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Study: 36 Million U.S. Drivers Unfit to Drive

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Old 05-25-07 | 08:48 AM
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Default Study: 36 Million U.S. Drivers Unfit to Drive

Study: 36 Million U.S. Drivers Unfit to Drive

Associated Press
May 24, 2007


CBNNews.com - A new study shows that one in six drivers on the road roughly 36 million licensed Americans would not pass their written DMV exam if taken today.

The third annual survey by GMAC Insurance gauges driver knowledge of the rules of the road by testing licensed Americans on actual questions from state DMV license exams.

According to this years results, New York drivers ousted Rhode Island by ranking last in all 50 states and the District of Columbia on driver knowledge.

Idaho, on the other hand, topped the list and dethroned Oregon's tenure at first place as the most knowledgeable drivers in the United States.

While the national average score is 77.1 percent, New Yorkers had an average of 71 percent and the highest failure rates; Idaho had an average score of 81.7 percent.

In general, geographical regions ranked similarly to previous years, with Arkansas, Minnesota, Kansas and Wisconsin ranking in the top five and New Jersey, Washington, DC, Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the bottom five among all states.

Other points of interest drawn from the study include:

With age comes wisdom - the older the driver, the higher the test score. Drivers 35+ years old were most likely to pass.

More than half of respondents don't know how many feet to signal before making right or left turns.

More than two in five drivers are unaware of the meaning of a diamond-shaped sign.

Fortunately, nearly all respondents know what to do when an emergency vehicle with flashing lights approaches, what to do when hydroplaning and the meaning of a solid yellow line.
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/163924.aspx

http://www.gmacinsurance.com/
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Old 05-25-07 | 08:52 AM
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I don't doubt it but the drivers I'm really worried about are the blind senile old people that have nearly managed to kill me on more than one occasion. Everybody is afraid to revoke their licenses.
Old 05-25-07 | 08:55 AM
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[sarcasm]Wow, I didn't expect the northeastern states to be worst on the list[/sarcasm]
Old 05-25-07 | 09:49 AM
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Originally Posted by Threxx
I don't doubt it but the drivers I'm really worried about are the blind senile old people that have nearly managed to kill me on more than one occasion. Everybody is afraid to revoke their licenses.
I agree.

I've been pretty good at spotting them to either speed away or stay faarrrr back

I don't mind them being slow which they should be. It's when they make abrupt lane changes/turns without looking.

I give a honk to alert them, not to be a jerk or b/c I was upset.
Old 05-25-07 | 10:06 AM
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"The third annual survey by GMAC Insurance gauges driver knowledge of the rules of the road by testing licensed Americans on actual questions from state DMV license exams."
People need to realize that although some people may not pass the written test, a lot of people are doing well on the road. (Literally) Street Smarts is sometimes a better indicator than Book Smarts...
Old 05-25-07 | 10:07 AM
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"More than half of respondents don't know how many feet to signal before making right or left turns.

More than two in five drivers are unaware of the meaning of a diamond-shaped sign."
Answers are "a quarter mile" and "construction site," right?


Sidenote: I'm an Asian driver...
Old 05-25-07 | 10:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Threxx
I don't doubt it but the drivers I'm really worried about are the blind senile old people that have nearly managed to kill me on more than one occasion. Everybody is afraid to revoke their licenses.
Why? I don't follow your reasoning. There is nothing sacred cow about a geezer-license, any more than those of any other age group.

Whether 18 or 80, if you screw up enough times, it's bye-bye sheepskin.
Old 05-25-07 | 10:54 AM
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Honestly, I cant even discriminate about who are the worst drivers out there anymore. Its pointless to try and avoid it. Driving around Philly, NJ, NY all the time, it seems like everyone sucks.
Old 05-25-07 | 11:05 AM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Why? I don't follow your reasoning. There is nothing sacred cow about a geezer-license, any more than those of any other age group.

Whether 18 or 80, if you screw up enough times, it's bye-bye sheepskin.
I think what he probably meant is to give people above certain age, like 70+year olds mandatory regular tests on their eyesight, hearing response,etc., & revoke their license based on the test results BEFORE they actually screwed up on the road ?? . . .
Old 05-25-07 | 11:11 AM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
Why? I don't follow your reasoning. There is nothing sacred cow about a geezer-license, any more than those of any other age group.

