Thursday, December 1, 2011
Renault-Riffard Wing on wheels
WELL, have you noticed the difference? From this issue Renotes has taken another step forward and will now carry colour on every page. With the increasing use of colour we do of course need more high quality colour pictures, which is where you, the members come in. Send us your contributions and remember Renotes is not just about older cars, contributions from members with new Renaults are just as valid. On our letters page the debate on speed continues. This debate, sparked by the oft-quoted remark that ‘speed kills’ is I think missing the point. Perhaps a more appropriate slogan would be ‘inexperience kills’ for it is a fact that for years driving instructors have been teaching people to pass a relatively simple driving test when really they should be teaching them to drive. There is a world of difference between the two.
A pupil can pass a driving test without ever having driven above 30 or 40mph and without any experience of motorways. Once the examiner has been satisfied that same pupil is then let loose on the roads with no further checks or tuition required. Our simple driving test includes an arbitary eyesight test of reading the number plate of a stationary car at a specific distance; that this is a complete waste of time is highlighted by a survey carried out by Specsavers and supported by Renault.
At the 2002 Motor Show Specsavers carried out eye-tests on 3,000 visitors and found that 738 failed the basic vision test, which meant they were driving illegally. To save you working it out that is 25% or one in every four! Perhaps it’s time we had a stiffer eyesight test on application for a driving licence and for all drivers to submit to regular checks at the opticians.
