I wrote a few days ago about a pile of uninformed and dangerously misleading nonsense published in the Daily Mail telling how it is easier to pass your driving test if you move north. As is usual with these stories which I get via the newsfeeds, other people latch on to them and embellish them.
This Scottish newspaper comments on the same story. It quotes a local instructor, who admits:
A lot of people think it is an easy place to learn as there is only one set of traffic lights and it’s less variable…
“There are not as many hazards – just the odd farm animal – but learning to drive in rural areas is much more dangerous as some of the roads are quite bad.”
So there you have it. One set of traffic lights! Just as I said in the previous article, these places ARE easier. But most of them still have significant failure rates. However, that’s not my point this time.
This next bit has to rate as one of the most ill-informed comments imaginable:
Neil Greig, from the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: “In rural areas, the need to pass is paramount. Candidates make sure they are well-prepared.”
Even by this particular organisation’s standards that is an idiotic thing to say. Greig is clearly suggesting that the reason Scottish test centres have higher pass rates is that candidates are better prepared than elsewhere – in spite of obvious other factors, like only having one set of traffic lights. He really needs to take some lessons on how to avoid amateurish rhetoric if he’s going to keep pushing this organisation’s propaganda into the public’s faces!
The AA makes a far more sensible assessment of the results:
The AA’s Driving School warned against only learning in remote areas.
They added: “There is no long-term benefit in only being able to drive on a certain type of road. We would not recommend learners booking their tests in remote areas on the off-chance they may find it easier to pass there.”
As I said in the last article, if you can drive then you stand a good chance of passing your test (the pass rate in my area is about 45% but my own pass rate is much higher than that – because my pupils can drive).
If you’re a rubbish driver trying to avoid spending money on lessons, choosing cheapo instructors, and absolutely desperate for a licence for cultural (in the broadest sense) reasons, you will not miraculously pass by taking a test out in the sticks.