All things sporting [2]

Blimey ! Ive been legal for donkeys years & all Ive done is waste it !  
(make me proud Eldo)

 

Get out there!

What do you men legal for a year? Legal for what?  

legal for nothing, it's the US.

You wish, Norclet.

Well thats what I was wondering - I thought those sickos made you wait till 21 for buckie, but I always thought the age of consent for sex in the US was the same as here- 16.
Driving I believe is 17 in most States, so that doesnt leave much for becoming legal in the last year for a 19 year old.  

Age of consent laws vary by state to state.  Some are conditional (e.g., if you're 16 you can have sex with people only up to the age of 20 or so, then it's a free-for-all after 18).  I don't remember for sure what Maryland's law is but I think it's a two-stage one.  Fortunately I don't have to worry about that for myself anymore.

NB You can start the learning to drive process at 15 and 9 months in Maryland, but it's tiered so you can't get a full license until you're 18.  You can drive with only few restrictions after the age of 16 and a half though, if you pass the test.

sounds like a way too complicated system. here u can learn to drive at 16 and get a scooter, but the drivers lisence is 18.

It is pretty complicated. Most of the states are simpler, though. 16 is the most common age for driving though there's been a push to make it higher.

What is the truth Eldo in the wildly held view in the UK that getting a driving license in the US is a joke that basically involves having enough knowledge to drive a short distance in a straight line in a car with automatic gears?

Not even close to being true in Maryland, though I can't speak to any of the other states.  Here you have to pass a written test to get a learner's permit, then do two weeks of driving school (five nights a week, three hours a night), have six hours of lessons with a professional, at least sixty hours of practice with a parent or other adult, then pass an on-road exam (after proving you can get around in a closed course).  If you pass the driving test you can get a provisional license, then after 18 months with a completely clean record your license becomes a full one.  But if you have any moving violations (i.e., not parking) in that period the 18 month waiting period starts over.

The automatic gears thing is kind of true though, I guess.  It's more that they just don't make many cars with manual transmission anymore so most kids these days don't have the opportunity to learn how to drive stick unless their parents own an older car. I wish I knew how but no one I know owns a car with manual transmission.

The Uk one is a lengthy process mind you -

'Theory test is made up of two parts, both of which differ according to the type of vehicle licence the candidate is pursuing:

Multiple-choice test
Hazard perception test

Both must be taken and passed in the same session in order to obtain a theory test pass certificate, which enables the candidate to book a practical driving test. The pass certificate is valid for two years, after which the theory test must be taken and passed again before taking a practical test.

Multiple-choice test
This part of the theory test is performed on a computer system. The test has 50 multiple choice questions and the candidate must answer at least 43 of them correctly to pass.
The test lasts for 57 minutes. All 50 questions must be answered.

Hazard perception
Examinees watch fourteen one-minute clips (nineteen clips for lorry and bus candidates) filmed from the perspective of a car driver or motorcyclist and have to indicate, usually by clicking a mouse button or touching the screen, when they observe a developing hazard.

Practical test
Unless one is converting a foreign license, it is necessary to have passed both components of the theory test before sitting this exam.
The practical test is taken on the road, with a professionally trained DSA examiner directing the candidate around a pre-determined route. The examiner marks the candidate for driving faults, serious faults, and dangerous faults. A candidate will fail the test if he or she accumulates any serious or dangerous faults, or more than fifteen driving faults. If a candidate accumulates several driving faults in the same category, the examiner may consider the fault habitual and mark a serious fault in that category. The test usually lasts 38 to 40 minutes in a standard test, or approximately 70 minutes when the candidate is taking an extended test after having had their licence revoked.

Eyesight test
Before getting to the car, the examiner will ask the candidate to read a car's number plate at a distance. The distance required is 20.5 metres for an old-style plate (A123 ABC) and 20 metres for a new style plate (AB51 ABC).

Vehicle safety questions
Before the candidate is taken out onto the road, the examiner asks two questions about car maintenance and safety. These are phrased in the form "Show me..." and "Tell me..."; as such, this component of the test is often known as "Show me, tell me". For example:

Show me how you would check that the power assisted steering is working before starting a journey.
Open the bonnet, identify where you would check the engine oil level and tell me how you would check that the engine has sufficient oil.

A failure to answer one or both of these questions correctly would result in a driving fault being marked against the candidate.

Controlled stop
The controlled stop, more commonly referred to as the "emergency stop", is an exercise which determines the ability of the candidate to stop the vehicle promptly yet under control during a simulated emergency.

Manoeuvres

During the test, the examiner will ask the candidate to carry out one manoeuvre from the following list:[14]

"turn the vehicle to face the opposite way, using forward and reverse gears". This is colloquially known as a "3 point turn", although more than 3 positions may be used.
Reverse around a corner
Reverse park into a space either parallel (on road), oblique or right-angle (in a marked bay in an off-road car park)

General driving
Generally, the candidate must demonstrate an ability to drive in various road and traffic conditions [15] and react appropriately in actual risk situations.

Independent driving
The practical driving test includes a 10 minute section of ‘independent driving’.
To help candidates understand where they are to go, the examiner may show them a route diagram. It does not matter if candidates do not remember every direction, nor if they deviate from the intended route unless they commit a driving fault.'- wiki


How does that compare to the Maryland version Eldo?

Pettytyrant101 wrote:Multiple-choice test
This part of the theory test is performed on a computer system. The test has 50 multiple choice questions and the candidate must answer at least 43 of them correctly to pass.
The test lasts for 57 minutes. All 50 questions must be answered.

