MAYBE THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SHOULD NOT BE ON OUR ROADS
Teresa Clarke passed on her 13th attempt
By Jimmy Young
Britain is in the fortunate position of having some of the safest roads in Europe, but could they be made even safer?
Are there some people who should not be given a driving licence despite passing the driving test?
The reason I ask the question was highlighted last week by 62-year-old grandmother Teresa Clarke, although I have no doubt that there many others like her.
Mrs Clarke had her first driving lesson in 1981.
Since then she has spent £15,000 in fees and had 450 hours of tuition. Despite all her efforts, she has failed 12 driving tests and cancelled a further 35 because she thought she would fail.
She has had 20 different driving instructors but admits she was such a disaster that many refused to carry on teaching her after just a few lessons.
Her last unsuccessful driving instructor told her to give up driving because she would never pass the test.
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Are there some people who simply do not have an aptitude for driving and will never become skillful drivers despite training so intensively that they do eventually pass the driving test?
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Finally, thanks to her stepson, who runs a driving school, she has passed on her 13th attempt.
Noting that Mrs Clarke lives in Norfolk, one unkind commentator advised motorists to avoid the area.
I simply wish her many years of safe, happy driving. However, her difficulties in passing the driving test raises interesting questions.
Are there some people who simply do not have an aptitude for driving and will never become skillful drivers despite training so intensively that they do eventually pass the driving test?
And should they be allowed to hold a driving licence?
I speak from personal experience. My mother, who held a licence from the time before we were required to pass a driving test, once managed to crash into a bridge while driving on a straight stretch of road in dry conditions and with perfect visibility.
We persuaded her that she should give up driving on the grounds that bridges can be repaired fairly easily but it’s much more difficult to repair human beings.
I know Gordon Brown’s timing is not his greatest asset.
After all, he is the man who, despite his claim to be an economic genius, sold half of our gold reserves when the price
of gold was at an all-time low.
However, I think his advisers should have questioned his timing when he warned us not to be naughty people who waste food.
Last Sunday, the Prime Minister lectured us on the subject. He claimed that every year a British family throws away food worth £420, most of which could have been eaten.
The next day, the Prime Minister joined G8 leaders and their wives for a five-course slap-up lunch followed by a sumptuous, eight-course evening banquet.
Obviously, I don’t know how much was thrown away, but I would bet it was more than enough to justify the proverb that those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
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