When I got my CA license (1984, I think), I had to pull out of a parking spot in reverse (they were head-in only in the DMV lot), drive around surface streets with low speed limits for a few blocks around the DMV, and park in a head-on space. I may have reversed once or twice. That’s it.
No highway driving. No parallel parking. Okay, I may have done a 3-point turn on a residential street, but that’s the extent of the fancy moves.
And I have always had the same DL number.
Around here the real change in driving while intoxicated / driving under the influence / driving while impaired came with the introduction of video cameras in cop cars and a simple portable breath analysis device ( the breathalyser). That happened in the mid to late 70s. Before then it was simply a matter of the cop’s subjective judgement ( slurred speech, staggering, smell of booze) and local juries were unwilling to convict unless the defendant was nearly falling down drunk.
The standards rapidly changed after the Breathalyser came in, first with rebuttable presumptions above a certain blood /breath alcohol level ( I think 0.15 grams of alcohol per 200 milliliters of breath), then changed to a presumptive standard at 0.1 grams and then to 0.08 grams. The punishment became stiffer, too. Now a first offense drunk driver is facing up to a year in the county jail with a minimum of 48 hours, a fine of $1200 plus various surcharges that add another $400, suspension of drivers license for six months, court costs that might be as much as $500, a $200 “civil penalty to have the license reinstated after the suspension and high risk insurance for two years. Payment of the civil penalty and proof of the insurance is a prerequisite to reinstatement. Under the right circumstances your car can be confiscated, too.
With subsequent offenses things get worse. For a third offense in 12 years the defendant will do time in the state pen and his license will be revoked /suspended for six years. The whole shooting match is in Iowa Code Chapter 321J.
The rules are so iron bound that the quality of representation, or even having a lawyer, doesn’t make much difference. It is worth noting that the arresting officer has the authority to seize your drivers license right there at the road side.
My DL will not expire at age 70, but at that age it will have a two year term instead of the present six years. At 70 I will have to take a vision exam at each renewal and I can’t just send in the money for a new license. If I fail the vision test my license may be subject to limitations (depending on the vision test and maybe a supervised driving exhibition). For instance I can be limited to day-light driving or to driving within 10 or 15 miles of my home.
As a practical mater for the rural elderly the loss of a DL or a significant restriction is tantamount to a sentence of house arrest.
Given the distances you guys have to travel I’d imagine the loss of a DL would be catastrophic
Damn, Iowa is a tough place. In CA, representation makes a huge difference- Breathalyzer results are challenged every day (similar issues to radar guns- training, most recent calibration, extenuating circumstances, etc).
I’d say it’s not obsolete, for a couple of reasons. First, there are still enough cars without ABS out there. Especially among the old bangers most likely to be purchased as a teenager’s first car.
Second, even in a modern car, it’s worth testing that somebody really does have the confidence to push the pedal right down, that they have a trust in the vehicle, and to make sure that the first time they experience such sudden braking isn’t when they really need to do it.
I agree with you, GorillaMan, about the importance of emergency stops. I mean, it’s certainly not the most difficult part of the test, but it is reassuring to know that you can do it.
My last UK test was the motorbike test, and there the emergency stop is less trivial in any case - since it’s fairly easy to fall off or lose control if you get it wrong. Didn’t have to reverse round a corner, though 
It wouldn’t have been valid. Even junior licenses issued to 16 and 17 year olds in other parts of the state don’t allow driving in NYC (a 17 with a senior license can drive in NYC)
Which just leads me to wonder why anyone, of any age (and who is on the right side of sane) would want to drive in NYC.
It’s actually not that bad- except for Manhattan in the daytime. But the restriction applies to all five boroughs.
Well, to be fair, my worst driving experience in the USA has been in Boston. Apparently every other fucker there owns the road. Never tried NYC, so I shouldn’t really judge, it just looked to me on my visits that there’d be easier ways to get around.
Edit: Homophone
having had to stomp the brakes a few times in both ABS and non-ABS cars, and both have their weirdnesses. in an ABS car, the way the brake pedal would shake could be rather disconcerting for someone who did not know to expect it. also, you may still need to avoid an obstacle while breaking if you lack the stopping distance, and for that you need to know to steer while breaking, and in the case of non-ABS cars, how to steer while braking.
