Letter - ‘Fit and proper’ to drive
Courier Mail, Page: 25. Tuesday, 3 March, 2009.
With all the measures being taken to curb the road toll hardly making an impact, surely it’s time to consider alternatives to the traditional driver training model.
Maybe it is time to stop putting the cart before the horse.
Irresponsible, arrogant, rude and aggressive people will be irresponsible, arrogant, rude and aggressive drivers. We need to stop putting these sorts of people in control of the potentially lethal weapons that cars can be.
New applicants for firearms licences must be determined to be “a fit and proper person”. Surely the same standard should be applied to people wanting to drive. If people need character references to apply for jobs, home loans and such; some sort of vetting or personality profiling needs to carried out on those wishing to be in control of the lives of themselves and those around them.
Why are character references and records from such people as school principals and family doctors not required? It is not until a fatality winds up in the coroner’s court that character flaws are revealed. Obviously, a lot of work and public debate would need to go into selling up such a program but I believe that the ball needs to start rolling, or more and more people will be killed and maimed on our roads.
Lawrence Green, Kallanqur.
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