Interesting to follow this thread to see where were going/not going. I believe that not only would such a scheme be unworkable but that it would be a bit like the MOT test-the vehicle may be ok on the day of test but develop a fault immediately after-we could perhaps drive to the REQUIRED STANDARD for the assessment & then revert to previous bad practice. Just based on daily observation surely most of us would agree there is a lot of scope for improvement but the difficulty remains in persuading people that the driving test is only a starting point not simply an obstacle to be overcome?
In an ideal world all road users would be courteous and considerate to others but it seems to me that as the pressure on road space increases-the "Im alright Jack" mentality takes over & hence the aggression & impatience & downright dangerous practices.
In the past the Government had regular road safety awareness campaigns for things like wearing seatbelts/drink driving/use of headlights in fog etc & there was a marked police presence on the roads.
Now it seems that all they need to do is put up speed cameras/cctv & tell us that "Speed Kills"-which we all know is not the entire story/truth.
Periodic testing/reassessments would only weed out the eyesight problems-a friend of mine is an optician & he is frequently shocked to discover people coming for eye tests with serious problems-cataracts/tunnel vision etc who are still driving-the system of course relies on self reporting of certain health conditions to DVLA.
Driver education is all well & good but only works if those being taught see the relevance.
I think the unfairness of the system is the relative ease in which inexperienced drivers can be in charge of powerful machinery by simply passing a very basic test of car control under controlled conditions with no further training(night/adverse weather/motorway etc) while the powers that be try to legislate motorcycling out of existence by discouraging young ridersfrom starting what is going to be a long & expensive process.
Any one who has taken the ADI training will know that at the start of process the trainee has their current driving assessed & this is then analysed-bad faults noted & eradicated & then taught to a proper standard. A good part of the theory test for ADIs consists of questions about psychology/learning process as teaching is the name of the game.
Someone said Driving is a simple process -yes the actual mastery of basic controls-but controlling a motor vehicle in real life driving & remaining safe requires a good deal of skill which depends on learning/experience.
So I believe its driver/rider psychology that is the key factor& thats beyond the scope of legislation.