing them just as major A-roads with different colour signs.

Nope didnt go on a duel carriageway during cbt, heck we didnt even get above 30mph so at that stage i was totally unprepared to go onto a 70mph road crash waiting to happen lol

A roads dont bother me now have done the a-19 lots of times and i use a duel carriageway everyday for work.

I think learner bikers should be ok on motorways IF your training on a bike that's powerful enough to at least hit the speed limit and give you a bit more in case you need to get out of a bad situation, so training for your DAS or bigger A licenses, with an instructor fair play

125s on a motorway just reminds me of people on 30mph mopeds doing duel carriageways, yeah you can do it but really??

(unless its the m1 at peak times then you would be stuck in traffic pushing your bike )

When I passed my bike test, I ripped off my L-plates and made a point of riding home on the motorway, because I could. I remember thinking how uneventful it was.

That was back in the day when I did my full test on my own 125cc bike which at the flick of a switch went from 12 to 34bhp..