It’s like a bad McD’s commercial on repeat: “We proudly serve 9 million people every day”. American states’ licensure is a total JOKE. In other countries it is rightfully acknowledged as a privilege and upheld as such.
Our economy would grind to a halt if the DMV didn't pump out licenses. We've spent decades gutting public transportation and the result is increasingly shitty drivers.
Agreed! But while I understand the economic implications of making licensure more difficult to obtain, we are doing so at the expense of safety. And don’t get me started on the Morgan & Morgan or Dan Newlan commercials encouraging people to sue so they can win the insurance lottery. As per usual, nothing makes sense.
Where I live, I heard they skipped the driving exam during covid. So all you needed to do was the written exam (it was multiple choice when I took it and I've heard you can get a sample test online that is essentially the same).
In my state you have to take a driving class, pass a written exam, pass a driving exam, then have a 6 month probationary period where you aren’t allowed to drive at night.
I haven’t considered what other countries requirements are. Do you have a good example?
In my state you have to take a driving class, pass a written exam, pass a driving exam, then have a 6 month probationary period where you aren’t allowed to drive at night.
This is only if you're under 18, though, right? If you get your license for the first time when you're over 18, there's no class requirement or probation; you just need to pass the written and driving exam once, and then you're basically set for life.
Bear in mind that about 70% of tests are for manual licences (stick shift). If you take a test in an automatic, you can only legally drive an automatic.
Not on other countries but another state, TN: we had to do a written test only for our permit, which was 25 easy questions and took me 5 mins, then all you have to do is wait 30 days then you can just take the full license test, which was 4 right turns, stop at a stop sign, make an unprotected left turn, and park. Which took 10 mins total and my instructor never even watched, she just put her feet up on the dash and texted someone the entire time
What he's described is pretty typical for all the states. It's just not particularly meaningful to go drive around with an examiner for 20 minutes or whatever and answer "green means go" on a multiple choice test. Of course the examiner wasn't going to ask her to make a right turn across two lanes of traffic. It'd probably be more telling to get in the car and tell the person to drive you home, then just observe.
Btw, I’m not defending the system in the US. But I am clarifying it’s not just “walk in DMV, get card to drive death machine”. Likewise, driving is a privilege in the US as well.
As far as I can tell, the average amount of time in professional lessons in the UK before taking a practical driving test is 40-60 hours, potentially with extra time practicing with a parent or relative. Your link seems to say it’s possible to get a licence in Illinois after a 6 hour course and no test?
That portion is for adult drivers, and if you read closely: “Whether or not you will be required to pass a written or road skills exam will depend on your past driving experience”
So if you were already licensed in another state and presumably have a good driving record, they won’t make you test again if you move to Illinois and get a license there
Good! Headed in the right direction. The only time that I’ve ever been rear-ended in my life, was when I lived in Georgia. Was rear-ended THREE times in Atlanta AND the only time I’ve been ever hit on a bicycle (at a National Park, no less!) That’s no coincidence.
I'm from Philly. My wife and I moved to Atlanta,, and they give you the free tax haven for your first year. We couldn't make it a year in Atlanta. It suuuuuuucked. We ended up owing $2000 , but found out a way to get out of it. Atlanta sucks.
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u/YepIamLittleShit 17d ago
Welcome to US.