A quick look at census data (more than 11,000 people become 65 per 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 an email about renewing their license. adventures with the DMV.
I got the usual horror stories about the test: (“They make silly questions that have nothing to do with driving,” said Dahana Klerer, 75, of Newport Beach, who was second and added, “I’m not an idiot but they make you feel stupid.”)
California is about to hit a wave of aging population, and Steve Lopez is riding it. The column focuses on the blessings and burdens of age — and how some people are challenging the stigma associated with parenthood.
And more and more, I got success stories:
“I don’t have a problem,” said Ruth Gleason of Ridgecrest, 79, who added: “Thank you and Steve Gordon at the DMV for working to ease the fear of testing for CA drivers over 70.”
In my half-century career as a journalist, I never expected to share my appreciation with the director of the DMV. But this is another proof that life can be filled with new adventures after the age of 70, one of which includes the renewal of the license, which must be completed. every five years after the big 7-0.
If you’re wondering why Klerer had a hard time renewing his license while Gleason had an easy time, it’s because Klerer took the renewal test at the DMV office while Gleason opted for remote, do-it-of-home eLearning. confident.
If you want to renew, repeat after me:
ELEARNING IS THE BEST CHOICE!
To learn more about how to, go to the DMV.Ca.gov website and click on driver’s license and license renewal options. If you opt for eLearning, you’ll still need to go to a DMV office for your eye and photo tests, but you’ll be ahead of the game once you’ve completed the at-home test requirements.
The eLearning option is like a mini-driver’s ed course that takes about 30 or 40 minutes to complete, and the best part is that you can’t fail. In fact, the website calls it the “No Fail Online eLearning Course.” You will be asked several questions, and if you get it wrong, you can guess again until you get it right.
Gordon, a former Silicon Valley tech executiveimplement eLearning courses because they think it is a better educational tool than old tests.
“Having knowledge is more important than the ability to take a written test,” he said.
If that’s true, here are some thoughts:
Why not just do away with traditional knowledge tests and offer eLearning exclusively? It seems like it would save drivers a lot of unnecessary stress, and save the DMV the hassle of administering the test.
The eLearning course fits Gordon’s mission to make it easier to conduct DMV business remotely rather than going into the office. And the agency just announced that eLearning now available in Spain.
California drivers are catching up, with many taking advantage of the eLearning option, which is available to drivers of all ages. In November, 19,000 people took eLearning courses, but in April that number rose to 47,500.
By the way, Klerer gave up on the frustrating personal process, chose eLearning, and easily renewed it at the end. But he’s right about the dumb questions on traditional tests.
Even the DMV admits it, and officials have told us that some of the dumber questions are being dropped from the test rotation.
Readers have complained to me about taking too long, so I asked DMV spokeswoman Anita Gore about it. Some of the questions have now been resolved, he said, and “30 or so” more are scheduled to be cleared starting in July. Gone, according to Gore, is a head-scratching question, 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 murder for evading law enforcement during a pursuit?”
Scheduled questions for the DMV dumpster include:
“Which of the following reduces speed when driving in heavy snow?”
“To identify a hazard, how many seconds do you need to scan the road in front of your vehicle?”
“When turning left from a two-way street onto a three-lane one-way street, which lane do you turn into?”
So, a big thank you to all of our readers who flagged our silly questions and helped get them to the DMV’s attention.
But once again, if you opt for eLearning, you don’t have to worry about dumb questions. (If you have started the license renewal process in person, you will have to stop twice before you are eligible to start again and use eLearning. This stupid rule is useless, except for the purpose of abuse, and should be thrown out. Also, it doesn’t seem fair if you flunk traditional test three times and switch to eLearning, you must pay another $ 45 license renewal fee Golden State will continue to monitor the situation).
A word of caution:
I heard from some readers who aced the renewal process using eLearning, which is available by computer, tablet or phone, but I also heard from those who experienced glitches or had trouble accessing the system.
Gore says it could be a technology problem on the consumer’s end, or it could be – like the last time I recommended eLearning – the system is overloaded. (Golden State, partners and affiliates are not responsible for state glitches, shortcomings and failures).
He said anyone with a problem can call the DMV’s customer service line at (800) 777-0133, and another word of caution:
I tried, but it didn’t go well.
I wanted to get someone live on the line but ended up with a “virtual assistant” named Miles, who asked if I was calling the chapter. I told Miles that I couldn’t access the eLearning (I pretended, just to see what would happen), and he gave me information about the accident report and vehicle registration. On a subsequent phone call, Miles texted me a link to public license renewal information.
At one point, I must have mistyped it, because Miles started speaking in Spanish, or at least trying to. Even with half the language skills, I can guarantee this:
Miles has the worst accent in history.
You’d think that in California, of all places, we’d have robots that speak better Spanish.
I finally got to where the automated voice said in English that due to the volume of calls, no one is available, but a real person will call me back in two hours. And I got a call back.
If I sound obsessed with the minutiae of renewing licenses for people 70 and older, it is mainly a public service, but I have ulterior motives.
The clock is ticking, and it won’t be long before you update again.
Wish me luck.
steve.lopez@latimes.com