Paul Catmur (And another thing, January 14), suggests compulsory insurance to help reduce the road toll, and this may have some merit.
However, two more important issues in New Zealand affecting road safety are the low standards of driver training and testing, and the quality of our roads. We require new drivers to be able to drive a car while abiding by the road rules, but little else. There is no incentive to acquire advanced skills such as safe driving at open-road speeds (including lane discipline and passing manoeuvres), braking and evasion techniques, and skid control.
Shortly after my two teenage boys passed their driving tests, I enrolled them in an advanced driving course to learn and practise some of these skills – skills which have allowed them to reach middle age without incident. I believe there is a strong case for requiring such training for all
