Driving tests and real-life driving

How many times have you sat minutes or hours in a traffic jam, waiting to see the cop cars, tow trucks and ambulances which signal your wait may soon end, but eventually traffic just ends and there was no evidence of any incident?  In these cases, bad driving is the likely culprit.

Driving in America's increasingly crowded cities and suburbs is frustrating and difficult. Driving examinations have not responded to the challenges of mega-urbanization. Specifically, American driving standards are not high enough; people who lack driving skills—and driving sense— can get licensed and re-licensed until something really bad happens.

The low-cost solution to hideous traffic is to: make the driving test more difficult.

Incompetent drivers cause traffic jams, whether they crash or not. Take the simple act of merging into heavy, fast-moving traffic; which occurs dozens of times in any urban routine. One frightened driver, stopping a few seconds in the wrong interchange at the wrong time, can snarl traffic for miles, trapping thousands of other drivers for minutes or hours.

Politically, it is unpopular to suggest somebody who is physically impaired, who is emotionally unbalanced, or who is just plain stupid, should not drive. But the fact is; bad driving causes lethal accidents and huge traffic jams every day, all across America.  Bad driving wastes millions of gallons of fuel and adds tons of pollutants to our air.  It contributes to road rage, wasted time and occasionally, needless injury and death.  The full costs of traffic congestion are almost impossible to quantify.

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America's urban freeways and suburban feeder routes are no place for the incompetent, and it is thousands of times less expensive and more effective to get lousy drivers off the road than it is to build ever-wider roadways and more elaborate junctions.  A more comprehensive driving test can also reinforce common sense, patience, and respect for others... things which are increasingly rare on American roads.

Current driving tests measure rudimentary knowledge of the rules of the road.  At some point in a driver's life—usually very early— you must prove your ability to operate a vehicle under minimally difficult circumstances. Once licensed, many Americans are not road tested again for dozens of years. Adding cellular phones, babies, fast food, gigantic Sport Utility Vehicles, and other distractions—on top of a general increase in traffic and average speeds—only brews more gridlock and carnage.

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Driving tests need to objectively measure many critical skills beyond mere knowledge of the law.  Rather than the testing the simplest of conditions, we should test the ability to operate a motor vehicle under the most difficult circumstances, including specific testing for:

• logical decision making under pressure
• temperament and fearfulness
• understanding of how vehicles operate
• alertness, sharpness, ability to concentrate
• hand-to-eye coordination
• sense and understanding of direction
• peripheral vision
• hearing

America must not shrink from hard decisions about where, when and who is fit to drive. We must get the incompetent, the angry, the thoughtless and the decrepit off the road. At the same time, we must provide the opportunity to learn driving skills for people who need to drive and are able to do it well, regardless of income level.

Giving people options

Increased transportation options for people who cannot drive must coincide with efforts to weed out lousy drivers.  Forcing people out of their cars, with no way to get to work, breeds outlaws and joblessness.  Some ways include:

• electric scooter and bicycle programs
• bike-trains
• high-speed rail
• better public transit in general

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By eliminating the small percentage of drivers who, for whatever reason, simply cannot cope with modern driving, we can reduce the estimated 5.7 billion gallons of gasoline wasted by Americans who were waiting in traffic in 2000, reduce the air pollution associated with that colossal waste, and reduce the amount of frustration on our roads in general.  For each peak period road user, there is about 100 gallons of gas and 62 hours of precious time which can be saved per year, according to the Texas Transportation Institute.  The institute publishes the Urban Mobility Report, the most widely cited study of the impacts of traffic congestion in the United States

More options

Not all drivers are created equal, and not all driving situations require the same amount of skill.  An individual who is a nightmare driving in Miami or San Francisco might be perfectly competent driving in the small community where they live, and could be licensed to do that. Similarly, driving a 400-horsepower, 8,000 pound vehicle is much more demanding than driving a small vehicle, and larger vehicles should require more rigorous skill testing.

State motor vehicle departments, with the assistance of the Highway Patrol, should have flexibility to apply a higher standard in a high-risk area.  Limitations could be based on geography, population density, average speed, vehicle types etc.  A test for the Los Angeles commuter might emphasize high-speed merging, traffic jams, and anger management.  The privilege of driving in the wilds of Wyoming might require mastering snow and the effects of elevation.  Pilot different tests in many cities. European counties with higher driving standards may be able to help.

One reader asked, "how can we enforce such a plan?" Good question.  A gradual transition seems best. Here are four sensible steps which could be taken over, say, five or seven years.