Whether 18 or 80, if you screw up enough times, it's bye-bye sheepskin.
There are certain alertness and vision tests that should be required to be passed by people over a certain age so that their license is pulled BEFORE they 'screw up enough times'.
Old 05-25-07 | 11:47 AM
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Originally Posted by Threxx
There are certain alertness and vision tests that should be required to be passed by people over a certain age so that their license is pulled BEFORE they 'screw up enough times'.
Yes, to an extent, I can buy that, but under those conditions I agree that it might be difficult, for several reasons. First, of course, is AARP and its enormous political clout, especially in Florida. Second, it is difficult, in a free society, to slap more regulations on millions of people like that who are not used to it, even though driving, like flying, is legally considered a privilidge, not a right. For example, as a pilot, you undergo extensive medical and proficiency tests ranging from every six months to two years, depending on your class of license. Third, people who take these tests KNOW that they are being tested, every second, and that simulated road emergencies will be thrown at them, and they are ready for them. That of course, skews the results somewhat in their favor. On the road, in real conditions, things sometimes happen when you are NOT expecting them.....like sudden tire blowouts and vehicles being difficult to control. That's a whole lot different from a classroom instructor throwing things at you on a video screen.


My own opinion is that the real problem is not so much the inability of geezers to drive safely as it is simply the number of distracting gadgets in new cars.....for that I blame auto manufacturers, not state DMV's. The way controls and displays are set up in some ( not all ) of today's NAV, I-Drive, MMI, and trip computer-equipped vehicles, and their resulting complexities and distractions, is just absurd.
Old 05-25-07 | 11:51 AM
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Originally Posted by mmarshall
First, of course, is AARP and its enormous political clout, especially in Florida. Second, it is difficult, in a free society, to slap more regulations on millions of people like that who are not used to it, even though driving, like flying, is legally considered a privilidge, not a right.
Which is what I originally meant when I said:
Originally Posted by Threxx
Everybody is afraid to revoke their licenses.

Originally Posted by mmarshall
My own opinion is that the real problem is not so much the inability of geezers to drive safely as it is simply the number of distracting gadgets in new cars.....for that I blame auto manufacturers, not state DMV's. The way controls and displays are set up in some ( not all ) of today's NAV, I-Drive, MMI, and trip computer-equipped vehicles, and their resulting complexities and distractions, is just absurd.
I dunno - when I see old people just sort of wandering around all lanes of the road and running red lights - they're just sort of staring straight ahead into their own world of blurry nondescript objects that they can kind of sort of make out when they're actually concentrating on it. I don't think I've ever seen an old person even touching a 'distracting gadget' - they seem to be, as a whole, uninterested in car gadgets, even if/when their fancy cars happen to have them.
Old 05-25-07 | 12:13 PM
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I agree with some of your conclusions, Threxx, but in general, the more complex a vehicle, the more difficult it is to drive it as your mind and reflexes grow less capable. One of the solutions to the problems of old-age driving, IMO, is to have an ultra-simple car (by today's standards) like a Kia Rio or Hyundai Accent, but small, simple cars are usually shunned by the instructors in the over-55 defensive-driving courses. They stress, over and over again, the importance of big, heavy cars with plenty of metal for crash protection....so, of course, what do their "students" do?.....run out and buy big Buicks, Crown Vics, Town Cars, etc..... These cars, by their very nature, are considered upper-class, and generally come with a lot of gadgets. European and Japanese high-line cars like the Lexus LS460, BMW 7-series, Audi A8, Mercedes S-Class, etc......of course, are even more complex.
Old 05-25-07 | 02:28 PM
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The elderly shouldn't be allowed on the road in FL, i'm not going to argue why, but if you drove around where I live, you would see why. Perfect example yesterday: I was driving along merrily down the road, *mind you there is construction going on around this road* though no workers were present at the time. Well i get stuck behind this granny who's going 30mph, which i'm not too upset about, because the speed limit, due to the construction, is 35mph. However when we get back up to the main road where the speed limit is back to 45, she continues to go 30mph.....I'm not the most patient person on the road, and sometimes it makes me wonder why people can't just GO the speed limit, and why they must go so much under it. Don't even get me started on when it rains......
Old 05-25-07 | 07:37 PM
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Jewcano, I'll take driving among the FL elderly, anyday, over driving among all the people that have moved here from the northeastern states. Slow driving is always better than ignorant + selfish + inattentive driving.



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