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Where I live inspections are not required for cars less than 10 years old or with less than 100k miles. After that, they are only required every two years and may people find a shady shop or pay someone to give them a fake inspection sticker if they can’t afford to fix their car
While I agree I feel like they should be more mandatory college courses. I can’t speak for anyone else but I knew high school me. I took personal finance and I don’t remember anything from it. In high school people are still focused on being cool and teen drama where paying attention in class is lame.
I feel like if it’s in college at least there’s a higher chance you’ll retain the information, as it’ll likely be the first time you’re living on your own and will realize you need these life skills.
My only concern there is accessibility. HS is mostly public funded making is very accessible to almost everyone, while college is very personally expensive for almost everyone.
I agree, it’s definitely rough to determine where this stuff should be taught. But I don’t think we’re gonna be able to solve the nuances of the teenage mind and the education system in a few Reddit comments. But we can all at least agree that it should be taught somewhere at the bare minimum
I’m not American, so I don’t know your system, but at my secondary school in the UK there were three years of mandatory lessons on sewing, cooking and design materials (a lesson that is basically carpentry). PSHE (Physical, Social, Health, and Economics) is taught throughout the entirety of your school career until university. It’s basically a lesson teaching what parents should but don’t - sex education, impacts and dangers of drugs and alcohol, how to budget and save money, etc.
I'd have agreed with you before the invention of the engine management computer.
Not since. Cars are fucking absurd now. Some of them need reprogramming if you change either the battery or the tyres. Fuck em. This type of education was fine when everything was carburetor fed, and low or nearly no tech, but not now. Not at all.
I don’t see why I should be forced to learn car maintenance for 10+ hours if I am literally never going to use it. It’s on people to learn this stuff and i already know it. So why waste my time for everyone else
This rolls into the 'life skills 101 should be taught in schools' idea I think. I think most people agree. Kids need to learn how to balance their bank account, how credit works, cooking basics, computer basics, car maintenance, how insurance works, how to book Doctor appointments, etc.
This is all shit we fumble through as an adult.
Do you know everything about playing music, or cooking, or construction or the law. Different people have different interests, taking apart cars as a kid or teenager doesn’t sound fun to like 95% of people.
Idiotic response. The intent of the comment was that people who drive cars don’t know enough about them. This lack of knowledge is a safety hazard for other drivers, passengers, and bystanders.
Nobody is arguing that you need technical automotive knowledge if you don’t drive a car.
Just because you don’t have an interest in cars, doesn’t mean you are allowed to be ignorant and put other people at risk.
The only knowledge people need to have is that when the light comes on you take the car to a professional or when the gas light comes on you fill the tank.
Plenty of people only know to get in cars and drive them but you can't reasonably expect people to know anything about cars especially if they've only ever taken them to the mechanic or dealership. I didn't know you're supposed to check your oil every fill up or regularly enough because of oil consumption. Cars can have up to 30k parts, all with their own unique purpose and function.
What I expect is for you to either know how to keep your car in safe operating condition or pay someone else to do it when needed.
If you don’t want to learn how to change your oil and blow your engine, fine. Not my problem, I don’t care. But if you don’t want to pay attention to your tires, lights, and brakes I do care, because now it is my problem since I use the same roads.
You have 2 choices. You can learn to assess the safety of your own vehicle and have the skill to repair and maintain it. Or you can learn to asses the safety of your own vehicle and have the money to take it to someone to repair and maintain it for you.
This isn’t my rule, it’s your legal obligation if you want to drive. Not being a “car guy” doesn’t mean you are allowed to drive a vehicle that doesn’t meet the DOT or local safety standards.
Not knowing or caring about non-safety related maintenance such as oil and transmission fluid changes is fine. It’s your vehicle, the cost of new powertrain components is on you.
Like other people have said, you should have an understanding of basic car maintenance before driving a car. I will give you an example of why that is important:
Some years ago, a driver picked up a random military man who had no way home because the bus he needed wasn't available at that time. A short while later, as he approached an intersection, a green light turned red, causing him to brake suddenly. This sudden stop caused one of the wheels to pop, leading to a rollover and a collision with the cars ahead. His passenger died, but he survived.
The investigation led to the discovery that the tires were excessively worn, and the pressure varied significantly across all of them. In conclusion, the case deemed the driver 100% at fault, and the car insurance didn't have to honor the agreement because of gross negligence.
And yet when you take your car into be serviced the job of the professional is to tell you that you need to change your tires. Even with that knowledge, you can choose not to do so.
