Re: Channel 7 "Learners Show" Tram Driving.

[David Bromage <dbromage@omni.com.au>]

mcfergus@my-deja.com wrote:
> 
> In article <19990626171559.17078.00003974@ng-cs1.aol.com>,
>   markbau1@aol.comQQQQyuk (MarkBau1) wrote:
> > <<<<It would appear that one segment of the upcoming show is someone learning
> > to
> > drive a tram in Melbourne.>>>>>
> >
> > That will be a short segment, about 3 minutes for a person of average IQ.
> 
> About the same length of time it would take to learn how to drive one of
> your toy EMUs (oops, 'sparks') in Melbourne? ;-). I'm not sure how long
> it does take to learn how to drive a Melbourne tram, but to learn how to
> drive the LRVs in Portland, Oregon takes about four/five weeks, and for
> Manchester Metrolink about ten weeks.

Learning to drive is only part of learning to drive. The major part is
learning how to do it without killing yourself or anybody else.

Same with being a connie or a guard. It doesn't take long to learn how
to sell tickets and make "ding ding" sounds by pulling a cord or pushing 
a button, but it takes a lot longer to learn how to handle an emergency.

A lot of any training course is learning procedures you hope you'll never
have to use.

Cheers
David