The House Transportation Committee has put the brakes on a bill that seeks to require drivers to take a driver’s knowledge test when they renew their driver’s license every six years. Baton Rouge Representative Dixon McMakin says the test would provide drivers with a refresher on the rules of the road.
“Think about it right now with roundabouts; when you see cars driving in the rain, what do they do? When it comes to a four-way stop, at a red light, who goes first?” McMakin asked.
Several House Transportation members have reservations about the proposed legislation. Lawmakers are all for safer roads, but Monroe Representative Pat Moore says requiring drivers to take a test every six years is too much.
“But I do like the intent, to help me keep up with the updates. But I don’t want to have to go through all of this testing and all of that. I think I was stressed out when I did it back in the 70’s,” Moore said.
McMakin says Louisiana has its share of bad drivers and requiring regular driving tests can result in fewer crashes.
“If we have better drivers, we’ll have less wrecks. If we have less wrecks, we’ll have less lawsuits. If we have less lawsuits, maybe, just maybe, we can prevent our insurance from going up too high,” McMakin explained.
Moore says requiring drivers who need to renew their license to watch a video that would contain basic rules of the road and tips on how to be a safer driver is a better solution.
“Online, there’s a video with all the different updates and so forth. I take that. It could say you completed it, something like that, and bam, I’m through. I can get my license renewed, I’m not stressed about a test or anything,” Moore said.
McMakin says he’ll look at revising his proposed legislation and bring it up for debate at a later date.
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