[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by RickOShay

Umm ok so you are telling me you honestly check the tires every time you get into your vehicle? No, I am sure you don't, nobody does (but am sure you stop at red lights, and let the person with the right of way go first).

I may not always check if my tires are low on air, but I do take a glance at both sides of my car... I`ve been scraped three times in parking lots and would have hated to have noticed once I got home instead of while in the parking lot (two with surveillance, by the way) and been able to file a police report right then and there. It makes a difference for insurance.

... so you are saying they want to test to see if somebody knows how to check to see if a tire is flat.. I am sorry but unless you are blind, it is quite obvious, and I don't think it needs to be tested, nobody should be failed for failure to do so. And any normal driver would know the moment they start to move their car that their tire is flat.

A normal driver. I would guess that at least 95% of the people taking the basic driving test are not normal drivers. They`re people who have little to no driving experience. For someone who HAS been driving for years, sure - that`s common sense. But for someone who may have only driven a total of 3 hours in their life on a closed driving course... I think that it IS a worthwhile test.

And come on.. check for obstructions or kids.. nobody does that either, that is what the mirrors are for, and in any case who is to say a kid would not run in front of your car in the time between you checking and driving away?

You walk around the car in a circle taking a glance at both sides and both sets of tires. You start on the passenger side and walk around to get into the driver`s side. It isn`t some special part to check for a child, it`s just common sense safety.

Once again, silly, unrealistic for a test, and nothing to do with driving ability.
If it is so important it should be on a different test.. like maybe the written part?? One that it makes sense to ask about hypothetical situations.. not this "playing make-believe" in a driving skills test.

Have you ever taken any other test that requires physical participation? They want you to actually DO some of these things to test on it.
For example, if you take a first aid class, you will have to ask the dummy on the floor "Can you hear me?!" and check it`s breathing and pulse - of course it isn`t going to answer you and it`s obvious it`s not going to be breathing or have a pulse. What is important is going through the motions. It shows that you know what to do should you have to do it. Answering a multiple choice question is a lot different than actually displaying the ability. That is what a test is.

No matter if people think it is totally silly, my opinion still stands. If it is too much bother to do just once for the driving test - an event that is obviously not "real life" - then the testers have every right to doubt that you`ll do all the other truly necessary stuff in real life.

In Japan the license isn`t just to drive, it`s to own a vehicle too. (You can`t purchase one without a license even if you have a parking space and cash in your hand).