Managers of motor vehicle training schools are very pleased these days. People are coming in hordes to learn driving skills though winter is usually an off-season for these coaching schools.

The learners are trying to obtain driving licenses before a new, more difficult test goes into effect April 1. The traffic authorities have announced that starting on that date, a road test will be included in the driving test. The current driving exam only requires learners to pass a test under simulated traffic conditions on the campus of the driving school.

Unlike in most other countries, driving license applicants in China acquire their skills through attending a training course in one of the tens of thousands of "driving schools" across the country. These schools usually have a training field designed for various road conditions, such as narrow passageways, railway crossings, roads with hidden hazards and hilly slopes. Students learn the driving skills in this field but never try driving in a real situation.

Many years ago, this did not constitute a problem because the training course was usually several months long enough for the students to gain sufficient experience to cope with real traffic conditions. Presently, however, all training schools have shortened the course to attract more students.

Although it is not legally compulsory to attend these schools, virtually all applicants do so as it has become an established practice. What is more, the driving test is conducted in certain schools designated by the traffic authorities. Actually, no one knows how to apply for a test without going to one of these schools.

Students who "graduate" from these schools have no real experience. They hit the road soon after they obtain their license. On the road, they are either too timid to drive at a normal speed or too reckless to drive safely, thus either slowing the traffic or causing accidents.

The new driving test may help solve this problem. It will force the training schools to teach their students the skills to drive in real traffic.

A new problem, however, arises. Where will the coaches teach their students these practical skills? On the road? Logically, yes. However, here lies a legal dilemma: Will the police allow the learners to drive on the road since they haven't gotten their licenses yet? According to law, anyone who drives without a license will be detained.

In fact, this dilemma reveals contradictions between the new driving test regulation and the Traffic Law.

To solve this problem, we can learn from some Western countries, the United States or Australia for instance, where traffic rules allow two classes of licenses the full and provisional ones. The provisional license is issued to applicants once they pass a written test. With the provisional license, the applicant can learn to drive on the road with a fully licensed driver in the car.

Given the traffic conditions usually very crowded in China, our method can be a little bit different. Learners should still learn the basic skills in training schools but should be issued the provisional license for further training in real traffic situations.

Nevertheless, what we should learn from Western countries is not only a more reasonable training method but also the greater emphasis they place on observance of traffic rules and road ethics.

A few years ago, my wife learned to drive in Australia. She told me her coach mostly emphasized correct driving behavior: Don't change lanes without a good reason; always wait for those with the right of way to pass first; pass on a narrow street alternately with vehicles from different lanes; leave enough gap behind when cutting into a stream of vehicles so that the driver behind you will not have to jam on the brakes.

E-mail: liushinan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/24/2007 page10)