Drivers test - would you pass? - interactive RVing article

Drivers test - would you pass - 36 million licensed Americans would not
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DRIVERS TEST - WOULD YOU PASS?

"36 million licensed Americans would not pass DMV exam if taken today"

2007 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test

Results from the 2007 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test indicate that one in six drivers on the road - roughly 36 million licensed Americans - would not pass their written DMV exam if taken today. The survey was done by testing licensed Americans on actual questions from state DMV license exams.

For Americans, Yellow Means Go ... And Age Matters

As in every year, respondents completed 20 questions drawn from actual DMV tests. GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test respondents found two questions particularly vexing this year:

Eighty-one percent couldn't identify the proper following distance from the car in front of them (correct answer: two-seconds).
Even more (84 percent) couldn't identify the correct action to take when approaching a steady yellow traffic light (correct answer: stop if it is safe to do so).

Other points of interest drawn from the 2007 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test 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 (55 percent) don't know how many feet to signal before making right or left turns.
More than 2 in 5 drivers (46 percent) are unaware of the meaning of a diamond-shaped sign (warning sign).

You can read the full article here

What do you think? ...

Readers' comments:

JACKIE9 TOES : many of us woudn't pas because the driving book was 10 pages long when we got our license/ now its a hard cover book 100 pages long. by the way i had to take a new test when they changed to cdl s about 8 or 10 years ago, it was interesting

Cross K : I don't know if I would pass or not but I feel my driving is better than most of the truck drivers I see on the road every day. They're the worst part of driving a motorcoach.

Jembo39 : I would never pass the test if I took it now and I don't agree that with age comes wisdom. I think my driving gets worse with age. I'm 68 and starting to get very worried about my driving. I think we should be honest, my memory is not as good as it was and I couldn't remember the rules for the written test and my reactions are not so good for the driving test. I love RVing but I find some things more difficult. I'm increasingly worried about backing my 40' coach into spaces that are not pull-though. On a positive note, my health is good and I feel great and life is better than ever.

Jim B : I think it's probable that many people only pass the written exam because they study for it before the exam. After they pass they forget much of the stuff they'd learned. I couldn't answer the question about the yellow traffic light but when I read the answer it was exactly what I do in practice.

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