Originally Posted by
Wogster
I think the problem is you could have received a licence in 1950, and have never had to go through any kind of upgrade training or retesting. I think the DMV should require a written test every 5 years, you must score higher then 80% in order to renew your licence. If you fail, but score more then 60% then do not take your licence away, but you can't renew until you pass. If you score less then 60%, they pull your licence and add the requirement of a road test, to renew. When they add new rules or change laws, the test is altered to include the new changes. They should sit you down in front of a computer, it has a pool of say 100 questions, which are randomly selected, so taking the test twice, might come up with a different set of questions, although the ones you got wrong the previous time, have a double chance of showing up again. Also with a higher chance of showing up, are questions that are new. Say they add a 3' law, it then starts showing up on the test.
California used to retest every five years (written only), and they may still do it. The last time I looked, the majority of licensed drivers who took the written retest scored below the 70% passing threshold. That means we're sharing the road with a bunch of D-students.
I feel rather strongly that if someone cannot acquire the knowledge and skill to drive safely and legally, said person has no business driving. Unfortunately for the tens of thousands killed annually, my opinion and $3.00 buys you a coffee.