So, Im not crazy....
36 million drivers would flunk drivers tests
(AOL Autos) -- Is it just your imagination, or do many of your fellow motorists lack even a rudimentary grasp of traffic laws?
One in six drivers would fail driving test if they had to take it today, a GMAC test suggests.
Well, if a test administered by GMAC Insurance is any indication, one in six people cruising our highways and byways -- roughly 36 million licensed drivers -- would flunk their driver's test if they had to take it today. Not only that, but based on the 2007 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test data the state with the most road-going dummies is New York, while the most knowledgeable ones are out West to Idaho.
"The results were pretty eye-opening to us," says Gary Kusumi, president and CEO of GMAC Insurance Personal Lines. "Not only did they indicate that there are wide differences in terms of state scores, but there were significant trends that demonstrated the general public might have forgotten must-know items from when they first took their driver's test."
"Two questions consistently sent respondents skidding into the weeds," Kusumi notes. The first has to do with the correct action to take when approaching a steady yellow traffic light (Answer: Stop if it is safe to do so.). A whopping 84 percent of respondents spun their wheels on that one. The next biggest puzzler after that question had to do with the proper following distance from a car in front of you (Answer: Two seconds).
Also of interest from the GMAC Insurance test:
• Drivers 35 and older were more likely to pass
• Illinois, Georgia, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts were the least knowledgeable states overall, with average scores under 75 percent
• Fifty-five percent of the respondents didn't know how many feet before making a left or right turn to activate their turn signals
• The national average score was 77.1 percent
"We believe that the adoption of a uniform driver curriculum will significantly improve the driving skills of Americans," says Adele Kristiansson, a spokesperson for the National Road Safety Foundation. "Some states do not require mandatory education for novice drivers, and some states require it," adds Kristiansson. "My organization is concerned because driver education is an orphaned child and it's suffering."
On the Web at www.nationalroadsafety.org, and offering free programs to the public, the National Road Safety Foundation was created in 1961 by Fraydun Manocherian, after two youthful friends were killed in automobile accidents in Westchester County, New York.
According to GMAC Insurance, 18 percent of respondents failed its National Driving Test in 2007, compared with 9 percent in 2006. The test can be taken online at www.gmacinsurance.com.
The following state rankings were released for the 2007 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test:
1. Idaho.
2. Alaska
3. Minnesota
4. Wisconsin
5. Kansas
6. Washington
7. South Dakota
8. Montana
9. Oregon
10. Iowa
11. Nebraska
12. Wyoming
13. Oklahoma
13. Indiana
13. North Carolina
16. New Mexico
17. North Dakota
18. Missouri
19. Delaware
19. Nevada
21.Vermont
22. California
23. Hawaii
24. Texas
25. Maryland
25.Alabama
27. Arkansas
28. Michigan
29. Kentucky
30. Utah
31. Ohio
31.Colorado
33. South Carolina
33.Arizona
33. Florida
36. Maine
37. New Hampshire
37. Mississippi
37. Tennessee
40. Connecticut
41. Virginia
41. Louisiana
43. West Virginia
44. Georgia
45. Illinois
46. Pennsylvania
47. Rhode Island
48. Massachusetts
48. District of Columbia
48. New Jersey
51. New York
Of course they would. I failed my first time because they were like you didn't look over your shoulder before entering traffic, after I parked on teh curb, but I checked all my mirrors, which was labeled a dangerous manuever. Which driver does that? I mean if you say that you look over your shoulder at all times when changing lanes or entering traffic, you are lying, samething with signaling every time you are supposed to. Sometimes they fail you on the smallest things.
I look over my shoulder all the time and Im not lying.... the signalling part, I only signal if there is traffic in the lane Im going into. If it has no cars behind or in front of me within seeing distance, who the am I signalling?
They expect you to signal everytime. The only time I've seen people or myself look over the shoulder is when there is traffic, other than that why break your neck for nothing? But they expect you to do it every time. That's what is says in the California DMV handbook. Not sure about TX. I've always wondered what would the reaction be of the DMV man if you did a lane change when there was ZERO traffic and didn't signal during a driving test and try to argue with them on why you did it.
I signal AND check over my shoulder. Every time.
Even if there is 0 traffic?
IMHO it is dangerous to turn your head and look back while driving. There is always that chance that a hobo might jump on the road or a car breaks and you end up crashing into it. You never know what will pop on the road.
Yeah. It's just automatic for me -- I can't imagine going to change lanes and NOT double checking to make sure it was clear.
Besides, I can think of at least two times off the top of my head where I thought I was completely alone on the freeway and checked over my shoulder (just as a formality) only to discover that some aggressive bas doing 95 had gotten into my blind spot without me knowing.
How do you know for sure if you don't look? I always do both. Always.
Well, when you're on the road with E20 and it's just me and you on the lanes, nobody else......I'm not looking behind my shoulder so don't creep up on my blind spot.
I don't do that, either.
I'm not a safe driver because I think I need to be, I'm a safe driver because I know most other people aren't.
I'm all for moving things along, one of the problems I see a lot is people driving to slow, but it's the reckless MF's that ride on your ass and to your left because they can't wait to get to that left turn aisle before you do that piss me off....
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