Quote:
Originally Posted by Katana
I don't know enough about the American driving tests to comment on their thoroughness or how they are done, care to enlighten me?
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It varies some by state, but so far my experience is:
1 - You take a multiple-guess test on traffic laws and/or safety. The test takes anywhere up to about an hour, though I think you'd have to work hard to make it take more than 30 minutes. You have to score over 70% to pass. Anyone with a pulse should be able to get at least 50% correct.
2- You take a vision test to see if you have to wear glasses when you drive or not. In some cases, people must wear glasses at night but do not have to during the day.
3- You take a driving test that lasts about 15 minutes and checks the very most basic operational principles, and only some of those.
The driving test is only mandatory for people who are getting their licenses for the first time. That usually happens at age 16, and is pretty much a "rite of passage" in the US. Some states make you take driving tests every N years, while others don't seem to care about that part of it at all. Some are trying to impose a test every year for people over X age, but the little-old-lady lobby (the AARP) makes that difficult.
In the US, any idiot can get a driver's license. And most of them do.
-soD