4 ms·

Recently, a local kid got hit by an angry driver. The kid was on a sidewalk, and the driver was swerving (up onto the sidewalk) to get around a slower car. I r

Recently, a local kid got hit by an angry driver. The kid was on a sidewalk, and the driver was swerving (up onto the sidewalk) to get around a slower car. I really think that the test to get a license should include some kind of screen for impatience, irritability, and aggression. I imagine we could come up with a reasonable way of screening out people who are prone to such behavior.

nkrisc 7y ago
I think that such a blatant and intentional disregard for safety such as what you described should probably immediately disqualify someone from a license for at least five years, even if they killed no one. Driving is a privilege, not a right.
- briandear 7y ago
  I agree completely. The FAA can and does suspend pilot licenses for far less.
curryst 7y ago
I can't even fathom the level of stupidity and rage that went into such a maneuver. Up onto the sidewalk?! One idea would be to start making people more aware of the penalties for such maneuvers and aggressively prosecuting them. Such a thing would surely qualify as reckless operation, which can be a felony conviction in some jurisdictions even if no one was harmed. > I really think that the test to get a license should include some kind of screen for impatience, irritability, and aggression. Isn't that what the process of going to the DMV is? A test of your patience and mental fortitude? I kid, but I really dislike this idea. It seems nearly impossible to objectively measure, and too prone to manipulation. I fear that it would end up being used as some sort of a modern day poll tax.
briandear 7y ago
A behavior/personality test for driving licenses? What could possibly go wrong with that? Being impatient doesn’t mean you are more likely to commit a crime. Perhaps increase the penalties for reckless driving. Personality tests get into some dangerous territory. Besides doing a personality test at scale is hard to do with any accuracy. You simply answer the questions in a “correct” way. And gave to face psych evaluations would be impossible to do at the scale of the DMV. Where are you going to find the mental health professionals to staff such an initiative? And normal clerks couldn’t do the evaluation because they wouldn’t have the professional training or licensure to conduct screenings. If they did have those creds, they wouldn’t be working at a DMV.
autokad 7y ago
In Seattle, as a pedestrian I have problems with drivers only looking in the direction of oncoming traffic to make a turn. That includes not looking in front of them and not looking in the direction they are turning. Its hard to imagine approaching an intersection, and at no point during the approach and turn, not looking forward or in the direction of the turn, yet I encounter this every day.

nkrisc 7y ago

I think that such a blatant and intentional disregard for safety such as what you described should probably immediately disqualify someone from a license for at least five years, even if they killed no one. Driving is a privilege, not a right.

briandear 7y ago
I agree completely. The FAA can and does suspend pilot licenses for far less.

curryst 7y ago

I can't even fathom the level of stupidity and rage that went into such a maneuver. Up onto the sidewalk?! One idea would be to start making people more aware of the penalties for such maneuvers and aggressively prosecuting them. Such a thing would surely qualify as reckless operation, which can be a felony conviction in some jurisdictions even if no one was harmed. > I really think that the test to get a license should include some kind of screen for impatience, irritability, and aggression. Isn't that what the process of going to the DMV is? A test of your patience and mental fortitude? I kid, but I really dislike this idea. It seems nearly impossible to objectively measure, and too prone to manipulation. I fear that it would end up being used as some sort of a modern day poll tax.

briandear 7y ago

A behavior/personality test for driving licenses? What could possibly go wrong with that? Being impatient doesn’t mean you are more likely to commit a crime. Perhaps increase the penalties for reckless driving. Personality tests get into some dangerous territory. Besides doing a personality test at scale is hard to do with any accuracy. You simply answer the questions in a “correct” way. And gave to face psych evaluations would be impossible to do at the scale of the DMV. Where are you going to find the mental health professionals to staff such an initiative? And normal clerks couldn’t do the evaluation because they wouldn’t have the professional training or licensure to conduct screenings. If they did have those creds, they wouldn’t be working at a DMV.

autokad 7y ago

In Seattle, as a pedestrian I have problems with drivers only looking in the direction of oncoming traffic to make a turn. That includes not looking in front of them and not looking in the direction they are turning. Its hard to imagine approaching an intersection, and at no point during the approach and turn, not looking forward or in the direction of the turn, yet I encounter this every day.