It was too easy to get my license. I took the test in, I think, 1978 in a small town in Colorado. Basically I had to drive around the courthouse. There was no traffic. I then got my license. I’ve been licensed in several states since then, but I’ve never had to take a test. Once I had a license, each state just gave me their license upon presentation of a valid license from another state.
About ten years ago, I decided it was time to get my motorcycle license here in New York. I’d been riding for about ten years already, and I’d owned a number of bikes. Up until then, the authorities didn’t seem to care. If you had a valid driver’s license, you were good to ride. But then things changed, so I went for the license.
This test was a bit more rigorous. Several people being tested that day failed. It did require some mildly difficult moves, or at least difficult for a beginner. Tight figure-eight turns in narrow spaces, for example. If you used your feet you failed. Then there was a course through traffic, followed by the examiner in a car, using his headlights to signal right or left. Attention was paid to signaling, full stops, and so on. I don’t remember my score, but I passed.
Moderately easy. To get your permit, you have to take drivers ed, and get at least 80 questions right out of 100 on the written test. That’s a cinch: 'If a pedestrian steps into the road in front of you, what should you do? A: stop and avoid them, B: Honk your horn, or C: Run them over?"
For my actual license, the road test started with parallel parking. If you hit the curb on your first try, you’re supposed to get a second try, but my examiner refused to let me try again. After that, you pull out of the parking lot, basically drive around the block, and as long as you don’t crash, run a red light, or cut anyone off, you pass.
My aunt, on the other hand, never wanted to get a license. One day she applied for a new state photo ID, and they sent her a drivers license instead. :eek:
Written was a breeze; the driving test took me three tries–the only tests I’d ever failed! The first time, some jackass pulled right out in front of the car. I jammed on the brakes to avoid hitting him, but the evaluator faulted me and said I should have gone around him! (There was no one behind us, and I was driving the family car, so I wasn’t taking any chances.) The second time, I followed instructions and ended up turning onto a one-way street. I had the same woman as evaluator, who seemed 102, smelled like she’d been drinking, and probably was racist, so my father said we were going to a different testing station. There, I passed with flying colors. In fact, that evaluator said he wished more kids were as skilled as I was!
I did the reverse of RickQ and learned to drive in America then took the test in the UK several years later. The UK test is much harder.
The first test (in upstate New York) was a breeze, driving around some deserted streets for 15 minutes (including passing a school, which in retrospect seems an odd location for a driving test). I didn’t have to parallel park or do anything remotely complex.
The UK test, on the other hand, was extremely difficult, including challenging manouvres such as reversing around a corner, an emergency stop, and negotiating a narrow street where I had to to pull over every 50 meters or so to allow oncoming cars through.
I have a few American friends who are good drivers but have failed the UK test more than once before passing. I passed the first time, but I did take lessons.