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1 in 6 American drivers would flunk test
Posted by Matthew on May 23, 2008 at 8:03 am
From the Captain Obvious news desk, a new report by GMAC Insurance concludes that over 16% of American drivers don’t know the rules of the road and would flunk a written driving test were they forced to take one. Frankly, given how much stupid crap I see during my commute every day, I’m surprised it’s only 1 in 6 who fail. A couple of the biggest problem areas were what to do when approaching a yellow light (it’s not “speed up so you can run the red before the other way turns green”, morons) and the safe distance to maintain behind another vehicle (I’ll give you a hint: it’s a lot more than 3 feet).
Interestingly, drivers out east (New England and DC) had the worst scores, while drivers in the midwest, where I live, had the highest scores and the lowest failure rate. Also, “…the study found that drivers over the age of 35 were more likely to pass, and women were more likely to fail than men.”
Apparently, one of the “bright spots” of the results was that almost all test-takers knew “how to interpret a solid yellow line.” I’m guessing those drivers could also interpret a solid concrete barrier.
Source: CNN Money
Tags: Automotive, Culture
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I think I would get the question about 4-way stops wrong… which is unfortunate since there’s quite a few of them in my neighborhood. I just slow way down and control who gets there first and try to get by like that but I’ve messed it up a couple of times, for sure.
It took me a good 20 years from the time I passed my first written test (with a grade of 100%) to actually taking my first road test to complete the legit paperwork, but I knowingly took the test in a jurisdiction that I knew was easy to pass (no P park or K turn even) so that was sorta cheating - but what can I say? I don’t like test stress, heh.
At least I’m not one of those that think they’re a great driver. I know I’m not and I stay off the road as much as possible, especially during peak usage times. I’m better in a racecar than on the street. In racing you only have to understand physics, in street driving there’s all those arbitrary rules… “those on the right with brown leather interiors get to go first if they’re sticking their arms out the window” sorta thing… who’s on the right if all 4 cars get to the intersection at the same time - that’s what I’d love to know. The guy traveling North? Who has time to check a compass at a time like this? Not me, I’m under enough stress, LOL!