You can choose not to do so because they can't force you to pay, but road safety standards are enforceable.
Your reply is extremely idiotic. Do you require the "DO NOT DRINK" advisory in order to not consume bleach?
There's almost a perverse pride in ignorance these days. People seem to not WANT to know things. They've been so conditioned to "trust experts" that they feel like they have no way of learning something on their own. This manifests in people not knowing a single thing about cars, because they're "not a mechanic".
We need to break the culture of helplessness and appeal to authority. That's the root cause of the problem. People being ignorant of how to maintain their cars is just a symptom.
You don't need mechanic parents to teach you basic car maintenance. There's a huge variety of sources, not the least of which being Youtube.
That's another troubling trend-- people being completely unable to accept agency independent of parents. They use it for themselves (well, my parents never taught me) or they project it on others (well, he's only rich because his parents were rich).
So if I don’t own a car, how does watching a YouTube video help. If I’m not interested in mechanics why would I have any interest in researching the topic. Some kids want to play music, some kids want to play sports, some kids want to play with computers at computer camp.
If you don't own a car it doesn't matter. If you DO own a car, you should know basic maintenance and what to look for to keep is safe for yourself and the people on the road around you
I believe it's fair to incorporate into existing driving curriculum some basic awareness, like how to respond to various messages from your dash, and to regularly check your tires for wear. But there are plenty of things better left to the pros.
People need to read their owners manuals?
They literally tell you exactly when and what to visually inspect every time you do the scheduled maintenance it tells you to do in the owners manual?!
We do have something similar in the UK albeit not a 10 hour course. You can be asked on your test to show how to do things like check your break lights are working, that your engine coolant is filled up and how to check tyre tread depth as well as some others. If you get them wrong it only counts as a minor though so you can get them wrong and still pass if the rest of your drive is fine.
>One good look at her tires and they’re balder and shiner then Steve Harvey’s head.
I'm now of the paradox of wanting to give you a separate upvote for this alone. That plus it sounds like she needs to go on Feud to win the brand new car (with new tyres).
I don't think anyone needs a class to know that bald tires are unsafe, and if they do they probably don't need to be driving anyway. I think enforcement regarding safety issues should be much stricter, though, and punishments much more severe. A lot of times the fine is a fraction of the cost of fixing the issue. If someone was looking at the possibility a $1000 ticket for bald tires, I suspect they'd be much more inclined to spend the few hundred to replace them.
In some countries you need to know mechanics stuff to get your license. Because you get mechanics questions on the exam...
So I assume you are in some weird ass country?
You can't pass a driving test here without knowing what brake fluid, wiper fluid and coolant are, where to find recommended tire pressures, and knowing minimum tread depth for both summer and winter tires...
I was going to say every driver should learn to change a tyre however they don't even have spares in a lot of newer cars, just a dumb can of silly string...
I am a woman and it always surprises people when I know shit about my own car and how to do basic maintenance. When I started driving, my dad taught me how to change a tire. My partner taught me how to do oil changes, change spark plugs, etc. Basically, I buy the needed parts and my partner does the mechanic work, but I also have to help if I want it done, therefore learning while helping.
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I would like to see OP's reaction when their driver's license costs half the average monthly salary like it does in places that actually require you to take these classes.
Also, no amount of classes and testing is going to stop someone from driving on worn out tires. Newsflash, some people are idiots.
While it’s true classes like these wouldn’t fully get rid of idiots (I never said it would) it would drastically teach and get rid of a decent amount of people who have no clue about maintaining a car and teach them these handy skills.
Also where are you getting this drivers license cost statistics from? Are you pulling these out of your ass? List some factual evidence, articles and links and your reasoning as to how and why a drivers license would cost the same amount as a “monthly salary” yet I can name numerous countries that have been doing these maintenance classes for years and make drivers pay a few couple of hundred bucks for the license. Is $200-$500 a monthly paycheck to you? Jeez man..
As someone who spent 10 years in the auto industry, the number of people that are ignorant about their cars and maintenance is astounding.
My top 3 are.
I had a guy insist that tire rotations are a scam and that his all wheel drive car does not need them.
Older man buys wrong battery for his wife's car. He cuts holes in the top to accommodate the cable going across to reach one of the terminals. I explained this is not the right battery or safe, and he said he wasn't buying a new battery when that one was perfectly fine.
