MOTOR VEHICLE ADMINISTRATION
Some Md. License Applicants Get More Challenging Road Test
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Saturday, April 18, 2009
Driving tests in Maryland are no longer limited to a closed course with orange cones, pretend stop signs and the dreaded parallel parking challenge. Some applicants for licenses are hitting the open road -- or, more often, a traffic-congested one -- to demonstrate that they can merge, change lanes and avoid fender-benders.
In December, the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration launched a pilot program of the more challenging test at its Frederick and Waldorf offices and plans to expand it to two more offices in the Washington metro area this fall. Eventually, the MVA plans to require the test at all of its full-service offices, said MVA spokesman Buel Young.
"We're getting a truer sense of the driver's ability," he said.
The new procedure was first reported yesterday by the Baltimore Sun.
The test lasts about 15 minutes, starting on the course and moving to nearby streets.
Anyone who is required to take a driving test -- mostly teenagers getting their first license, and people who have lost their license or allowed it to expire and need to reapply -- will have to take the new test.
To develop the test, the state MVA partnered with the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators in hopes that the program would be adapted by other states, Young said.
"Currently, states all do it differently," he said. "Some have an on-road test, some do course-only and some have a hybrid. We're working towards creating a national model for drivers everywhere."