1. Automatically refer people cited for breaking existing traffic laws to a new, more difficult test.  If they fail, they are downgraded to a new, limited-class license.  They are excluded from driving in major metropolitan areas during high-use hours.  They get one free retest and access to training. They must pass the new test within one year or lose their license.  (This will be a great deterrent for those who are competent, but sometimes misbehave.)
2. Create a new traffic infraction: incompetence.  The ticket has no fine, but the driver must take the new test.   If they fail, they are downgraded to the new, limited-class license.  They get one free retest and access to training. They must pass the new test within one year or lose their license.
3.  Start going through the drivers rolls.  Those motorists with the worst records and longest time since their last road test should be first for upgraded testing.
4.  Limited drivers who receive a citation in the restricted areas during restricted times are considered to be driving without a license, and are prosecuted under existing laws. 

Clearly, this will require money to train more driving instructors and examiners, and to modernize licensing systems. This is money well spent; it will recycle through the community many times, while making our roads safer and our air cleaner, and while reducing demand for expensive fossil fuels. 

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Response to this web page from the Sustainable Enterprises community:

• I lived in UK for 3years, have just moved back home to the states. In UK the driving test is harder, but the drivers are worse then in the states. People just do what it takes to pass then do whatever bad habits and rude driving after its finished. Road rage is at its highest in UK.
• I'm another person who moved from the UK to the USA (California). The Californian car driving test was a joke (a rather bad joke at that), the motorcycle test was an even bigger joke. The standards of both the tests were WAY too low, and it really shows by the standards of some of the drivers (and motorcycle riders) over here. The driving standards in Britain could be better, but they are SO MUCH better than what I have to put up with in Los Angeles.
• It will never work. Most of the people that enforce/create these laws are bad drivers themselves. The fact is that a "good driver" is a rarity and always will be.
• I agree that US tests are a joke. I drove in the US for 8 years before moving to the UK. What a difference! The standards are much higher and the testing I have had to go through was very difficult (and expensive) and I am now a much better driver as a result. Driving is not a right it is a privilege for those who are competent and properly trained. It is also much more then just using indicators and not hogging the outside lane, car control is much more important and trust me ne drivers in the US are no are nowhere as well training. Although, as it goes by state things very and through friends I understand that in PA for example the testing is much more rigorous then in say NY where I had to drive around the block (less then 15 minutes in no traffic). The only issue with UK is the £££. This leads to lots of young unlicensed, untaxed and un-insured drivers on the roads. That needs sorting!
• This one is for the people from the UK and Germany. First of all I think it is unfair about the comment you said about positioning and driving test standard. You guys might have harder tests etc but in America most people observe the laws and use indicators etc. trust me. Have you ever been to a place called Greece?  By the way I live here and am from Pennsylvania. The drivers in Greece are truly bad. They have no respect for the law, go up one way streets, through red lights, cut you on left turns on traffic lights etc. police officers even do these things. Listen I've been to England, Germany, and now living in Greece. When I was driving on the British motorways I observed drivers hogging the outer and inner lanes to where you could not pass. OK, we do the same in America. All I'm saying is don't judge us till you've judged your own countries. We observe rules in general just like you guys. And our examining system isn't corrupt like yours to where they intentionally fail you the first time to make more money.
• "It feels like a lot of the suggestions being made are already in place in the UK, at least with regard to driving safety and instruction. I know of no-one who did not learn to drive through a registered driving school, although the option of being taught by a friend is there many people do not take it, because the test is too strenuous without formal instruction. The recommended amount of driving lessons before taking your test is approximately 20, more with age and if you feel you would have difficulties. I have dyspraxia (a co-ordination disorder) and I am having at least 30 lessons to ensure that I will be prepared for my test. The actual driving test has 3 parts (in addition to a vision check). The first one is a theory test, your knowledge of the rules of the road, and also a section on hazard perception - identifying hazards on 14 video clips. There are minimum marks to be gained on each section before you can even go on to take your practical test. The Practical test has two parts, the first one (which is new over here) is two questions about vehicle safety and maintenance, i.e. 'How would you know if your tyres are legal?' or 'How would you check the oil?' Show me now.' Then there is the practical test, which is driving around the local area, being marked on performance, and includes skills such as reversing, parking, emergency stops, etc. It is perfectly possible for someone to lose their licence or have points for dangerous driving.
