The sad state of driver training and knowledge is a constant source of frustration and dismay for many safe streets advocates. It seems like the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will give a license to just about anyone, and it’s become so easy to pass the tests that they don’t really provide any type of substantive education — or at least it appears that way judging from all the terrible driving we see every day. I can’t remember the last time I had good news to share on this front, so I’m excited to relay what feels like a little nugget of progress.
“We’ve had customers take the test 10 or more times per day, indicating they are not learning the information but hoping to pass by chance.”
— Oregon DMV
Starting October 1st, a change from the Oregon DMV should result in better educated drivers. Currently, folks applying for a license can take the knowledge test as many times as they want to in one day. This was new to me before I learned about it from a DMV email this morning which read, “We’ve had customers take the test 10 or more times per day, indicating they are not learning the information but hoping to pass by chance.” Yikes!
I reached out to ODOT Public Information Officer Chris Crabb to learn more. She said the change in guidance from unlimited testing to just two per day, which is now standardized statewide, was done to improve road safety. “The purpose of the knowledge test is to ensure the new driver knows the rules of the road and has some basic safe driving information,” Crabb shared with BikePortland. “By limiting the testing to twice a day, we are encouraging people to take the test seriously.”
Crabb added that not only does the DMV think the test will improve comprehension and encourage more study of the Oregon Driver Manual, but it will also free up DMV staff time. “Our counter staff spend a lot of time with individuals who continually retake the test, and that’s especially true for Portland offices. Reducing the testing will allow them to help more people in line.”
So here’s to ODOT acknowledging the connection between DMV testing and road safety! I hope the next steps are to talk more about what’s on the test, how often people are required to take it, and so on.
Thanks for reading.
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I would love to see the data about how often this multiple tests a day occurs. Jonathan, any chance they shared that?
They didn’t. But funny you mention this because I just completed a public records request for the pass/fail rate of all driver knowledge tests for the past 2 years.