By Staff Writer: Julia Simmons
Citizens are complaining about driving in New Mexico. It seems no matter the county or city, drivers are reckless, and cars are wrecked. There are abandoned cars on the sides of roads, street signs that have been run into, and tire marks everywhere. To anyone who didn’t learn to drive here, New Mexico seems to be a death trap. Is the poor driver’s test to blame?
Lydia Jackson is a Michigan transplant who started studying for her driver’s test later in life. At 23, she finally decided driving was a necessary evil. Jackson said they made a left turn out of the parking lot, and just went around the block. The instructor did not have her adjust her mirrors or check her seatbelt, and she did not have to get on the highway at all. “The whole thing lasted less than ten minutes.” She stated she took the written test almost a year prior to her practical.
Almost seventeen years prior, Kevin Kendall had a similar experience. He took the test in high school, but still was in the test car less than fifteen minutes. “We went through the Taco Bell drive through, and that was basically it.” He wasn’t as upset as Jackson about the brevity, though. He has also lived in New Mexico his whole life and hasn’t been in a lot of states to compare driving styles.
To someone who took their driver’s test in another state, these accounts are appalling. For example, a driver’s test in New Hampshire involved getting on, getting off, and driving on a four-lane highway. Parallel parking, one-way streets, and what to do when passing a horse and buggy were also in the practical test.
New Mexico has a high crash rate for its population, and is considered one of the most dangerous states to drive in. New Mexico averages around 40,000 car accidents a year, with at least 400 of those being fatal. Looking at how driving tests differ in different states may explain why so many drivers feel unsafe on the streets here in Clovis.