The past week has seen a heated debate on road safety and the shortcomings of driving schools. I propose the following changes to the regulations and legislation to the Ministry responsible for transport and to the directorate responsible for supervising the operation of the so-called driving schools:
1. We live in Slovenia, where the use of the Slovenian language is compulsory. I propose that the renaming of all driving schools as driving schools be regulated by law, as they do not train cars but teach driving to candidates.
2. the computerised theoretical driving test should be provided by each driving school, which should obtain the appropriate certificate (valid for two years) from the Directorate. The State should ensure the development of a server application through which each candidate (according to predefined standards and rules) will take the theoretical part of the test on the premises of the driving school, under the physical supervision of an official authorised to act as a member of the examination board. This will reduce centralisation and increase the competitiveness of driving schools, which will have to meet certain technical and security criteria if they wish to carry out e-testing.
3. If the national administration considers that the driving school programmes are inadequate, they should introduce changes in the curriculum: instead of one package of relational driving, they should implement three, at least one of which should include driving and orientation in a large city: e.g. elements of driving on a multi-lane roundabout, orientation, monitoring and reacting to sudden changes, etc.
4. The test driving should also be extended in time and focus on validating the driver's knowledge rather than fault-finding. During the test, the jury member should ask the driver for his (expected) reaction in a specific situation: punctured tyre, animal on the road, drunk cyclist, etc.
5. Slovenia is known for the fact that road regulations change with almost every government. The traffic culture is a reflection of this kind of chaos, and I would suggest that the ministry accordingly draw up and adopt a road safety strategy for 10 years and stick to it. I understand the temporal and sociological component of road safety, but it is also important to realise that there are many of us who passed our driving test before 1992. I myself have held a driving licence for more than 20 years and I cannot count the number of times that road safety legislation has changed: the website legislation.gov.si shows that ZVCP-1 was amended at least 5 times between 2004 and 2008; such a rhythm of change certainly does not constitute a stable basis for the development of road safety and a higher road safety culture. Last but not least: for many drivers (especially those who have held a driving licence for 35 years or more), this is not so much an emphasis on safety but a search for loopholes to fill the (non-tax part of the) budget.