My new car has ABS and Brake Assist, which is interesting to say the very least, first time it hits.
I really wondered what the hell was going on the first time the ABS cut in on my last car, which was my first car with ABS and I didn’t know it was there.
I got my Florida license in '97 and never had to parallel park or get on the road, the whole test was with just my car on the practice lot. After the Spanish test (which involves 30-45 minutes in real traffic, parallel parking on a slope and leaving a stop sign with poor visibility), I thought the Florida examiner was joking when he said we were done.
For the Florida test I had to drive around the practice area, make the stop sign, drive backwards for about 50 yards and park in a space big enough for an RV.
Overheard at a New Mexico DMV:
Lady Behind Counter: Sir, please place your forehead to the device and read the fourth line.
Elderly Gentleman: I don’t see anything.
LBC: You need to push your forehead to the machine to turn the light on.
EG: O.
LBC: No.
EG: C?
LBC: No.
EG: Q???
LBC: Yes.
EG: U
LBC: No.
EG: V?
LBC: Ok.
EG: R.
LBC: No.
EG: P?
LBC: Got it.
I’m not making this up.
I think it’s changed, but I got my full license 10 years ago when I was 15. I think it’s 15.5 now, and it’s just a permit until you’re 16.
You can get a motorcycle license at 13, IIRC.
Cite.
BTW when I was learning, L plates could be any colour; that’s changed now.
Why are you quoting chowder’s bit about the optional “Hey I just passed, don’t be too rough with me!” green L or P plates, and the information related to the compulsary Red L plates for those who haven’t passed? I don’t see your point.
Some additional information.
In Northern Ireland there is an additional restriction on new drivers. For the first year after passing your test you are required to display red “R” plates (we usually have reversible L/R sticky plates here), in addition your maximum speed is restricted to 45mph, and you cannot drive on the motorway.
As in other parts of the UK, getting 6 penalty points on your licence within two years after passing your test is an automatic disqualifiaction from driving until such time as you pass the driving test. In Northern Ireland you would also have another 12 months as an “R” driver from the time of the second test.
Hereis a list of offenses and the penalty points you could get for them. I like DD90- “furious driving”- I think it means road rage.
Be aware, however that one is much less likely to get pulled over by the police in the UK than the USA and when they pull you over they seem to be nicer about it. I got pulled over here once because my indicator bulb had blown on my back light and I hadn’t realised. The policemen thought I had pulled across traffic without indicating, but once they checked that I was actually indicating when I turned and saw my front indicator light was on, they then helped me change the bulb and check the light was working before they sent me on my way, no harm, no foul and certainly no ticket or penalty points.
In the Republic of Ireland there is a different, and arguably less safe system when it comes to learner drivers. One can drive on a learner’s licence until you get your test, however waiting lists for tests are very long and the pass rate is no higher than in the UK. Because of this, there is a rule that after something like 18 months of driving as a learner you can drive without a qualified passenger while you wait to take a test.
Thus, you can pull up to take the test in your own car, unaccompanied, take the test, fail it, and drive away again, on your own. Safe, huh?
There are therefore rather a lot of drivers on Irish roads who have either never taken, or never passed, any sort of driving test.
Not only that, but a friend of mine in the Republic of Ireland rides a 750CC Honda Nighthawk, and has done for years, on a provisional license. The insurance companies add a nominal supplement to insure learner drivers - in his case I think it makes a €100 difference to a €1,500 annual policy. Thus there’s no real incentive for him to take his test. It’s ludicrous.
That, and there’s more to the maneouvre than just stamping on the brake, especially in a manual (which, as already noted, most of us learn in). You have to step on the clutch at just the right moment: too soon and you’re not in proper control; too late, and you stall. Either way you fail the test. You need to be ready to drive away again immediately after you come to a stop, and the maneouvre’s not over until you have.
Really, how old are you? I’ve never seen anything other than a red “L” on white white background and it has been since at least 1930