Maryland one is only 20 questions and I think you need to answer 17 (so about the same percentage), but this is the test you have to pass before you can get a learner's permit; that is, before you're allowed to drive on the road even when accompanied by a teacher).

Hazard perception
Examinees watch fourteen one-minute clips (nineteen clips for lorry and bus candidates) filmed from the perspective of a car driver or motorcyclist and have to indicate, usually by clicking a mouse button or touching the screen, when they observe a developing hazard.

I don't believe there's any equivalent to this, though they go over this sort of thing during the in-the-classroom part of driving school.

Practical test
Unless one is converting a foreign license, it is necessary to have passed both components of the theory test before sitting this exam.
The practical test is taken on the road, with a professionally trained DSA examiner directing the candidate around a pre-determined route. The examiner marks the candidate for driving faults, serious faults, and dangerous faults. A candidate will fail the test if he or she accumulates any serious or dangerous faults, or more than fifteen driving faults. If a candidate accumulates several driving faults in the same category, the examiner may consider the fault habitual and mark a serious fault in that category. The test usually lasts 38 to 40 minutes in a standard test, or approximately 70 minutes when the candidate is taking an extended test after having had their licence revoked.

The Maryland on-road test is only about half as long but yeah it's basically the same. The examiner also asked me to identify signs we had just passed and whatnot. If you really fuck up they can make you pull over and then the examiner will drive back in the "ride of shame".

Eyesight test
Before getting to the car, the examiner will ask the candidate to read a car's number plate at a distance. The distance required is 20.5 metres for an old-style plate (A123 ABC) and 20 metres for a new style plate (AB51 ABC).

There's a vision test before you can get a learner's pmerit.

Vehicle safety questions
Before the candidate is taken out onto the road, the examiner asks two questions about car maintenance and safety. These are phrased in the form "Show me..." and "Tell me..."; as such, this component of the test is often known as "Show me, tell me". For example:

   Show me how you would check that the power assisted steering is working before starting a journey.
   Open the bonnet, identify where you would check the engine oil level and tell me how you would check that the engine has sufficient oil.

A failure to answer one or both of these questions correctly would result in a driving fault being marked against the candidate.

Before the driving test you have to demonstrate that your car works and is in good condition so you have to know how to read the dashboard and operate wipers, blinkers, and headlights.

Controlled stop
The controlled stop, more commonly referred to as the "emergency stop", is an exercise which determines the ability of the candidate to stop the vehicle promptly yet under control during a simulated emergency.

I don't think this is its own step but you have to be able to stop during the driving test.

Manoeuvres

During the test, the examiner will ask the candidate to carry out one manoeuvre from the following list:[14]

   "turn the vehicle to face the opposite way, using forward and reverse gears". This is colloquially known as a "3 point turn", although more than 3 positions may be used.
   Reverse around a corner
   Reverse park into a space either parallel (on road), oblique or right-angle (in a marked bay in an off-road car park)

You have to perform a few maneuvers on a closed course before going out on the road. The entire driving test was overhauled sometime in the last 10 years I believe, but nowadays you have to do the three point turn into a parking space and parallel park before you move on to the road.

General driving
Generally, the candidate must demonstrate an ability to drive in various road and traffic conditions [15] and react appropriately in actual risk situations.

Independent driving
The practical driving test includes a 10 minute section of ‘independent driving’.
To help candidates understand where they are to go, the examiner may show them a route diagram. It does not matter if candidates do not remember every direction, nor if they deviate from the intended route unless they commit a driving fault.

During the on-road portion of the test the examiner makes all the decisions about where to go so there's no independent driving section. There is real traffic though, sometimes quite a lot depending on the time of day.

How is it taught in the US?
Here you get a provisional license and then you can go out driving with anyone who has a full driving license (they have to have held it for a set amount of years, but cant remember offhand how many) and you have to be on the insurance.
After that you just go out on the roads and learn (with 'L' plates attached to warn other drivers you are a learner).
You can also take lessons from Official Driving Instructors. Buts that's not cheap.

Sounds like a UK provision license is the same as a Maryland learner's permit, which you need to pass a written exam to earn.  Once you have the learner's permit (and are added to insurance) and complete the classroom part of driving school you're required to spend six hours on three occasions in the car with a professional instructor.  You also have to spend at least 60 hours driving with a parent or another adult over the age of 21 who has had their full license for at least three years.

You don't take the on-road driving test until after this practice period is over.  If you pass the test, then you get a provisional license, which in Maryland allows you to drive on your own except between the hours of midnight and five AM.  You're also forbidden from having passengers until five months have passed.  The provisional license automatically becomes a full license after 18 months of driving with no moving violations. When you have a learner's permit, though, you're not allowed to drive without an adult in the car with you.

Yeah that sounds much of a muchness.
Seems the UK view of US driving tests then is either woefully out of date or just another one of those 'Americans are so stupid' myths.

I'm sure they were much different in the past.  I'm pretty sure that when my parent's were learning to drive there weren't multiple tiers of licenses/permits and the tests were much simpler. The process is different in each state (as are many things in the US), but I think there's been a general progression towards more thorough instruction and testing for new drivers.

Well... this weekend has been good on liverpool. Dont often get to say that at the start of the season!

Nice goal gif!

Ahahaha. Is that a goal celebration routine? I wish the NFL would let players celebrate scores more elaborately here.