Motorways and Learner Drivers? (UK)?

The answer, unsurprisingly, is politics.

If you try to build a new motorway, groups like Brake and Friends of the Earth will be up in arms about how this is disastrous, local residents won't want it, the environmental impact will be awful etc. The turning point seems to have been the construction of the M3 Twyford Cutting in 1993, the controversy of which turned the word "motorway" into a synonym for "evil".

If you say you're just building a new dual carriageway, it's much easier, even though the resulting road is likely to be more dangerous due to the physical and the legal differences. It should also be easier because there are fewer legal hoops to jump through. In a country where we're lucky to build anything anyway, no-one wants to put up the fight to make it a motorway.

It's strange but it happens all the time. When they wanted to join the M42 up to the M1 in the 1990s, they were told it couldn't be a motorway but a fast dual carriageway would be fine. It's the same with the New Forest Verderers being deeply opposed to the M27 touching the New Forest, but now they've got the (fast and dangerous) A31 instead.

This has been discussed by the Government on a number of occasions.

If a learner is not allowed on a motorway, how does that person get experience of motorway driving, do they take an extended course or do they just pick it up as the go along.after they pass their test.

Motorway driving is no different than driving on some duel carriageways, centre reservations, slip roads, 70mph speed limit.

I do understand that we can't let early learners onto the motorway system, but we could give them some experience once they have managed to get to a standard of driving that will not cause problems to other drivers.

There are plenty of people who think the minimum speed on a motorway is 70 mph, I've seen enough people losing their cool with learners who are driving at an acceptable speed let alone on a motorway, perhaps people who feel they don't have the confidence to drive alone under such conditions should consider taking some one with them for a few trips , again it depends where you live, plenty of people like myself hardly ever use a motorway or A roads..

You have a very good point. It is just yet another example of how the entire training syllabus is seriously flawed and inadequate. The whole syllabus needs re-writing, it should be more intense, it should incorporate more focus on roadcraft eg. planning ahead, accurate judgement of road and traffic conditions, anticipation, co-ordination etc. The general standard of driving in this country is diabolical. But our government are too busy poking their noses into other countries affairs and devising more stealth taxes to give a toss about driving standards.

1

motorway driving is totally different to driving on A roads, dual carriageways.You need a different mind set,,,,,,,distances between turn offs are much longer, speeds are much higher

It is assumed that due to a lack of skill they would be a danger to themselves and other drivers in a situation where the speed is normally consistently high.

May be because of speed limit difference....