A quick look at the census data (more than 11,000 people turn 65 every day in the US), along with my own rough calculations, suggest that several hundred people turn 70 every day in the great state of California, and every 10 minutes or so, one or more of them send me an email about the renewal of your license. Adventures with the DMV.
I get the usual and always entertaining horror stories about the tests: (“They ask ridiculous questions that have nothing to do with driving,” said Dahana Klerer, 75, of Newport Beach, who failed twice, adding: “No. I'm a stupid person, but they make you feel really stupid.
California is about to be hit by a wave of aging, and Steve Lopez is taking advantage of it. His column focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of advancing age, and how some people are challenging the stigma associated with older adults.
And I'm getting more and more success stories:
“I didn't have any problems,” said Ruth Gleason, 79, of Ridgecrest, adding: “Thank you and Steve Gordon of the DMV for working to alleviate the fears of California drivers over 70 about drinking. the exam”.
In a half-century career as a journalist, I never expected to share a eulogy with a DMV director. But this is further proof that life can be full of new adventures after turning 70, one of which involves permit renewal, which must be completed. every five years after the big 7-0.
If you're wondering why Klerer had such a hard time renewing his license while Gleason found it easy, it's because Klerer took his renewal test at a DMV office, while Gleason opted for remote e-learning, which can be done from home. course.
If you are about to renew, repeat after me:
E-LEARNING IS THE BEST OPTION!
To learn more about how to do that, Go to the DMV.Ca.gov website and click on the driver license and license renewal options. By the way, if you opt for e-learning, you'll still have to go to a DMV office for an eye exam and photo, but you'll be ahead of the game if you've already completed the at-home testing requirement.
The e-learning option is like a mini driving course that takes about 30 to 40 minutes to complete and the best part is that you can't fail. In fact, the website calls it the “foolproof online e-learning course.” They'll ask you a series of questions, and if you get one wrong, you can try again until you answer it correctly.
DMV Director Steve Gordon recommends the eLearning course for drivers who need to take a test to renew their licenses. “Having the knowledge is more important than the ability to take a written test,” he said.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Gordon, a former Silicon Valley tech executiveimplemented the eLearning course because it believes it is a better educational tool than the traditional exam.
“Having the knowledge is more important than the ability to take a written exam,” he said.
If this is true, here's an idea:
Why not simply eliminate the traditional knowledge test and exclusively offer e-learning? It seems like it would save drivers a lot of unnecessary stress and the DMV the hassle of administering the tests.
The e-learning course fits into Gordon's mission to make it easier to complete DMV paperwork remotely instead of going into an office. And the agency just announced that e-learning is now available Available in Spanish.
California drivers are catching up, and an increasing number of them are using the e-learning option, which is available to drivers of all ages. In November, 19,000 people took the eLearning course, but by April the number had risen to 47,500.
By the way, Klerer ditched the frustrating in-person process and opted for e-learning, and eventually renewed without a hitch. But he was absolutely right about the silly questions on the traditional exam.
Even the DMV admits it, and officials have told me in the past that some of the dumber questions are being removed from the test rotation.
Readers have complained that it's taking too long, so I asked DMV spokesperson Anita Gore about it. Several questions have already been eliminated, she said, and “30 or so” more are planned to be eliminated starting in July. According to Gore, the following vexing questions have now disappeared: Who cares?
“What is another name for the hand-to-hand steering method?”
“What is the minimum number of years in prison… for a person… convicted of involuntary manslaughter as a result of evading law enforcement during a pursuit?”
Questions scheduled for the DMV dumpster include:
“Which of the following is an appropriate speed reduction when driving on packed snow?”
“To identify dangers, you must observe the road: how many seconds are there in front of your vehicle?”
“When making a left turn from a two-way street onto a one-way street with three lanes, which lane can you turn into?”
So, a big thank you to all the readers who pointed out stupid questions and helped bring them to the attention of the DMV.
If you call the DMV customer service line and end up with a virtual assistant named Miles… be patient.
(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
But again, if you opt for e-learning, you don't have to worry about stupid questions. (If you have started the license renewal process in person, you have to fail two more times before you can start over and move on to e-learning. This silly rule is meaningless unless torture is the goal, and you should Also, it doesn't seem fair that if you fail the traditional exam three times and switch to e-learning, you have to pay another $45 license renewal fee (Golden State will still monitor the situation).
A word of caution:
I hear from quite a few readers who got through the renewal process using eLearning, which is available via computer, tablet or phone, but I also hear from people who are having technical glitches or trouble accessing the system.
Gore said it could be a technological problem on the consumer side, or it could be that, like the last time I recommended eLearning, the system is overloaded. (Golden State, its partners and affiliates assume no responsibility for the state's failures, shortcomings and failures.)
He said anyone with a problem can call the DMV customer service line at (800) 777-0133, and here's another warning:
I tried, but it didn't work out.
I wanted to talk to a real person, but ended up speaking to a “virtual assistant” named Miles, who asked me why I was calling. I told Miles I couldn’t access eLearning (I was pretending, just to see what would happen), and he offered me information about accident reporting and vehicle registration. On subsequent calls, Miles texted me links to general information about license renewal.
At some point, I must have gotten the wrong signal, because Miles started speaking in Spanish, or at least tried to. Even with my half-baked knowledge of Spanish, I can assure you this:
Miles has the worst accent ever.
You would think that in California, of all places, we would have better Spanish-speaking robots.
Finally, an automated voice told me in English that due to the volume of calls, no one was available, but that a real person would call me in two hours. And they called me back.
If I seem obsessed with the details of license renewals for people 70 and older, it's mostly as a public service, but I have an ulterior motive.
Time is ticking and it won't be long before your server is ready to renew its contract.
Wish me luck.
