Nospinzone

The other day there was a 35 car pile up near me in New Hampshire. Now I'm watching the news and there were 100 car pile ups in Battle Creek, Michigan and another 50 car pile up in Ann Arbor.

The Battle Creek one was almost comical because a tractor trailer had fireworks on board and they all started exploding into the sky.

Clearly there are so many people who should not be allowed to operate a motor vehicle. Unfortunately nothing will ever happen because we can't have the big 3 selling under one million vehicles each year.

pbm317

Most of those accidents were extreme winter weather related no? Where even the most experienced of drivers can get caught off guard of in the midst of a bad chain reaction. I don't think that alone is the basis to claim that we need to limit the number of people who can or can't be allowed to drive. And I don't find it all that "comical" knowing that there were deaths and severe injuries, at least in the Michigan crash.

Unfortunately due to poor or lack of infrastructure in most parts of this country, people need to drive to be able to get to work. This is for the importance of the economy as a whole and the livelihood of those people, not just for the "big 3" to continue to produce whatever number of vehicles.

mmarshall

Among with the traditional issues of low traction surfaces, poor visibility, driver inattention, and excessive speed for the road conditions comes a relatively recent one that has arisen with the advent and spread of electronic traction-aids and safety-systems in vehicles. Many drivers seem to think that their ABS, traction/stability systems, automatic cruise-control braking, lane-change warnings, etc.......will automatically protect them from just about any driving hazard they come across and give them more traction than the tires are capable of when in fact, often, they do not. Drivers still have to pay attention, keep a reasonable speed, and follow at a safe distance. If texting/cell phone use while driving is hazardous in clear dry weather, it is even more so in fog, rain, snow, or ice. That car-based AWD system that gets you going from rest so efficiently on a slick surface and helps prevent you from getting stuck (Subaru, in particular, does one of the best ones) is nice, but it cannot overcome the laws of physics. It can't give the tires any more traction than they already have, shorten your stopping distance, or necessarily keep you from spinning out if you yank the wheel too hard....that's one reason why so many otherwise competent SUVs wind up in snowbanks or in the ditch. The ABS, if operating properly, will keep the tires rolling and prevent them from locking up...but, ABS or not, the rubber in the tires will only have so much traction, and (usually) ABS cannot actually shorten that stopping distance. The stability system will help prevent traction-loss incidents from understeer or oversteer, but, again, only to the limit of the tires themselves to do so. And, of course, none of these traction aids will increase driver-visibility in foggy or bad-weather conditions...though some of the infrared or radar vehicle-following systems on luxury and upmarket cars can sometimes see danger ahead before the driver does. But, in short, most of these systems are simply back-up aids, and are not intended as a substitute for inattention or lack of common sense.

My point? I don't see where restricting driver's licenses alone will make that much difference. Drivers have to know their vehicles, know what these electronic aids can and cannot do, use common sense, keep their speeds in check, and, above all, pay attention. That's not experience (and knowledge) that most drivers are going to get simply from being issued a piece of paper with a State signature on it. The alternative? Clearly, as the OP points out, we see the alternative in the daily news.

corradoMR2

^^^ +1. Drivers inadvertently may be overly confident in their vehicle...

SoCalSC4

Well, now they are giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants, so we'll see how that works out.

I am appalled at what the world is becoming - one of the reasons I have ZERO desire to reproduce.

JessePS

There should be a mandatory re-examination every 3-5 years, to make sure you know the rules of the road. If you fail, you lose your license and need to redo the test, within a month but you can go home with a learners permit (so you can practice) and when you do get your license back, the fees double because your lack of knowledge of the rules of the road/safety of others. I know that is harsh, but it may stop people from being idiots (probably not).

spwolf

what does that have to do with driving skills?

mmarshall

I share your view on that one.

mmarshall

That way, they can drive back down to the border and pick up MORE illegal immigrants.

SoCalSC4

Well, that's what I'm saying... we don't really know what the ramifications of that are.

Will they retain proper insurance, maintain their cars adequately, etc.? There might just be more of them on the road, and if they get in an accident (licensed or not) I've seen it happen many times where they just leave the country to avoid any consequences.

For the record, I am totally AGAINST granting privileges to people here ILLEGALLY. My family came here many years ago (some helped found the country, others through Ellis Island) and went through all the proper steps to immigrate to America.

How long can we continue to ignore our borders and our massive immigration problems? But, that is an entirely different discussion.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

...

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

coming soon: driverless cars

/thread

mmarshall

Driverless cars are here now, bit.

LexBob2

I agree. That's why they call them accidents. Illegal immigrants with licenses, inexperienced, incompetent drivers etc. would not necessarily prevent these things.

spwolf

it seems you just dont like immigrants... I dont see why wouldnt licensed immigrants maintain their cars as well as everyone else. Many americans dont maintain their cars and technically in many states there are really no inspections.

So there is no reason to single out immigrants, legal or illegal. If you want better drivers on the roads, then driver tests need to be harder. If you want better and properly maintained cars on the road, then yearly inspections must check the cars, in many states they check only emissions. Whatever you are saying applies to americans as well - many dont take care of their vehicles and many lack proper driving skills.

So if you want illegal immigrant not to to have right to license, vote for someone else... in any case, not a topic for car chat, it is a political issue.