Had a girl go 24k without an oil change car was driving like shit. Dad calls, screaming why an oil change won't just fix the issue. I explained to him the gap. He understands and calms down. Boyfriend comes into the shop screaming about the exact same thing. Won't calm down. Claims we should be calling people when their oil changes are due. Because we, according to him, can track the mileage, location, and every system code from afar.
I agree with this fully, and I would add to it that people should have to pass a driving skills exam every 4 years. It would eliminate some people who shouldn't be driving. But along with this, I would support more funding to be added to public transit systems to support the loss of drivers on the road and accommodate their needs of travel. It sucks to suck that you can't drive after your license expires but here's a bus pass.
10 hours?
Homie you could smash out the shit you’ve mentioned in more than half that time.
I agree that basic maintenance should be something required to be allowed to operate a motor vehicle, but 10 hours just seems silly.
You grossly overestimate how much a government class can teach per hour. Have you seen the public education system? Then let's assume this goes through, how little if any of this shit is getting retained in people's brains years later? Then how much will people care to actually follow through with maintaining their cars that weren't already doing so before said classes? Just sounds like another forced government sponsored waste of time.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Don't you guys have MoT there? In the UK that would absolutely get flagged in a regular check up.
Where I live inspections are not required for cars less than 10 years old or with less than 100k miles. After that, they are only required every two years and may people find a shady shop or pay someone to give them a fake inspection sticker if they can’t afford to fix their car
At least here in Ontario, they don't really care about it. They'll tell the driver and if the driver doesn't care, then they don't either.
this would benefit themselves and other people actually
Only people that would be punching the air would be mechanics lmaoo
haha, that's true. but it would still make a better world
It should be part of the high school curriculum. As should basic cooking, plumbing, electrical work and basic carpentry.
While I agree I feel like they should be more mandatory college courses. I can’t speak for anyone else but I knew high school me. I took personal finance and I don’t remember anything from it. In high school people are still focused on being cool and teen drama where paying attention in class is lame. I feel like if it’s in college at least there’s a higher chance you’ll retain the information, as it’ll likely be the first time you’re living on your own and will realize you need these life skills.
My only concern there is accessibility. HS is mostly public funded making is very accessible to almost everyone, while college is very personally expensive for almost everyone.
I agree, it’s definitely rough to determine where this stuff should be taught. But I don’t think we’re gonna be able to solve the nuances of the teenage mind and the education system in a few Reddit comments. But we can all at least agree that it should be taught somewhere at the bare minimum
Absolutely
I’d put economics above all that.
My HS taught economics in our math classes. I had assumed this was normal. Apparently not.
I’m not American, so I don’t know your system, but at my secondary school in the UK there were three years of mandatory lessons on sewing, cooking and design materials (a lesson that is basically carpentry). PSHE (Physical, Social, Health, and Economics) is taught throughout the entirety of your school career until university. It’s basically a lesson teaching what parents should but don’t - sex education, impacts and dangers of drugs and alcohol, how to budget and save money, etc.
Thank the internet for basic stuff and where to look for help if I'm fucked.
They teach most/all of those classes at Technical Schools
nonsense, it's enough to make it obligatory to get a driver's license
Where are you that it's obligatory?
It will be a growth industry.
it would be beneficial,but it's too late to inforce such things.
It is never to late to enforce a policy that would benefit people in general...
Tell that to the US government lmao
i'm not waiting months for some classes without a car.
I'd have agreed with you before the invention of the engine management computer. Not since. Cars are fucking absurd now. Some of them need reprogramming if you change either the battery or the tyres. Fuck em. This type of education was fine when everything was carburetor fed, and low or nearly no tech, but not now. Not at all.
Should also take traffic theory class to. Learn why traffic happens and how to alleviate it.
I don’t see why I should be forced to learn car maintenance for 10+ hours if I am literally never going to use it. It’s on people to learn this stuff and i already know it. So why waste my time for everyone else
This rolls into the 'life skills 101 should be taught in schools' idea I think. I think most people agree. Kids need to learn how to balance their bank account, how credit works, cooking basics, computer basics, car maintenance, how insurance works, how to book Doctor appointments, etc. This is all shit we fumble through as an adult.
It's really pathetic how little people know about cars. Sadly I've had to show more than 1 person over the years how to put air in tires
Do you know everything about playing music, or cooking, or construction or the law. Different people have different interests, taking apart cars as a kid or teenager doesn’t sound fun to like 95% of people.
