On Mon, May 16, 2005 at 01:43:36PM -0700, Daniel Mayer wrote:
--- dpbsmith(a)verizon.net wrote:
highway requirement. Many signs DID get changed,
enough for them to become a
reasonably familiar sight. Cars produced during that time period had both
miles per hours and kilometers per hour marked on their speedometers,
although odometers continued to read in miles.
I don't know how things are in other nations, but in the United States the
standards to get a drivers license are so low that really stupid people are
allowed to drive. For example, a 70% score on written driving tests is enough
to pass in most states, meaning you can screw up 30% of the time! I imagine
many of these idiots got confused by the dual system, thus the current
pandering to the lowest common denominator.
Traffic would be much better if 95% scores were mandated to get a license. But
since most U.S. cities are built in a way that almost requires the use of an
auto, I don't think that will ever happen.
I'd be all for a 95% requirement for the tests if the tests themselves
weren't wrong 30% of the time. The major problem is that these tests
are created by committees of people working in the public sector, and as
such they end up being politicized and biased in unproductive ways.
Certain answers are expected that are counterintuitive and downright
incorrect in real-world practice because they don't fit with local
governmental agendas, much the same way that most speed limits are set
to arbitrary levels notably lower than the sweet spot for convenience
and safety so that ticket revenue for moving violations can be
maximized by subtly encouraging violation of speed limit laws.
As long as test questions expect incorrect responses for a high score, I
can't really support higher score requirements for passing.
--
Chad Perrin
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