every 10 years while you are under 60, then one every 3-5 years after that
At least teach people the new rules.
In france bicycles are allowed to go the wrong way in 30-Zones. For example.
Sometimes when I’m driving home I pretend I’m doing a driving exam and see how far I can get before I fail, and I always seem to fail. My muscle memory for all the discouraged minutae is so strong.
Not controversial at all. In fact this is already introduced in the EU
Where?
Yay for repression, outpricing the lower middle class and medical discrimination.
Great idea. The modern system in the EU is expensive and discriminative (especially towards elders and disabled people).
I think you’re making an assumption that isn’t true:
https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/overview/age-of-driver/
I’d be interested in seeing a percentage based graph taking into account the number of drivers per age group. I would expect there to be fewer drivers in the last two groups, concurrent with an increased percentage of accident drivers.
I feel like this is one of those things that I can agree to on paper but I can’t support because I feel like it would disproportionately impact those that are already struggling to get by.
I’m surprised to hear that. If someone can pay insurance, parking, fuel, road tax, maintenance, EU checks for a car surely they can pay for a (potentially subsidized) re-certification once in 10 years?
I’m referring to the US because it’s where I’m familiar: Parking isn’t typically a cost outside of cities. Road tax is included in fuel. I’ve never had to get a car safety inspected, I’m sure it’s a thing in some places
Anyway, it’s not just the associated costs but also another generally pointless reason for everyone to have to visit an already over busy DMV and waste hours at best to show they can do something they are likely doing every day? It’s a lot easier for someone like me to go to the DMV and deal with the BS than it is someone who is working multiple jobs, has to actually clock in, and is otherwise hovered over. It’s easy for me to say how easy it is when I’m not struggling through the shit trying to make ends meet. Then what’s the solution, if the DMV decides, nah you can’t drive, does the state start paying their bills or assign them a chauffeur service so they can get where they need to in order to survive?
It’s for public safety, so there definitely shouldn’t be fees. It should be covered with taxes.
Yet driving is a privilege not a right so there are already fees on every exam you take, at least where I come from.
Personally I’m of the opinion that there’s no need to retest healthy working-age adults unless they have traffic violations… But traffic violations should trigger retesting more easily. Right now you gotta fuck up real bad to have your license taken away (after which you can get it back after a while if you pass tests again).
And once you’re in your 60s or 70s, we should start retesting and it should be mandatory. We do have mandatory health exams that go from 10 years to 5 years when you age, but they mostly test the sharpness of your vision and such. They don’t test how you actually react to things in traffic, or how good your peripheral vision is. There’s other stuff they test too, but I’ve forgotten it, been a few years since my last one.
that sounds an awful lot like communism /s
wut, no, unless ur tests are litarally held in a commune, dumass!
;-)
That would mean a drivers license should be covered by taxes because that is also for public safety. Yeah no I don’t agree
I disagree that one means the other. Initial license is s privilege. Testing is for safety and we want to limit incentives to skip it
Also how do you judge a test? Like hey I’ve driven over 140 mph just fine, drifted in the rain, drop shifted to save myself out of an accident. How is checking to see if someone can tap the gas or brake pedal make me feel less like I’m trying to avoid collisions? It’s like wow you can use turn signals… good, you know where the brake pedal is… good, oh you forgot where the gas pedal was since you were watching tictock dance videos. Now add in all the new features like a corolla being able to drive you around with no input.
I am nearing 70 and I have 2 cataracts. I am voluntarily taking myself off the road as I don’t feel right. Selling our vehicle at end of month. I will not be one of those old farts that crashes into people for my own convenience. It sucks but it’s the right thing to do.
Bro, as your friendly neighborhood eye doctor, please go get your cataracts fixed. It’s honestly one of the best quality of life improvements you can make. Most surgeries are less than 15 minutes.
I have been to an eye doctor. Unfortunately they are still ripening and not yet ready to be fixed. About 3 months ago he said come back in 6 months. I heard it is not good to work on them until the right time?
I watched my grandpa’s driving deteriorate to where I didn’t feel safe being driven around by him, for myself or for others.
thank you for making that choice. 70 feels early, to me, comparing to when I noticed it in my grandfather and what I am seeing in my father now, so I respect your decision even more
hopefully you live somewhere that you can still get around decently, as my grandfather did. he could still walk or bike all around town, and did
I just want to not have to drive
I agree. It’s not that your driving skills might be lost over time, it’s to refresh everyone on laws and regulations. It would also catch people who have had cognitive decline and should not be driving.
I’m also for a yearly update on what traffic rules changed.
I don’t think this opinion is as unpopular as you expect. Especially post COVID where everyone clearly forgot the little driving skill they did have.
The problem is who the opinion is unpopular with. About 22% of registered voters are in the AARP, and they’d be most at risk of losing their driving privileges. Any legislator proposing this or voting for it may as well kiss their office goodbye.
for a couple years during covid, they didn’t even do behind-the-wheel driving tests here, even for new drivers
At least in some places well before COVID they didn’t bother with road tests. My first GF got her first license in a tiny little town in GA way back in 1998-99. No driving test was administered
That would all depend on state.
Eh. I’d rather have real driver training required before a license is issued. Some countries do.
In the US, my driver’s education consisted of driving in a car with an instructor and two other students in the back (or being in the back while someone else drove). We were required to drive five mph under the speed limit at all times.
So really, I learned how to drive when I got my license.
I’m 51. I was hit two times in my early 20s, but I’ve not been involved in an accident since (and so never has been my fault). But it’s not because of the driver’s ed.
Also, I’d love for science to look at what ages (or medical conditions) affect poeples’ ability to drive and start testing based on those things. If that means taking tests now? Sure, fine, let’s do it - I know I’m still fine.
But it’s also hardly an age thing… lots of people just don’t care to learn how to actually drive defensively. :|
The only problem with that is that for the last 90 years we have been making our cities car dependant
Sure in places where there are alternatives to driving make it hard to get or keep a driving licence so it’s only the competent drivers on the road, but in places with no cheaper alternative the deal the majority has accepted is everyone needs to drive no matter how bad at it they are
Doesn’t seem like an unpopular opinion. At least not on Lemmy.
WRONG. DOWNVOTED. BLOCKED.
Just kidding.
But “unpopular opinions” are hard, though, because the TRULY unpopular ones usually don’t get upvotes. lol
Sure, why not. Make it a 20min exam at something like 30 bucks and it’ll improve road safety for everyone at a manageable cost for the individual. I mean I’m paying way more for the repairs, insurance, gasoline… Also spend way more time in some traffic jams. Guess I could do it every few years or so…
Edit: And go ahead and ask them some questions as well. Like: You’re in a traffic jam. What do you do? a) change lines 200 times – b) do something useful.
And take away their permit do go downtown or drive while rush hour if they’re bad drivers.
