The “Water Cooler” is a feature on Claycord.com where we ask you a question or provide a topic, and you talk about it.
The “Water Cooler” will be up Monday-Friday at noon.
Today’s question:
QUESTION: Do you think driving tests should be more difficult, and laws should be harsher for those who don’t get the concept of safe driving?
Talk about it….
Now ya did it, . . . . . jinxed it !
Need to go take written test because of my age.
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What is needed is Drivers ED classes in high schools.
Young idiots who (race) 50 mph plus down Clayton Road driving on sidewalks, using turn lanes to blow thru red lights etc should have their licenses pulled for two years.
Too many kids learning driving skills from video games
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Yesterday was happy to see so many Police writing tickets,
should be a weekly occurrence.
Original G, you can probably take the DMV e-learning course online at home instead of taking the written test at a DMV office. Check the DMV website for details. You get a refresher course on the rules and pass the test at the same time.
My 78 year old aunt fail the dmv written test 3 times. They then told her she can take it online at home. Not sure why that was not an option from the beginning. Of course she passed.
DMV should allow those over 65 take the fill in the bubble test as before, not on the computer. The older folks weren’t raised on computers and many don’t even have them. That is age discrimination!!!
It should. But they will just drive unlicensed & uninsured & run when something happens you know like when they cause an accident.
@MS. MOM ~
Ditto!!
Some don’t know that one can take practice written tests online by going to DMV site. You’ll know what you’re in for. I do notice they have one trick question a test, I guess so it’s difficult gets a 100%.
My small town school didn’t have driver’s ed but I got plenty of experience when I changed schools and had to drive 17 miles to a larger school so I could get the studies required to get into the university. My mother took a job in that town so was always riding along but my folks did feel confident of my driving and relieved to drive to my own weekend music gigs.
Now I know, Thank You.
Still need to try your homemade potato chips method.
When I got my first drivers license when I was an au pair in Westport Ct. I was very surprised how easy it was. My au pair family gave me lessons, and then I went and took the driving test, the guy who tested me had me drive for less than 20 minutes if I remember correctly. He seemed more interested in where my accent was from than my driving.
In Denmark to get a driver license, you have to take lessons from an accreditted teacher, and they charge quite a bit per hour. I’m not sure how many hours you need, but I know it is quite expensive to get your license, you also have to have a basic knowledge of the engine of a car. Don’t know the stats if we have less accidents. I do know that German drivers are very disciplined, using their turn signals etc. but they drive very fast on the AutoBahn. When my friends from Denmark visited here some 10 years ago, they were impressed how polite many driver were, letting people in lanes, etc. Saying in Denmark and my guess most of Europe they don’t like to let people in, even if they have their signal on/
Absolutely! The current process is a bad joke at best. The driving test should include merging onto a freeway and if unsatisfactory should be noted as a “not able to drive on the freeway” on the driver license, just as is done for eyeglasses. There should be a part of the driving test that tests reaction time for braking and accident avoidance (mashing the brake pedal is not always the best way to avoid an accident). If really done properly, the test should include a demonstration of skid recovery, done on a wet surface.
A tougher written test will help with basic knowledge of our traffic laws, but I think too many people who know better, will still break certain laws, like speeding, rolling through stop signs, and failing to yield to pedestrians.
Basic knowledge of traffic laws isn’t enough, the driving test should be tougher also. Lots of people know how to operate a motor vehicle, but that doesn’t mean they know how to drive. I think there’s a big difference between operating a car, and knowing how to safely drive one. I like what Hanne said about the driving test in Denmark, where you have to have a basic knowledge of the engine. Understanding how an engine works is a good idea, knowing how the brakes work is another good idea. Too many people ride their brakes when going down a hill without realizing that they can overheat and fail, especially on a hot day.
As a DMV Examiner… no …. people know what to do during the test, conform to the rules and pass. It’s after the tests people just get lazy and do their own thing – the entitled, the me first attitude … have seen it thousands of times… if anything – more enforcement. The one thing that should be re- added to the test is freeway driving. It was removed because too many failed at it and complained. The other problem is the unlicensed and uninsured drivers… even when caught nothing happens to the perp.
I tend to agree. So many seem to have no idea of merging or they just ignore other drivers, don’t know if it is ignorance or a just don’t care attitude. I get on Highway 4 from Martinez, and often when I try to merge, most cars will not move over, or speed up or slow down, so I can enter the highway safely. It just requires a little attention and awareness. if it means slowing down it only slows the other driver down for a few seconds. By the way I always use my signals, so other drivers know my intentions.
If you expect everyone to let you merge, you’re doing it wrong. If you want to merge, you are responsible for matching the highway speed and aligning your car between other cars on the road.
I don’t expect everyone to slow down, I merge at highway speed, however there are times where the cars already on the highway need to move over a lane or slow down or speed up to let you in. Some drivers just don’t pay attention. If there is a lot of traffic in the other lane, sometimes it is not possible for someone to move over a lane, thus they need to make a judgement call, how to let cars in that are entering the highway.
But all too often you put your blinker on and they speed up. Back in the covered wagon days we were taught to leave 1 car length for every 10 miles per hour in between cars. We need to go back to driver’s ed and training in schools as well as classroom time for those using those learn to drive companies. But let’s not forget there are those that will drive regardless of having a license or not.
Just finished taking all four DMV practice tests.
If that is all the harder their tests are these days can see why there are so many bad drivers.
Tests I took in 1960s were far more difficult, tests have been significantly dumbed down.
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DMV test page see how you do 10 questions per test.
https://tinyurl.com/33f8x365
I found that the DMV practice test questions failed to cover many questions on the actual test. You really need to go over and over the DMV drivers manual if you expect to pass the written test on your first attempt.
Maybe just be more thorough. Test skills like entering the freeway at the speed of the traffic. Park between the lines. Back into a parking space (easy to do with backup cameras). Test take less than 15 minutes. How many skills were tested?
Official drive test is 20 min … unless the Examiner is cutting corners
At the least, tests should only be allowed in “non-smart” vehicles (AKA no Teslas)
Yes. Driving schools and high schools seem to teach to the test rather overall good driving skills. And the driving test the DMV gave my granddaughter lasted less than 10 minutes. I presume she passed because she stopped at a red light before going around the block.
…if it was 10 min the Examiner cut corners and didn’t complete the full route
Software would be the answer. My toyota beeps if i turn without signaling. I have turned on a sign that beeps if i go 5 above posted sign. I mean if my cheap toyota has it -any brand could have them. Let someone send those beep incidences to their insurance and you will see how quickly people start driving like they should.
The questions should be more repetitive to drive home crucial concepts: Such as a stop sign means stop, and a red light means stop, and an ambulance with sirens and flashing lights means get the bloody hell out of the way etc.
Passing a driving test is irrelevant. Make cell phones illegal while driving. Then have the nads to enforce it.
People were driving like idiots back when we had full driver ed in schools. They will continue to be idiots no matter how much you try to indoctrinate them. There are occasional stories of people with many DUI arrests.
My mother in law grew up on a farm in Nebraska and thus had been driving around the farm well before she turned 16. She was now 16 and wanted to get a license so she could drive to town on her own. Pa was always busy on the farm. One day told him she was getting her license. He says okay. She drove 75 miles to Lincoln, gets her license, and at the end the DMV person asked where her ride was. She remembers the look at the guy’s face and then him trying to hide a smile when she said “Pa was busy and so I drove here by myself.”
My grandparents grew up in an era where there was no DMV and no licenses. People figured out the rules of the road.
Driving tests, yes. Written tests on rules of the road are good enough.