I think it takes longer to learn these days. I had 8 lessons and then straight into the test.
5 left hand turns, 1 right hand turn, 3 miles of dual carriage way and a turn in the road where it was wide enough to do a U turn, so I did! The only curved ball was the emergency stop where he took me to a road behind the bus depot - where they brake tested them, so it was covered in oil and brake rubber. Fortunately I had practised there so managed a nice controlled stop.
It is important to keep skills up to date. I am a BORDA / IOPD qualified off road driving instructor, driving assessor and attend regular training and check tests. You are right though, there are some terrible drivers out there. I gave up driving trucks a few years ago, but could have filled YouTube with clips of all the numpties who have no understanding of the dynamics of a 22T truck!
That's what modern advanced drivers are taught - be in the right gear to give flexiblity to both lift off the gas to slow down, or when you put your foot down, the car accelerates quickly.
When I talk to youngsters about engine braking, they believe it to mean - drive at 60mph in 4th gear, drop it to 2nd and dump the clutch. This isn't good news for anyone. Or the car data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
It was very important when driving a 12 ton fire appliance on a blue light run. Takes a long time to get one of those back up to speed.
And of course many cars nowadays go into coasting mode when you have no demand on the engine. Actually reducing the engine braking. And when applying physical brakes harvesting the energy.
I have this facility on my Golf when I select the Economy mode. Never used it.
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
There was also the issue of the brakes overheating and fading. If you are driving in a mountainous areas with steep hills, it could be a problem. I think drums are more susceptible to overheating than disks, but not sure of that.
Older cars were more prone to this and that is why we were taught to control deceleration using the engine.
Oh it is still very much so an issue. I stay well clear from people who are riding their brakes downhill.
Why? It's not like they will be able to stop suddenly data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
You can imagine how chuffed (old? me?) I was to be booked for driving at 80 mph in my MkII Consul in 1973 - apart from the £10 fine and endorsement, that is.
Idiot? Yes, of course I was data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7.