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RE: What I don't get is...
By The0ne on 7/13/2010 6:52:09 PM , Rating: 3
You guys are asking too much of these drivers. If they can't tell the difference between the accelerator and brake then they are far gone in their head. If they can't figure out how to clear the carpet jamming their accelerator, you know like pulling it back with you heel, then they are far gone.

Asking anymore of these type of drivers is near impossible. Seriously, you may cause more problems than trying to resolve. You ask them to put the car in neutral and soon enough you'll have all them in reverse or L1/L2. Don't ask me how, but they will get it there. Just leave these type of people alone and stay FAR away!

RE: What I don't get is...
By wolrah on 7/13/2010 8:46:01 PM , Rating: 2

The problem is these are the kind of idiots we have to share the road with. Unfortunately this country sees driving as a right rather than a privilege (really, after I took the driving test when I was 16 my first thought was "anyone who failed this should never be allowed to operate a motorized item of any kind again forever" since it was so retardedly easy.

Computers can't yet drive competently on regular roads (no offense meant to the DARPA GC teams and such but I mean driving on I-71 in rush hour, not closed courses with semi-controlled obstacles), but they could sure pass an Ohio driving test. From what I've heard, the rest of the US is not much different.

Our driver's licensing is like an A+ certification or the "Technician" class amateur radio license; if you have a pulse and a remote interest in the topic you can pass without a question.

In my perfect world, we'd still have a basic license class along these lines since our geographical distribution of people and lack of a usable mass transit system in most areas pretty much requires that most adults be able to drive, but that basic class would not be allowed to drive anything larger than a compact sedan to minimize the damage they can cause.

Next step up would allow all cars and unibody trucks/SUVs below 5000 or so lbs as well as trailers up to the length and weight of the vehicle. This would be what most people would likely have and would require that one pass a proper training course along the lines of the "Teen Driving School" program BMW offers which covers panic stops, emergency maneuvers, etc. and lets the driver experience and get used to how their vehicle will react when pushed to its limit.

The third level would open up the vehicle options to almost everything on the road. Anything with six or less wheels and weighing under 12,000 lbs would be fair game, as well as any trailers compatible with a Class IV ball hitch. Hydraulic brakes only though.

I'm not sure whether the last class before CDL should be a class in itself or an endorsement on the third, but this would be where the largest vehicles on the road not requiring a CDL would be stuck. RVs with air brakes or tag axles, gooseneck/5th wheel trailers, etc.

Lest you think I'm just wanting to regulate others, I myself occasionally drive a 38 foot RV weighing in at over 28,000 lbs loaded with a Caterpillar diesel and an air brake system. The thing is huge, air brakes respond much differently than hydraulics, and it'll plow through anything if you're not careful, yet I'm allowed to drive it on the same license I got from a 10 minute written test and 15 minutes of practical examination in a Buick Regal when I was 16.

In my eyes that is wrong and needs to be solved. There are actually a number of RV-specific exemptions to CDL requirements, since any non-RV vehicle weighing this much or equipped with air brakes would have required a CDL to legally operate. You can thank the AARP for that from my understanding, since a lot of the RVers with the money for these big rigs are seniors.

