I agree with another poster who said that Motorways are straightforward driving. Aren't they regarded as the safest roads statistically? If you've driven a dual-carriageway (a requirement in a driving test?) you've basically driven on a motorway...
Emerging onto a 60mph, twisty country road with no sliproad scared me more as a learner driver!
Dual Carriageway certainly wasn't a requirement when I passed my test (1983).
Never went near one.data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7
I wouldn't necessarily agree they're the same thing either.
Whilst it may give you an idea of lane discipline,joining/leaving a dual carriageway usually just means using a normal junction.
So you're not learning about using slip roads properly.
Not that you'd think they're difficult, but plenty of people seem to struggle.
Joining the flow of traffic seems to bamboozle some people, for example.
How the hell is matching your speed to the other traffic difficult?
Why do they slow down, when they should speed up?!?!?
It wasn't a requirement when I learned either, but my dad made sure to take me on the A1, A19 (and all the other dual carriageways round here that are just like a motorway except without a hard shoulder and bends too tight to qualify), and instructed me on how to use a slip road, etc correctly.Once I'd passed my test, motorways were just like an easier version of that.
Precisely! Even in a relatively safe car for pedestrians (compared to plenty others), I am more worried about hitting a pedestrian in my Focus than I am another car. A car can be fixed or replaced. Someone's kid on the other hand, cannot.
Of course, not all 4x4 owners drive them about the urban jungle 24/7, and there is more reason to own one in the sticks with poorer roads, but even that is stretching it with modern cars.
When I sat my test in 2003, it was a requirement on the test to drive on a road that was subject to the national speed limit of 60mph, regardless of whether it was possible to attain that speed.
Personally, I think the R plate idea is excellent. It works brilliantly in N.Ireland and there is a hefty penalty for not displaying the plates if I remember rightly. It can make it easier for the police to deal with too, and because it is compulsory, other drivers tend to be more understanding.
Also, I sat the 'Pass Plus' course after passing. It required a few different weather conditions, night driving and motorway driving. Definitely worth the £100 it cost, as it reduced my insurance by £250, not to mention the confidence to use a motorway and be taught properly on the etiquette (which you learn for yourself anyway).