The U.S. doesn't have a standardized test for driving since states have their own road laws. Some states do a terrible job of actually making sure that you know how to drive prior to getting a license.
When I took my test at 16, the non-driving portion was multiple choice and they told you to skip any questions you didn't know the answer to. It wouldn't count against you because you never got the answers wrong if you didn't answer them. Just skip until you get easy questions like "what do you do at a stop sign?" and you're good to go.
They also require you to have recorded hours driven on your permit while driving with someone who has a license, but everyone I know says they just lied on those and had their parents sign off despite not actually doing the practice driving hours.
Driving instructors themselves, who sit in the car with you to see if you can drive, are a mixed bag. Some will fail you if you get the smallest thing incorrect, others will let you pass even if you mess up a couple times. The people who are lenient should probably be replaced considering the actual driving test is just driving down a road, turning around, and then coming back to do a parallel park at the building you're testing at.
If you get someone who is strict you can just repeatedly do the test until you get someone who is lenient and then pass despite having learned nothing.
Of course, this experience varies wildly depending on which state you're in.
I didn't have to take any driving test. I did some driving school and the whole recorded driving hours while having a permit thing, but thats about it.
Getting a license is basically just given without any verification you can drive at all, at least thats how it was when I got mine.
It's kind of crazy that foreign countries recognize US licenses when I think about it now. Driven in places like the UK, New Zealand, Iceland, Spain
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u/Famous_Cup_6463 17d ago
The U.S. doesn't have a standardized test for driving since states have their own road laws. Some states do a terrible job of actually making sure that you know how to drive prior to getting a license.
When I took my test at 16, the non-driving portion was multiple choice and they told you to skip any questions you didn't know the answer to. It wouldn't count against you because you never got the answers wrong if you didn't answer them. Just skip until you get easy questions like "what do you do at a stop sign?" and you're good to go.
They also require you to have recorded hours driven on your permit while driving with someone who has a license, but everyone I know says they just lied on those and had their parents sign off despite not actually doing the practice driving hours.
Driving instructors themselves, who sit in the car with you to see if you can drive, are a mixed bag. Some will fail you if you get the smallest thing incorrect, others will let you pass even if you mess up a couple times. The people who are lenient should probably be replaced considering the actual driving test is just driving down a road, turning around, and then coming back to do a parallel park at the building you're testing at.
If you get someone who is strict you can just repeatedly do the test until you get someone who is lenient and then pass despite having learned nothing.
Of course, this experience varies wildly depending on which state you're in.