Black Hole
May contain traces of nut
I don't suppose there will be many here, but has anyone got recent experience of the driving test, perhaps indirectly?
I was in a discussion with a highly opinionated female friend recently (I generally keep my head down to avoid discussions becoming heated arguments), and pointed out that the driving test has practical elements about vehicle maintenance which involve opening the bonnet. She was adamant that "nobody ever gets asked that in a driving test". I then referred her to questions 12-14 on the Government web page, from the set of 14 of which one will be asked at random on a driving test:
"I don't know anyone who's been asked to do that, especially women!"
The reason of course is simple: it is illegal to take any vehicle onto the public highway you know is unsafe or it is reasonable you should have known was unsafe, and it's not just unsafe to you – any malfunction could risk other people's safety.
Needless to say, this friend is not someone who gets her car looked over between MoTs unless there's something obviously wrong, and just gets me to check the tyres occasionally. Doesn't even know how to open the bonnet (and it took me a while to find the lever in the passenger footwell).
So my question is this: are examiners avoiding questions 12-14 when they pick one at "random", or are they gender-biased when they pick the question, or is she just plain wrong? I know which I think!
I was in a discussion with a highly opinionated female friend recently (I generally keep my head down to avoid discussions becoming heated arguments), and pointed out that the driving test has practical elements about vehicle maintenance which involve opening the bonnet. She was adamant that "nobody ever gets asked that in a driving test". I then referred her to questions 12-14 on the Government web page, from the set of 14 of which one will be asked at random on a driving test:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/car-show-me-tell-me-vehicle-safety-questions/car-show-me-tell-me-vehicle-safety-questions said:
"I don't know anyone who's been asked to do that, especially women!"
The reason of course is simple: it is illegal to take any vehicle onto the public highway you know is unsafe or it is reasonable you should have known was unsafe, and it's not just unsafe to you – any malfunction could risk other people's safety.
Needless to say, this friend is not someone who gets her car looked over between MoTs unless there's something obviously wrong, and just gets me to check the tyres occasionally. Doesn't even know how to open the bonnet (and it took me a while to find the lever in the passenger footwell).
So my question is this: are examiners avoiding questions 12-14 when they pick one at "random", or are they gender-biased when they pick the question, or is she just plain wrong? I know which I think!
