What's with the odd numbers?
this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2025
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Why is driver's ed not a required high school class in the US? 99.9999% of people will get a driver's license because you are screwed without one. Also bring back the Highway Of Agony movies
A driver's ed class is required to get started towards being able to legally drive, usually conducted by or organized by the high school.
Then you have to pass a fairly picky written test and a token practical test and then never get re evaluated in any way for years and years.
It makes sense if the lawmakers in question are close to 79 years old and are afraid they would not pass the upcoming test they have to take.
79??? That would have to make them about the youngest lawmakers in the country!
When I got my license I thought it was stupid that we didn't have to retake the road test ever again.
At least every 10 years, 5 sounds reasonable to me.
It's not like the road test is particularly rigorous. Worth while to administer and you have to be in super bad shape if the person even notices you doing anything off, so it's not like the risk is high.
Though that written test, I took a practice one and my driving experience did not keep me in shape to pass those... Of course the questions are stupid like "which of the following violations carries the harshest penalty" or "exactly how many feet away from an intersection must you park when doing street parking on an unmarked street"
It might save lives. So no why would we?
Won't anybody think of the shareholders? These tests aren't free, you know..
Could have it done by private companies, even competing ones
Mental and physical health can degrade at any time, driving tests should be every 5 years for everyone.
Also would be good just to keep people up to date in changing road rules too.
Its horrendously expensive. Unless we make the drivers pay for it but then they will write to their politicians about how unconstitutional retesting them is.
We're subsidizing that cost in increased insurance premiums.
This is the same counter to people claiming universal or state sponsored health care is going to increase taxes. We're already getting taxed on that by the rising premium costs and less coverage for what we get/higher deductibles. I'm old enough to remember in the 80's and 90's that healthcare was basically "free", as long as you were employed. Almost all procedures were covered and your out of pocket/co-pay was covered under most plans after a small $250/500 deductible.
We pay for it in one form or another. I'd rather pay for it in my taxes, like every other first world country does. Works pretty well for them.
You know, this is a systemic issue, not a "stupid politicians being stupid" issue.
You've got a population of seniors, people who are getting older and losing their physical mobility, who are less able to walk or bicycle or take public transit than younger and healthier people are - many of whom live in car-dependent subdivisions or in areas with poor public transit, like, say, rural Illinois.
These are people who rely on their cars for grocery shopping and medical appointments and socializing.
These are people, often on fixed incomes, often close to the poverty line, who struggle to afford the fees for rideshares or grocery deliveries.
And you can say "if they can't pass the test they're not safe to be on the road" - but from the article:
According to the Illinois Department of Transportation, in 2023 the crash rate for drivers 75 years and older in Illinois was lower than any other age group of legal drivers.
This bill is not about leaving unsafe drivers on the road - it's about not adding unwarranted scrutiny and not making it harder for an especially car-dependent group of people to continue driving.
And it adds a provision that lets a senior's family members report them if they believe the senior is no longer safe to drive.
This bill is a response to seniors who are genuinely frightened of losing their right to drive and becoming unable to meet their basic needs - and they have a right to be frightened of that, because we've built a system where a lot of people can't meet their basic needs without driving.
In other words, if you build a system that makes driving necessary, you can't really blame people for not wanting to lose the right to drive.
Bro, if those seniors can't pass a driving test, they shouldn't be allowed to drive. The whole argument here is 'if we test them they may fail, and then wouldn't be able to drive'.
Those seniors could probably afford grocery delivery and rideshare services if they weren't paying insurance, gas, etc for their cars.
Sounds like they want meemaw and peepaw driving their own hearse
It should be as low as 50, and repeat each decade
Pretty smart...if your sole aim is to decrease the workload of the people that have to process these tests.
With the imminent Medicare cuts and the resulting drop in life expectancy, raising the age will probably reduce the number of cases to like 2 every year.
It's stupid for everyone but the politicians. This looks good to the most reliable voting bloc, and is dangerous to everyone.
An elderly relative of mine started getting tickets in the mail for running red lights. She apparently just forgot that you couldn't turn left on a red light. It's a miracle she never hit anyone.
Meanwhile, here in California seniors are never required to re-take the driving exam unless the DMV was notified by a doctor of a medical issue.
Should be reduced to 69 for the humor value alone.
69 was a lot funnier before I tried it. It's really hard to concentrate on giving while receiving, and you end up doing a half assed job.
5/10. Would do, but won't initiate.