YOUTH ON THE ROAD

There have been rumblings recently about raising the age to hold a driving license in the UK to eighteen years. Whilst I personally consider this to be a good thing I don't believe it actually goes far enough.

For many years now motorcyclists in this country have been restricted to the size of "horse" they can ride after passing a driving test, in a bid to reduce motorcycle related accidents with inexperienced riders who are riding bikes that are just way beyond their current level of control. If the D.O.T. want to really change the rules for people driving cars on new licenses then this is surely the way to go. It is ridiculous that a seventeen year old whippersnapper can pass a driving test in a car with a 1200cc engine and then go out and buy something with a 3000cc twin turbo V6 which is totally beyond their minimal driving experience. It is time that probationary drivers were restricted to the size of vehicle they can drive, just the same as a motorcyclist. I would also consider changing the rules with regard to buses and trucks making it essential to have several years of road experience before being able to hold a PSV or HGV license. It beggars belief that someone can go from 950kg of car to 38000kg of articulated truck in one leap. It's no better than handing a child a BB gun and swapping it ten minutes later for an AK47 with a full magazine and no safety catch.

I've been driving for eighteen years and most of my friends and family would rather travel with me driving than with anybody else, but I'm still learning things every day. I've just got my first 4WD and I can go places I've never been with a vehicle before, but I've had to learn to drive again because it's a totally different driving experience. The real problem with obtaining a driving license is that everybody believes that they are learning to drive and they're not; they are learning to pass a driving test. Nobody learns to drive until the test has been passed and they're let loose to jostle for position on the road with all the others who desperately need to make a gargantuan effort to be in front of everybody else and twenty yards further down the road. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

ENDEAVOUR SHUTTLE - STS118

Just watched the launch of Shuttle STS118 (Endeavour) live on NASA TV. I haven't watched a Shuttle launch on live TV for absolutely years and watching it on-line at NASA.gov was a great new experience. It is amazing to think that the Shuttle program has been in orbit now for some 26 years, and despite the various setbacks along the way it is hard to believe that the Sun is about to set on the Shuttle program. I watched the first Shuttle launch on Tv from behind my desk at school and watching this most recent launch raised the adrenalin level a few degrees.

What an absolutely awesome ride! Eight minutes to Earth orbit and the ride of your life is worth paying for in my book. The pictures shot from the main tank camera showing Earth receding into the distance were fantastic and it reminded me of watching the film taken from the Saturn 5 launches of the Apollo program, pictures that will probably be seen again in the coming years when NASA gets the Orion project off the launchpad. It will be a sad day when the last Shuttle flight touches down because I feel that Orion is a backward step. Orion doesn't have the functionality of the Shuttle and it doesn't have the heavy lift capability of the Shuttle. NASA is going to have to rely on 1960's Russian technology for at least five years after the last Shuttle touches down whilst it recrafts its own 1960's technology to go back to the Moon and to reach out towards Mars. Retiring the Shuttle is a mistake that could prove to be very costly in the years to come, paticularly if the ISS were to develop a major problem. I sincerely hope that someone at NASA has the balls to stand up and be counted, and reverse the decision to ground the Shuttle. It still has a place and a function in the exploration of Space.