Wednesday, October 16, 2013

A Tiered License System - a modest proposal to improve everyone's driving experience

I imagine that other people have come up with similar if not the same suggestion before, but here is my version of what a tiered drivers' license system would look like and how it might benefit us all:

1. A basic license, issued much as it is today - which allows you to drive economy & compact class cars.
2. Tradespeople, farmers and anyone who hauls cargo can apply for and obtain a truck license which allows you to operate, say an F150. The test for this should be stricter than the basic license.
3. If you wish to drive a vehicle with a larger footprint, such as an SUV or a minivan, that will need its own class of license. Obviously, you must demonstrate that you have the situational awareness to not back into your neighbour's poodle - without benefit of such nice things like a backup-cam. Also, that you are aware that if you are driving, say an Escalade, you should behave that much nicer on the road - the sheer mass of that behemoth can and will crumple many econoboxes like so many cans of Pepsi.
4. And finally, in the words of Jeremy Clarkson, you need "MOAR POWEEEEEER". Splendid. That will be a different tier of license - one that you are allowed to take only if you have driven compacts for two years or longer without any poodle murders. Vehicles in this category can be classified by a hp/kg or hp only metric. You cannot buy into this license because you can afford to. It will also be very easy to lose this license for bad driving. As they say in the comic books, "with great horsepower comes great responsibility".. well, something like that.

One attendant benefit of having this system (apart from the obvious ones) is that the line of qualified customers for high powered vehicles will shrink. Automakers will be forced to make smaller cars more fun. High displacement engines (which I am not against, by the way) will be in the hands of those who can and will use them safely. And tax revenues will increase.