[gonehome]

From what I've heard the driving/licensing test in Germany is actually a test - in the United States the written test questions show a picture of a stop sign and ask what it means (there are then three multiple choice options).

The driving portion is not much more difficult.

[gambiting]

Yeah, it involves quite complicated questions about driving (a diagram with yourself, a pedestrian, a cyclist, a tram, and 3 other cars - you have to specify who goes in what order), and also technical questions, like "your temperature gauge is going into the red zone - what do you do?" or "on a winter day your windows get foggy from inside when driving - what is the safest solution?", and also general question about laws "what is the bac limit?", "how fast can you go on the autobahn when the conditions are poor?"(answer:130km/h(~80mph)).

[gamerdonkey]

While I feel that US driver education and testing has many faults, I don't want everyone to have the impression that the test is as simple as 'What does a STOP sign mean?'. Hyperbole is good for humor but can be misguiding in a discussion about actual solutions.

While it has been some time since my driver's test, I remember somewhat complicated questions about right-of-way, dealing with vehicle problems, handling adverse driving conditions, and responding to potential accident situations. Of course, part of the problem I have with our driver education system is how much it varies among the states. Most of what is shared deals with the operations of highway driving, while I think there needs to be more requirements for overall safe driving.

Also, I was a little incredulous at first that 80 mph is the answer for 'poor' conditions. But, I suppose I have driven on 80 mph interstates here under extremely heavy rain while everyone maintained the speed limit. I suppose it's just one of those things where we have a different sense of scale.

[gonehome]

While it may have been in isolation the "What does a STOP sign mean?" question is a question that I actually had on my written test.

I think it was phrased a bit differently, but that was the essential question. The multiple choice answers were also extremely leading with one being even more obviously correct than you would expect.

In California you're also able to take the test 3 times in a row if you fail it every time, you can then take it another three times immediately if you pay $20. Since there aren't many questions it's basically impossible to fail.