On the entire, I don’t like telling folks what to do. Where governments have a transparent selection about whether or not to intervene in folks’s lives or not, I often assume they shouldn’t.

Overreach is tiresome and we’ll most likely get alongside simply high-quality with out it, so until it’s actually apparent that one thing wants intervention, governments ought to simply facilitate what we moderately wish to do and in any other case go away us alone. I suppose I don’t belief ‘them’ to not mess issues up.

I’ve at all times felt this fashion about driving. Yes, maybe it’s daft that you would be able to go a driving take a look at at 17 and barely take into consideration your licence once more till your grandchildren discover that you simply hold nerfing the storage door and within the meantime you’ll be able to choose a automobile off the shelf that weighs 2.2 tonnes and goes from 0-60mph in 2.0sec with none further coaching.

But regardless of that, the UK nonetheless has the fifth-safest roads on the planet, narrowly behind Japan and solely marginally bettered by Norway, Sweden and Iceland, so we have to be doing all proper. Leave it alone.

Then I took three lengthy and completely depressing drives final week. It was half-term, which by no means helps requirements, however nonetheless, on a Friday night and over a weekend, I’ve by no means been so irritated by the quantity of dismal lane decisions, poor pace decisions, hopeless signalling and clear distraction.

After that, I used to be pushed round by, effectively, let’s name him a household pal to maintain him nameless. He drives quite a bit, but it surely has been a long time since his final instruction. At six roundabouts, he didn’t handle to as soon as sign accurately, and he usually drove on the similar pace whether or not on an A-road or on the town – too sluggish on one, too quick within the different.

And the extra I take note of it, the more severe I feel our driving requirements are getting.

Bad driving, notably in the case of selecting lanes on motorways, is an epidemic. We’re a nation of ditherers and dimwits who assume that as long as we don’t get nabbed by pace cameras, we have to be doing issues proper. We’re not.

In a automobile, negotiating traces of vehicles steadfastly refusing to depart the center lane and signalling appallingly at roundabouts is irritating. If you’re making an attempt to drive a lorry amongst these folks, it have to be infuriating to the purpose of self-combustion.

And so, with a heavy coronary heart, I feel life could be improved by… ugh… intervention. A scheme. A coverage. Interference. I’m not suggesting that we should always all must take one other full driving take a look at, however I do assume some sort of necessary replace or refresher coaching to remind drivers of their obligations could be useful.