50 years ago my mother gave me a set of encyclopaedias.
On the subject of motorcycles are these words:-
"No other vehicle can give the owner such a sense of exhilaration, yet at the same time teach him to handle machinery intelligently and to behave sensibly on the roads".
I would add to that I would make it compulsory before anyone was let near a car, to have two years experience on two wheels, even if only a moped, to give them a sense of their own mortality, and to kill off the people who are a danger to themselves and every other road user.

I'll drink to that sentiment.

I can agree with that except for the last part PS, i dont know why this uk country is not like France or the USA when it comes to teaching kids on how to Ride/Drive

There is small minority it is impossible to teach anything, they take no notice, it is far better they die before they get access to cars.

P S you're a harsh man.

oh.ffs, thats a horrid thing to say...im shocked at you on this one PS

I am like like life, nasty, brutal, and short. I have had some serious face to face one sided conversations with local youff with the stereotypical hot hatchback cars with cherry bomb exhausts who think that overtaking the local school bus at 100mph plus when it is stopped picking up children is the thing to do.
I only had words with them, a local truck driver gave one of them a Glasgow kiss in the pub, and a local young mother who is somewhat large decked one of them with one punch.

HA HA, Darwin rule OK!

Who wants a 15 year old behind a wheel, I don't. Raise the age to 21 for me. That will bring the congestion down a bit. Never met an American that looks remotely like they have been taught to drive.

I ment more on the pricipal (did i spell that right?)of the thing mate, when i was a kid at school we were taught cycling proficency....is it still done...was it ever taken any further...dont think so...anyway it taught the basics of road and traffic awareness

So what you saying here PS, .....there's only bad apples and no bad teachers?

No, but some people just are not teachable, more to the point they do not learn by their own mistakes. It is better they die on the least lethal means of transport to others possible, than be let loose in cars.

I know what PS is saying here, round ourway there is a regular grade "A" chav with a Corsa hatch and every trimming imaginable (daddy owns a local plant hire firm) drives like a tw*t on steriods and wont listen to any one. it is only a matter of time before he either gets the fright of his life or meets his maker, I dont think there will be a lot of tears shed if its the latter! Strangley enough, the local Plod are completely impervious to his activities, this would have nothing whatsoever to do with Daddys conections now would it? no of course not I have already been told on here that its just silly cynical old me

I always think it would be good for all car drivers to have to ride a bike for a while but unfotunately there are some folks who simply don't have the potential to ride a bike, can't get the balance or the general skills - I'd rather they didn't!

I have personaly witnessed some pretty poor driving from most types of driver, older, younger, women, white van man, foriegn etc. Some of the worst do not always include the younger generation, so where does that leave us ?

To be brutally honest, i'd rather a muppet killed themselves than me.

Quite. At my age, (nearly 58), I have seen too many people who should have been strangled at birth rather than let them near a car, ruin a lot of lives before they end up dead, usually before they are 25.

Likewise, I'm on the harsh side of Nature. Unfortunately, it must also be tempered with impartiality.

I'm just annoyed that this means Chav boy will crash and kill several people, be he will more often than not walk away from it. I have known several people die because someone (who lived) crashed into them and a number of others who crashed and killed the others but not themselves. I have only known one who did the crashing and paid the 'ultimate price' for it.

Too true, in my final year of school 3 of the kids in my year were killed in a car crash.

4 of them had gone out in a car at lunchtime and the driver lost control on an S bend (quite often mud on the road there, between 2 farms) and rolled the car, the driver was the only one who lived.

Harsh PS, bloody Harsh, but part of me can't help agreeing with you.