Is it too easy to get a license?

[PaperclipGod]

When i was 16 i got my permit (im 23 now), and i remember thinking at the time, "this is insane." I'd never driven before, and all i had to do was take a test with questions like "If a schoolbus stops with its sign out, is it ok to pass it by driving slowly on the sidewalk?"

Soon after i got my actual license, my parents made me take a defensive driving course at limerock park in CT. Let me tell you... THAT is what a driving school should be. They teach you to learn the limits of your vehicle, how it reacts in different conditions, how to recover from slides, etc. They teach you the psychology of other drivers and how to most efficiently scan traffic while driving.

Now, why aren't regular driving schools like this? Seeing as how nearly 50,000 people die each year from traffic accidents, many more are injured, and im sure the economy loses billions in insurance claims (not to mention the insurance rates you and i pay are impacted by all these accidents), then why is it still so easy for a 16 year old to get a license? WHY??!

Think about it... if we made it harder to get a license we'd have less idiots on the road, less traffic deaths, lower insurance premiums, and by default we'd have more people using public transportation... i dont need to get into all the fantastic things an increased use of public transportation would bring.

 

[FilmCamera]

A permit is not a license. You have to take an actual driving test to get your license. And you are supposed to log a certain number of hours driving with the permit with another licensed driver, preferrably a parent.

 

[Rebasxer]

Money, if everyone had to take defensive driving course a lot of people couldn't get the license. Those kind of course require trained professionals, not the rejects that typically work in driving schools.

 

[Mermaidman]

A distant cousin of mine went to the DMV to apply for state ID card and was mistakenly given a driver's license. Been driving for many years now LOL!

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: FilmCamera
A permit is not a license. You have to take an actual driving test to get your license. And you are supposed to log a certain number of hours driving with the permit with another licensed driver, preferrably a parent.

Yes, i realize this... but driving for 6 months with a parent in the car (and always driving like you're an angel) doesn't prepare someone for a life of unsupervised driving. Especially not a teenage life of unsupervised driving.

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: Rebasxer
Money, if everyone had to take defensive driving course a lot of people couldn't get the license. Those kind of course require trained professionals, not the rejects that typically work in driving schools.

So subsidize it... besides, im sure the cost per student would be a lot lower when you had thousands of people taking it.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

I agree. Getting a driver's license is far too easy and puts too many unskilled drivers on the road, especially teens who now have this newfound freedom of being able to drive unsupervised once they get their actual license. Time to do everything they couldn't do with their parents in the car. I would love to see a mandatory defensive driving course, but unfortunately I think a lot of parents would think of it instead as a "how to drive crazy" course instead of a positive learning experience. I know my parents would think this way. Having done some REALLY stupid, risky things in my car as a result of being a dumb teen, and learning powersliding and vehicle reaction on the fly with innocents on the road, I can say that my kids are definitely taking a defensive driving course before they get their licenses.

 

[alent1234]

NYC it's a long process and taxi drivers have to take the defensive drivers course as well. And people still drive like maniacs.

the amount of bad driving is proportional to the amount of cars on the road

 

[I Saw OJ]

I think its a good idea, it would weed out a lot of bad drivers. I believe thats the way it is in Germany, they have extensive training and tests before you can get your license.

 

[vizkiz]

If you think it's easy, what is that saying about the people that fail.
I dated a girl that failed it 3 times before she passed it on the 4th attempt

 

[I Saw OJ]

Originally posted by: vizkiz
If you think it's easy, what is that saying about the people that fail.
I dated a girl that failed it 3 times before she passed it on the 4th attempt

If you cant pass after 3 times you shouldnt get a license, period.

 

[Linux23]

If that was a requirement, then the roads would be literally empty. Very few people would have actual licenses.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Soon after i got my actual license, my parents made me take a defensive driving course at limerock park in CT. Let me tell you... THAT is what a driving school should be. They teach you to learn the limits of your vehicle, how it reacts in different conditions, how to recover from slides, etc. They teach you the psychology of other drivers and how to most efficiently scan traffic while driving.

16 year olds should be learning the limits of themselves, not their cars. 16 year olds should never need to know the limits of their cars, because they should never approach the limits of their cars.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Soon after i got my actual license, my parents made me take a defensive driving course at limerock park in CT. Let me tell you... THAT is what a driving school should be. They teach you to learn the limits of your vehicle, how it reacts in different conditions, how to recover from slides, etc. They teach you the psychology of other drivers and how to most efficiently scan traffic while driving.

