Driving is for English speakers

The test just keeps getting harder, but the drivers are getting worse.

In the UK, the test to get your driver's license is impossibly difficult. It's so hard that there's no real shame in failing the test on your first or even second go. When I passed the test, people were shocked that I passed first time. Not because I'm a bad driver. I'm an excellent driver. But because so few people manage it. It didn't hurt that I'd already been driving for 14 years, two of those illegally in the UK. And of course I shelled out for the expensive driving lessons that teach you not so much how to drive well, but how to pass the stupid test. I really could not have passed without the lessons.

But the test keeps on getting harder, and what's the result? Some people, especially poor people who can't afford to shell out hundreds of pounds in lesson fees, just drive anyway (as I did.) But of course they may not even have basic competency (which is what you want a test to establish) and they won't be insured either. Because the test is so hard, drivers end up being of poorer quality and can't cover the cost of their accidents when they mess up.

So, I read with interest that Tennessee is not going to go forward with an English-only driver's license test - and that's the right thing. The point of the test should be to make sure that everyone understands the basic rules of the road, which don't require much English comprehension skills (after all, millions of people in non-English speaking countries manage to drive without so much as a by-your-leave). Yes, in an English speaking country, you should be able to read the signs, but I did ok in Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany without any of those languages, except for situations like this:

Me: Hey, do you reckon that speed limit is in miles or kilometers?
Husband: Kilometers
Me: Can't be, that'd be way too slow.

State Senator Bill Ketron (R-Murfressboro) who introduced the English-only drivers' test bill to the Tennessee legislature saw amendments made that nullified the full force.

After the session, Ketron said he was none too happy with the changes to his bill.
"Sheriffs in my district tell me that (bad driving by non-English speakers) is a huge problem … especially in rural areas," he said. The bill as amended "doesn't do anything" to deal with this safety issue, he said.

Ummm, yeah. But your bill wouldn't have helped either. Speaking English doesn't make you a good driver. And let's be honest, people would drive anyway. Especially in rural areas, there really isn't much other choice. It's better to have people in the system, with some check on their skills than driving unlicensed and uninsured.