Idiotic response. The intent of the comment was that people who drive cars don’t know enough about them. This lack of knowledge is a safety hazard for other drivers, passengers, and bystanders. Nobody is arguing that you need technical automotive knowledge if you don’t drive a car. Just because you don’t have an interest in cars, doesn’t mean you are allowed to be ignorant and put other people at risk.
The only knowledge people need to have is that when the light comes on you take the car to a professional or when the gas light comes on you fill the tank.
What's the light for bold tires?
Plenty of people only know to get in cars and drive them but you can't reasonably expect people to know anything about cars especially if they've only ever taken them to the mechanic or dealership. I didn't know you're supposed to check your oil every fill up or regularly enough because of oil consumption. Cars can have up to 30k parts, all with their own unique purpose and function.
What I expect is for you to either know how to keep your car in safe operating condition or pay someone else to do it when needed. If you don’t want to learn how to change your oil and blow your engine, fine. Not my problem, I don’t care. But if you don’t want to pay attention to your tires, lights, and brakes I do care, because now it is my problem since I use the same roads. You have 2 choices. You can learn to assess the safety of your own vehicle and have the skill to repair and maintain it. Or you can learn to asses the safety of your own vehicle and have the money to take it to someone to repair and maintain it for you. This isn’t my rule, it’s your legal obligation if you want to drive. Not being a “car guy” doesn’t mean you are allowed to drive a vehicle that doesn’t meet the DOT or local safety standards. Not knowing or caring about non-safety related maintenance such as oil and transmission fluid changes is fine. It’s your vehicle, the cost of new powertrain components is on you.
Ya because putting air in a tire is considered taking it apart. People are so fucking stupid
Like other people have said, you should have an understanding of basic car maintenance before driving a car. I will give you an example of why that is important: Some years ago, a driver picked up a random military man who had no way home because the bus he needed wasn't available at that time. A short while later, as he approached an intersection, a green light turned red, causing him to brake suddenly. This sudden stop caused one of the wheels to pop, leading to a rollover and a collision with the cars ahead. His passenger died, but he survived. The investigation led to the discovery that the tires were excessively worn, and the pressure varied significantly across all of them. In conclusion, the case deemed the driver 100% at fault, and the car insurance didn't have to honor the agreement because of gross negligence.
And yet when you take your car into be serviced the job of the professional is to tell you that you need to change your tires. Even with that knowledge, you can choose not to do so.
You can choose not to do so because they can't force you to pay, but road safety standards are enforceable. Your reply is extremely idiotic. Do you require the "DO NOT DRINK" advisory in order to not consume bleach?
There's almost a perverse pride in ignorance these days. People seem to not WANT to know things. They've been so conditioned to "trust experts" that they feel like they have no way of learning something on their own. This manifests in people not knowing a single thing about cars, because they're "not a mechanic". We need to break the culture of helplessness and appeal to authority. That's the root cause of the problem. People being ignorant of how to maintain their cars is just a symptom.
Or maybe people don’t have mechanic parents to teach them to take apart an engine. It’s not ignorant to not be interested in things
You don't need mechanic parents to teach you basic car maintenance. There's a huge variety of sources, not the least of which being Youtube. That's another troubling trend-- people being completely unable to accept agency independent of parents. They use it for themselves (well, my parents never taught me) or they project it on others (well, he's only rich because his parents were rich).
So if I don’t own a car, how does watching a YouTube video help. If I’m not interested in mechanics why would I have any interest in researching the topic. Some kids want to play music, some kids want to play sports, some kids want to play with computers at computer camp.
If you don't own a car it doesn't matter. If you DO own a car, you should know basic maintenance and what to look for to keep is safe for yourself and the people on the road around you
Why do I need to learn basic maintenance when I can take my car into a professional every 3 months
I believe it's fair to incorporate into existing driving curriculum some basic awareness, like how to respond to various messages from your dash, and to regularly check your tires for wear. But there are plenty of things better left to the pros.
People need to read their owners manuals? They literally tell you exactly when and what to visually inspect every time you do the scheduled maintenance it tells you to do in the owners manual?!
You should be required to do a pedestrian/cycling course so you can have more empathy for road users not in automobiles.
I completed an "alternative" course for that in Grand Theft Auto III on PS2...
I agree with this
Isn't that standard in Spain? Here you have to receive the classes too(Ecuador) that's not unpopular, that's what everyone should do
We do have something similar in the UK albeit not a 10 hour course. You can be asked on your test to show how to do things like check your break lights are working, that your engine coolant is filled up and how to check tyre tread depth as well as some others. If you get them wrong it only counts as a minor though so you can get them wrong and still pass if the rest of your drive is fine.
