Foreign Drivers
Discussion
I've noticed a lot of the time ( not always ) when I see someone doing something silly on the road i.e not staying their lane and verging out, reversing onto main roads in a dangerous manner, cutting people up at roundabouts, going very very slowly, or as I saw yesterday, someone using the left lane to turn right at a roundabout... they are foreign drivers.
In no way am I xenophobic as I am Asian myself. However, I believe, foreign drivers should be more than welcome to drive on the roads - providing they pass the driving test like everybody else. Some of the stuff I've seen would easily fail a driving test.
Does anyone have thoughts on this ? Because as far as I know, foreign drivers don't need to sit a test if they have an international license.
In no way am I xenophobic as I am Asian myself. However, I believe, foreign drivers should be more than welcome to drive on the roads - providing they pass the driving test like everybody else. Some of the stuff I've seen would easily fail a driving test.
Does anyone have thoughts on this ? Because as far as I know, foreign drivers don't need to sit a test if they have an international license.
Edited by MakaveliX on Sunday 24th March 11:43
Can drive with a foreign licence for a year, then you should apply for a full UK licence and take a uk test.
But how many visitors actually do that is a different question- I don't think I've ever actually had my licence checked, and there aren't enough police on roads to catch people driving without a valid licence.
But how many visitors actually do that is a different question- I don't think I've ever actually had my licence checked, and there aren't enough police on roads to catch people driving without a valid licence.
MakaveliX said:
I've noticed a lot of the time ( not always ) when I see someone doing something silly on the road i.e not staying their lane and verging out, reversing onto main roads in a dangerous manner, cutting people up at roundabouts, going very very slowly, or as I saw yesterday, someone using the left lane to turn right at a roundabout... they are foreign drivers.
In no way am I xenophobic as I am Asian myself. However, I believe, foreign drivers should be more than welcome to drive on the roads - providing they pass the driving test like everybody else. Some of the stuff I've seen would easily fail a driving test.
Does anyone have thoughts on this ? Because as far as I know, foreign drivers don't need to sit a test if they have an international license.
How do establish that they are foreign drivers?In no way am I xenophobic as I am Asian myself. However, I believe, foreign drivers should be more than welcome to drive on the roads - providing they pass the driving test like everybody else. Some of the stuff I've seen would easily fail a driving test.
Does anyone have thoughts on this ? Because as far as I know, foreign drivers don't need to sit a test if they have an international license.
Confused as to how being Asian automatically makes it not possible for you to be xenophobic.
Also confused how you're able to identify foreigners in other cars.
Aside from that, I think it's a stretch to assume people doing stuff which would fail a driving test implies they never took a driving test.
Some of the worst offenders in my experience are the ones who literally just passed their driving test.
Also confused how you're able to identify foreigners in other cars.
Aside from that, I think it's a stretch to assume people doing stuff which would fail a driving test implies they never took a driving test.
Some of the worst offenders in my experience are the ones who literally just passed their driving test.
kambites said:
How on earth do you know they're foreign?
Although not 100% accurate, it's quite easy to tell if someone was born and raised in the UK based on things other than their skin colour.Clothing, fashion sense/haircut, car paraphernalia (various adornments on hanging from the rear-view mirror), car choice (Hybrids, especially Toyota, seem more popular with recent arrivals). Skin tone is always a big giveaway, regardless of your base tone, you'll still get darker in the sun.
An Indian colleague explained the intricacies of the moustache to me and how in India it was a power thing, but second generation Indians find it less appealing. I'm sure there are indicators like that for most cultures. Probably not apparent unless you spend time in certain communities.
I do think a different type of test is needed for license conversions. But a lot of the problem comes from bad habits learned abroad, and those ingrained behaviours are the hardest to shake. Lane discipline is the main one. Having driven in the Middle East a lot, I can fully understand why recent arrivals find the idea of keeping on the inside lane so strange.
MakaveliX said:
Non uk license plates, steering wheel on the opposite side and badges which state different countries
That doesn't mean the driver is foreign. Indeed I expect most foreign drivers in the UK use UK registered RHD cars.Just for consistency though, would you be happier if all British drivers were banned from driving to the continent for their holidays unless they took an EU driving test?
MakaveliX said:
kambites said:
How on earth do you know they're foreign?
Non uk license plates, steering wheel on the opposite side and badges which state different countries If there's a correlation beyond confirmation bias, I suspect it's more to do with using LHD cars on roads designed for RHD traffic than the nationality of the driver.
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