Doctor’s Diary: Keeping us in our lane, July 29, 2024

Keeping us in our lane

As we get older, one fear is not passing the California driver’s test at the DMV. 

Our quality of life depends on hopping into our car for groceries, visiting friends, or going to the senior center. Independence becomes limited if we rely on family, neighbors, public transportation, a taxi, or Uber/Lyft rides.

Plus, the DMV has been notorious for long lines and poor service, so no one wants to spend a day in a crowded office with anxious and potential road rage drivers.

I haven’t had to take the physical driving test since I was 16, but now that I am in my 70s, this seemed like a possibility. But I have never been in an accident in all these years, so maybe my high school driver’s ed course was worth it. The written driving test is a different story.

Some of the questions have nothing to do with driving, and when there are 46 questions, and you need 38 correct answers to pass, the pressure is on. You are allowed three chances, but if you fail all three, you must fill out another application and pay the fee again ($41). 

As my birthday deadline approached, I started assembling my study guides to prepare for the worst. Fortunately, my angst was calmed as technology, and longtime columnist at the Los Angeles Times, Steve Lopez, wrote about others facing the same worry.

About two months before my license expiration, I received a notice from the DMV explaining how to complete the application online and set up an appointment. I did both of these a month in advance. The local DMV office in Newhall has a relatively small parking lot, so I knew trying to find a space would require arriving at least a half hour before my appointment time.

A week before my visit, columnist Steve Lopez wrote an article on the DMV and how it enhanced its efforts to make it easier for drivers to navigate through licensing while still maintaining the ability to ensure public safety. (LA Times, June 30, 2024.)

One of his examples of a problematic DMV test question was: 

“Which of the following is an appropriate decrease in speed when driving in packed snow?” Really?

From his column, I learned that an option was given on the DMV application to take the written test at the office or take it through “eLearning” online. In Steve Lopez’s article, he felt the latter option was the best because it provided the opportunity to correct answers and learn from the process. So that is what I opted to do.

Online, I re-edited my DMV application, took the “eLearning” written test…and passed!

On the day of the scheduled 9:40 am appointment, I arrived at the DMV office in Newhall at exactly 9 am, and the parking lot gods were in my favor as I found a space next to the front door. 

I was graciously qued into line by helpful personel, and waited about 10 minutes, with an eye test done, then a photo. I left the office with my renewed license at 9:34 am, 6 minutes before my appointment time! This was seamless!!! Thank you, Steve Lopez!

Navigating through the DMV has gone from literally a crash course to a successful multi-lane highway. The DMV is responsible for ensuring roads are kept safe by keeping us in our lanes and making sure we know the rules. They have now done this at their offices by making access to licensing and driving tests easier.

Thank you to the DMV for lowering the road rage anxiety, as it is nice to feel safe when we are kept in our lanes, whether on the road or in their office.

Gene Dorio, M.D.

Saugus, CA

Originally published in our local newspaper, The Signal, July 27, 2024