L-earner drivers

Your 17th birthday is one of those really important birthday's you have during your lifetime. It is the year the UK Government gives you the right to learn how to drive, own a car with your own insurance and go driving freely with a Full UK License (or an automatic one).

Now, there are good and bad instructors around the country who make it their job to train you as a good, safe and responsible defensive driver and on today's roads, you can see why it is more of a responsibility than a career as a driver for any of us.

The ruling around licenses is quite silly I think. You can apply for a provisional license in the UK and you can keep it until the day you hit 80, or something around that age. It also allows you to take and retake as many Theory and Practical tests as you wish. If you fail one, you just keep resitting until you pass.

However, I view this as a dangerous allowance. Provisional licenses should only be valid for a period of 2 years maximum and they should limit the number of retakes you can have on either test.

Expanding on this idea, I think that after you go over a limit for retakes, or you take 2 years or more learning to drive, you are deemed a dangerous road user and should be banned from driving for 5 years. In that 5 years, you are expected to revise for a theory test, sit the test and if you pass, you have the ban lifted and you can continue driving before your 5 year ban is up.

None of this "go on, you'll be fine" nonsense where you can go and not worry about passing or failing because you have an infinite amount of chances. Money is however, a worry.

I can think of a great deal of items that this wasted money could be spent on. Mobile phones, Televisions, Clothing, Music from iTunes (as I am all for legal downloads of course), Digital Cameras and also some fitness equipment to keep yourself healthy.

If you are really bad at driving and struggle to pass the first hurdle, the Theory Test, then I think you should give up and spend your money elsewhere, rather than throwing your money down the drain, or giving it to shape-changing Jews.

For those who have passed their driving tests and are fully qualified drivers, be it in the UK or elsewhere then I wish you every success in your driving career and I hope you don't crash and burn.