RED CEO Ian McIntosh speaks to Channel 5 and Sky News
Adding to the discussion around new drivers restrictions, RED Driving School CEO Ian McIntosh spoke to Channel 5 and Sky News this week, sharing his insights.
On the notion of raising the driving learning age to 18, Ian thinks this would be a disadvantage to many youngsters, also harming their desire to drive. New drivers will always encounter more accidents based on inexperience, not age. He goes on to further express the fact that some 17-year-olds might already be in the job market, requiring a car to drive to work.
Rather than adding restrictions, Ian believes the answer is in providing better education. This will be done through making lessons more thorough, including more cognitive training beyond the physical training of working a car.
Check out the discussion on Channel 5 News and RED Driving School below:
Other topics included a potential new mandate for 100 hours of day-time supervised driving with 20 hours night-time, in comparison to the current average of about 47 hours with a professional instructor and 20 hours of practice with a parent.
Ian saw this as another restriction that might even put new drivers off from getting a licence altogether from the increase in costs. Again, he stressed that the emphasis should be on education. A well-structured professional training program would bring on more progress than a model of restrictions.
“The sooner you start learning and get behind the wheel the better,” said Ian. He mentioned providing youth under the age of 17 with off-road driving education to help develop safe driving skills and knowledge before going behind the wheel.
Watch the interview with Sky News and RED Driving School below:
Since over half of people with provisional licenses are over 25, it appears that people are already waiting until a later age to get on the road. With roughly 740,000 new 17-year-olds wanting to get on the road every year, there shouldn’t be a restriction on them, but rather a change in the methods of driving education. Driving is, and will always be, a necessary skill that shouldn’t be a burden for people, whatever their age.
