There seems to be a belief that the only way to make our roads safer is to try to prevent drivers making mistakes. However, I believe this to be an unachievable goal. Everyone makes mistakes. Isn't it better to have drivers who can cope with the mistakes of others rather than those who are fine when everyone is following the rules of the road but the minute someone makes a mistake, they themselves react unpredictably, get aggressive and perhaps themselves become unsafe.
A recent news article mentioned how older drivers should be made to retake their tests because they are deemed more likely to make errors of judgement whilst driving. However, these drivers typically drive so fewer miles than the average driver that they represent a very small proportion of all accidents. So why should we pick on them? The same news report also asked an older driver how fast they typically drive on the motorway to which they replied 60, maybe 65mph. I often drive on motorways at 60mph on motorways. Does that make me a bad driver? Or wouldn't it be a bad driver who drives along a motorway at 70mph and is quite happy unless they suddenly find themselves behind someone going slower. Their poor observation ahead means they don't plan to change lanes to overtake until they are right behind the slower car and then have to suddenly jump out into a gap in the middle lane. Who is the poorer driver here?
