Since Florida implemented a brand-new written driver’s license test in January, failure rates have gone through the roof. Now, three out of every five people who take the test are failing, according to test statistics for the first half of 2015.
Officials had expected there would be a difficult adjustment period for the new test, but never expected it to get to the point to where some counties had more than 80 percent of people who were unable to pass the test. Now, Florida officials are attempting to find and remove flawed questions to try to get test scores back up to reasonable levels.
The director of the Division of Motor Services at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles says that these adjustments to the new test are not being done in an effort to make the test easier, but rather to resolve issues with unclear wording. Governor Rick Scott had set a goal for a 70 percent pass rate with the new test when it was initially implemented, but even after public officials made some adjustments in recent months, the number of passing scores is still falling far short of that goal.
Failing these tests can be both time-consuming and expensive, while being extremely profitable for the private companies offering these tests and other practice courses online. The vendor, based out of Nevada, paid to develop this latest test gets $4 every time someone takes it.
The overhaul to the test was initially deemed necessary when crash numbers for teen drivers in Florida started to increase at startling rates over the past few years. The intention was to make sure people had the knowledge they needed to drive safely on the state’s roads and highways, but they may have overcorrected.
If you have been injured in a car accident, contact a skilled Bradenton personal injury attorney with Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh today.