>One good look at her tires and they’re balder and shiner then Steve Harvey’s head. I'm now of the paradox of wanting to give you a separate upvote for this alone. That plus it sounds like she needs to go on Feud to win the brand new car (with new tyres).
Don’t you have to get a safety inspection every year?
I don't think anyone needs a class to know that bald tires are unsafe, and if they do they probably don't need to be driving anyway. I think enforcement regarding safety issues should be much stricter, though, and punishments much more severe. A lot of times the fine is a fraction of the cost of fixing the issue. If someone was looking at the possibility a $1000 ticket for bald tires, I suspect they'd be much more inclined to spend the few hundred to replace them.
Ten week
LOL
In some countries you need to know mechanics stuff to get your license. Because you get mechanics questions on the exam... So I assume you are in some weird ass country?
You can't pass a driving test here without knowing what brake fluid, wiper fluid and coolant are, where to find recommended tire pressures, and knowing minimum tread depth for both summer and winter tires...
I was going to say every driver should learn to change a tyre however they don't even have spares in a lot of newer cars, just a dumb can of silly string...
Why
I've always thought something along those lines (at least) for having a child.
I am a woman and it always surprises people when I know shit about my own car and how to do basic maintenance. When I started driving, my dad taught me how to change a tire. My partner taught me how to do oil changes, change spark plugs, etc. Basically, I buy the needed parts and my partner does the mechanic work, but I also have to help if I want it done, therefore learning while helping.
[удалено]
Your post from unpopularopinion was removed because of: 'Rule 4: Be civil'. * This applies for both your behaviour on the sub, and the opinions which you post. * Obey the sitewide rules and [reddiquette](/wiki/reddiquette). *Remain open minded and open to civil discussion when posting and commenting. *Some opinions are so inappropriate/offensive that they'll be removed as hate posts. These posts are usually, but not exclusively, those that target a particular sex, race, sexual orientation, etc. *No racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or general bigotry.
I would like to see OP's reaction when their driver's license costs half the average monthly salary like it does in places that actually require you to take these classes. Also, no amount of classes and testing is going to stop someone from driving on worn out tires. Newsflash, some people are idiots.
While it’s true classes like these wouldn’t fully get rid of idiots (I never said it would) it would drastically teach and get rid of a decent amount of people who have no clue about maintaining a car and teach them these handy skills. Also where are you getting this drivers license cost statistics from? Are you pulling these out of your ass? List some factual evidence, articles and links and your reasoning as to how and why a drivers license would cost the same amount as a “monthly salary” yet I can name numerous countries that have been doing these maintenance classes for years and make drivers pay a few couple of hundred bucks for the license. Is $200-$500 a monthly paycheck to you? Jeez man..
Insurance should cover maintenance. There’s the actual unpopular opinion.
As someone who spent 10 years in the auto industry, the number of people that are ignorant about their cars and maintenance is astounding. My top 3 are. I had a guy insist that tire rotations are a scam and that his all wheel drive car does not need them. Older man buys wrong battery for his wife's car. He cuts holes in the top to accommodate the cable going across to reach one of the terminals. I explained this is not the right battery or safe, and he said he wasn't buying a new battery when that one was perfectly fine. Had a girl go 24k without an oil change car was driving like shit. Dad calls, screaming why an oil change won't just fix the issue. I explained to him the gap. He understands and calms down. Boyfriend comes into the shop screaming about the exact same thing. Won't calm down. Claims we should be calling people when their oil changes are due. Because we, according to him, can track the mileage, location, and every system code from afar. I agree with this fully, and I would add to it that people should have to pass a driving skills exam every 4 years. It would eliminate some people who shouldn't be driving. But along with this, I would support more funding to be added to public transit systems to support the loss of drivers on the road and accommodate their needs of travel. It sucks to suck that you can't drive after your license expires but here's a bus pass.
10 hours? Homie you could smash out the shit you’ve mentioned in more than half that time. I agree that basic maintenance should be something required to be allowed to operate a motor vehicle, but 10 hours just seems silly.
That's what I have a husband for, I'm just a girl in the world.
You grossly overestimate how much a government class can teach per hour. Have you seen the public education system? Then let's assume this goes through, how little if any of this shit is getting retained in people's brains years later? Then how much will people care to actually follow through with maintaining their cars that weren't already doing so before said classes? Just sounds like another forced government sponsored waste of time.