• "I have read all the previous posts. Some are obviously written by people needing to practice what they preach. I find the biggest problem to be NO UNIFORMED STANDARD OF DRIVING OR INSTRUCTION. Unfortunately because all 50 states insist on keeping their individuality, and believing they can do better than Uncle Sam. If all states were regulated by the Federal Government, and a federal drivers license issued, everyone would drive basically the same. The Standard of Driving should be the same throughout the USA as it is in every other country in the world. This is also true with the Instructor.  A driving Instructor, in most part is a professional who really believes his profession to be valuable to the people in their community. Most Instructors do care more than most people think. Unfortunately, the Instructor has no control over a student's driver license or operation of a lethal weapon in the wrong hands, after the student has completed the course and issued a license to drive. Yes there are bad driver's and yes there are bad instructors. Just as there is in other profession's and skill levels. Are all soldiers marksmen? Are all CEOs good organizers and managers ? No, they are not. Take a look at your own driving. When did you last volunteer to brush up on your driving skills and the driving laws of your state ? After a person acquires their drivers license the only time they gain further knowledge is when they get a traffic ticket. And they they blame the officer. Because after all, if the officer was doing something else they would never have been stopped in the first place. It's safer to fly than drive. So let's introduce the same medical and skill levels required to be a commercial pilot to being a professional driver, regardless of how much and how far you drive."--Signed a Professional Instructor.
• "This article is very pie in the sky. Yes, we all want better drivers on the road, but I don't see this happening very soon. The DMV offices in California are flooded are flooded with too many appointments on a daily basis. Drive tests do not test the true difficulties of everyday driving, but the reader does not see this changing any time soon!"
• "I couldn't agree more that the licensing requirements in the United States needs to be changed. I lived in Germany for 20 years. Even though they have some 80 Million people crammed into the area of Washington and Oregon combined, they really can drive. They drive AWARE of what is going on around them. I returned to the Pacific Northwest a little over two years ago, and have never before seen so many incompetent and incapable drivers. People, just because it is big and has all the "safety" features, does not release you from being a RESPONSIBLE driver! If you can't drive it - park it and milk it."
• "Interesting idea, but how would this be enforced? What would happen if the "hamlet" driver were to go to the "Big City"? Just as with speeding, the roads are flooded with violators that overwhelm highway enforcement officers. The problem is there are TOO MANY PEOPLE. Many are spoiled indulgent consumers. And they are all too dependent upon the car. No one, which seems to include the author of this article, seems to have learned from the Arab Oil Crisis of 1973. And the younger generation blames this on their ignorance "I was only 13, 10.. etc when that Oil Crisis happened". History. Those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. Wake up. Sustainability begins at YOUR OWN FRONT DOOR. Whenever possible ride a bicycle don't drive! Use transit."
• "Uncle George" is over 92 and still driving... fortunately in his neighborhood, which is not around here. I guess I'd better not tell you where he lives."
• "Each state should offer driving instruction free of charge. The driving schools are For-Profit, bottom dollar motivated companies, who may hire part-time instructors, some with real "junker" cars. The student becomes the driver that the instructor is and that may not always be GOOD. The state should instruct and give the road test and all the instructors should be highly trained. There should be summer and winter classes for bad weather states and a license that has checked off "April-October Only" or "All Year". A student going to a driving school in Baltimore, that was picked out of a phone book in June, has no idea what to do when the first snow falls. In addition; all driver's should be required to pass the written test every 2 years. There are many drivers who forget how far to park from a fire hydrant or what the speed limit is in a school zone."
• I found it interesting that the focus here seems to be on wasted gasoline and pollution. OK, not unimportant I grant you, but I personally think the safety issue should be top priority. The other two are a bonus as a result of safe driving. I recently moved to the USA from the UK and, like the gentleman who lived in Germany for 20 years, was amazed at the poor standard of driving. The driving test I took in Colorado was, frankly, too easy. In the UK people will typically take 12 - 20 lessons from a licensed instructor before they are anywhere near ready to take the exam. There is a strong motivation for people to use these instructors because, quite simply without them they would fail. There is a much higher standard expected with regard to things like positioning in the road when driving, turning etc, appropriate use of indicators, braking, lots of theory and such like. There is an offence in the UK called 'driving without due care and attention'. The vast majority of drivers I have seen here in Colorado would be convicted of this on a daily basis were they to try and drive in the UK. Up the standards here. It needs to be done. It will save lives, money, reduce pollution, reduce insurance costs and reduce stress.
• I agree with the comments from the respondent who recently moved to the US from the UK. There is a national standard in the UK, and one can expect people to adhere to the national laws and practices. The driving test is difficult, and almost impossible to pass without driving lessons, even for the most experienced drivers who move to the UK.
• Tell you the truth I think that people should take a new driving test every 5 years and the people who give the test should be strict about it. People agree that there are plenty of people who don't know how to drive. Personally I wouldn't want to take it again and again every 5 years but overall it would get the bad drivers off the streets and keep the good ones on.