Testing Drivers

Re Shawn Hubler’s Aug. 2 column discussing state Sen. Tom Hayden’s proposal to require driving tests for 75-year-olds: The proposal is fine but hardly addresses the root problem of safety on streets and highways.

Being over 70, I was required to take a written test to renew my license. To prepare, I read through the DMV booklet, which is too thick and filled with superfluous reference material. The test has been reduced from 36 multiple-choice questions to 18, apparently to make it easier to pass.

The clerk expressed surprise that my score was 100, and I in turn was surprised that the other test booths were crowded with teenagers who were agonizing over the 18 questions.

The real approach at DMV seems to be finding an easy way to qualify drivers for license issue and a lack of willingness to deny driving privileges to those who aren’t qualified to take the wheel of an automobile.

LEA YARBOROUGH

Huntington Beach

*

Along with Hubler’s compassion, I’m so sorry for the old dears, the over-75-year-old drivers. Do not take away their chance to drive on and on. Do not think that they may not be capable. Think only of their self-esteem. Think of the “blow to the self-worth that comes with losing a license” and not of the lives of innocent people on the highway. Can a driving test that may save lives be that bad?

A simple driving simulator in each DMV office could quickly weed out the incapable with an actual driving test for the questionable. At 89 I know that there’s a lot of tarnish on the golden years, but it’s a lot better than the alternative.

ALDEN L. McMURTRY

Oxnard