16 year olds should be learning the limits of themselves, not their cars. 16 year olds should never need to know the limits of their cars, because they should never approach the limits of their cars.

You are a complete and utter moron.

 

[Linux23]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Soon after i got my actual license, my parents made me take a defensive driving course at limerock park in CT. Let me tell you... THAT is what a driving school should be. They teach you to learn the limits of your vehicle, how it reacts in different conditions, how to recover from slides, etc. They teach you the psychology of other drivers and how to most efficiently scan traffic while driving.

16 year olds should be learning the limits of themselves, not their cars. 16 year olds should never need to know the limits of their cars, because they should never approach the limits of their cars.

You are a complete and utter moron.

well, that's a little harsh.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: I Saw OJ

Originally posted by: vizkiz
If you think it's easy, what is that saying about the people that fail.
I dated a girl that failed it 3 times before she passed it on the 4th attempt

If you cant pass after 3 times you shouldnt get a license, period.

qft. driver's tests are a joke. we seriously need much more stringent rules about who can get a license and who can't.

 

[PaperclipGod]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Soon after i got my actual license, my parents made me take a defensive driving course at limerock park in CT. Let me tell you... THAT is what a driving school should be. They teach you to learn the limits of your vehicle, how it reacts in different conditions, how to recover from slides, etc. They teach you the psychology of other drivers and how to most efficiently scan traffic while driving.

16 year olds should be learning the limits of themselves, not their cars. 16 year olds should never need to know the limits of their cars, because they should never approach the limits of their cars.

How exactly do they learn their own limits without driving to them...?

 

[rikadik]

I live in the UK and I've been told it's ridiculously easy to get a driver's license in the US. Can someone please tell me what you actually have to do to pass? I'm quite interested.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: Linux23

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
Soon after i got my actual license, my parents made me take a defensive driving course at limerock park in CT. Let me tell you... THAT is what a driving school should be. They teach you to learn the limits of your vehicle, how it reacts in different conditions, how to recover from slides, etc. They teach you the psychology of other drivers and how to most efficiently scan traffic while driving.

16 year olds should be learning the limits of themselves, not their cars. 16 year olds should never need to know the limits of their cars, because they should never approach the limits of their cars.

You are a complete and utter moron.

well, that's a little harsh.

But true. I can see where he is coming from, but not knowing the limits of your vehicle will get you killed. One of the first things my dad did with me when teaching me to drive ~7 years ago was to take me out and have me throw my car around under every surface condition he could (snow, ice, gravel, asphalt). This could eventually save your life or at least save you from an accident.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: rikadik
I live in the UK and I've been told it's ridiculously easy to get a driver's license in the US. Can someone please tell me what you actually have to do to pass? I'm quite interested.

It depends. You can just go down and take the test when you are a certain age (between 15 and 17, depending on the state). I am not sure what EXACTLY that entails. An alternative in most states is to take a drivers education course which rolls education and the test together. Here you take a ~50 hour course and then drive with the instructor in the car until he is satisfied. You then take your completion slip to the DMV.

 

[IGBT]

..I'd raise the driving age to 21 and ban all DUI's from ever driving again. Drivers are technically machine operators. And their machines are in operation around other machine operators and pedestrians. Ya don't want drunks or children behind the wheel.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: IGBT
..I'd raise the driving age to 21 and ban all DUI's from ever driving again. Drivers are technically machine operators. And their machines are in operation around other machine operators and pedestrians. Ya don't want drunks or children behind the wheel.

If that is the case, not only should the driving age be raised, but also the age of legal consent (as in, a person is legally considered a minor until 21).

 

[animalia]

What do you want? A test that simulates or brings the testee to a near death accident? Then and only then can they pass?

 

[Captante]

It entails a 15 to 20 question written test, consisting of questions pretty much quoted word-for-word from the study manual & then a "road test" consisting of a short & very easy drive around the immediate area of the DMV, culminating in the dreaded parallel parking test (gasp!) ... stopping at stop signs & lights plus obeying the speed limit virtually garantees passage.

In short, yes its far too easy to get a drivers liscense in the USA.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

It's pretty easy. Yet I know people who have failed 3 - 4 times. How stupid can you be?

I scored 100% on my permit test and I was nearly flawless on my road test except the downhill residential part where I didn't want to brake hard enough so I was a little above 25 mph.