Only a Test
In case you haven’t seen this, GMAC, the insurance company, has been promoting a sample “driver’s test,” and then noting to various media outlets that New Jersey (tailgating capital of North America, in my humble opinion — at least east of the Mississippi) drivers supposedly show up as the “worst,” with Kansas as the “best.” (I’m sure the sample sizes wouldn’t hold up to scientific scrutiny, but it’s always fun as a New Yorker to pick on the Garden State)
I took the test and managed 20 out of 20 (as I bloody well should have given how much material I’ve been reading on driving), much better than I did when I actually applied for my license years ago, but a few of the questions certainly gave me pause (though one often suspects that’s simply from the wording of the question).
If all goes well I’m actually, as a bit of experiment, taking the U.K.’s written driving test (the “theory test” they call it), administered by the National Driving Standards Agency, in a few weeks. The literature I’ve been sent to study for it is a bit overwhelming.
The reason I’m taking it is that I’ve always heard, anecdotally, that tests in places like the U.K. and Germany are much harder than the U.S., and I’m curious as to how that is reflected in our comparative safety statistics. To what extent one can be attributed to the other is an open question in my mind, and from what I can see, much of the literature (and if anyone’s got any good studies on this please share).
But GMAC’s exercise does raise an interesting point about making driving tests a national standard in the U.S. The very fact that we get our licenses from the “Department of Motor Vehicles” (rather than the U.K.’s ‘Driving Standards Agency’) at least semantically implies the whole process is really about just getting cars on the road, rather than strictly regulating the quality of the drivers in those cars. Just getting people to signal these days is a bit of a challenge, much less getting them to signal the right distance ahead of a turn.
So, ‘fess up: how’d you do on the test?
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This entry was posted on Friday, June 6th, 2008 at 2:43 pm and is filed under Drivers, Traffic Laws. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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June 8th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
Okay, I’ve been driving for 20 years and I’m ashamed to say that I scored fifty percent.
Are some of those trick questions?
June 9th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Okay, I got a 70% which is better than I ever got in school. Truth be told, I never drive and when I do, I’m like the grandma with my white knuckls on the wheel at 10 and 2. I’d like to do this for a passenger. Like, who gets to pick the radio station? What if the a/c is blowing too hard on the driver but just right for you?
June 9th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Great blog! I scored 95%… no lie. I’ve been driving for about nine years. The only one I missed was number 18, I picked C instead of B.
June 9th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
I got a 70% on the test but I knew ahead of time the ones I got wrong if that makes any difference. From the way I see other people drive, I don’t think many people would do so well on this test!
June 9th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Hey, I got a 70%, too, which isn’t so hot. I’m going to be moving soon and having to switch my driver’s license–which means I’ll have to take a written test. Guess I should study some more, huh? Or maybe I’ll just read your book…
June 9th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
A driving test should be our single determinant of citizenship or even green card status in America. I personally would emphasise parallel parking, but acknowledge an urban bias, and so would also emphasize passing behavior out in the countryside (Texan drivers are the best in this area, which, I now see, relates to passing behavior in a pool’s lap lanes).
Mandatory deportation for poor grades, even for citizens.
We’ll think of another test for non drivers: pedestrian etiquette?
The L.A. Times just ran a great article on commuters’ stories, here.
June 9th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
p.s., I scored 85%.
Citizenship intact.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I scored an 85%.
Love the website. Can’t wait for the book.
Cheers.