38 Million Licensed U.S. Drivers Would Fail A Written Drivers Test

The American roads are not a safe place to be these days. At least this seems to be the conclusion of the 2010 GMAC Insurance National Divers Test, which shows that 38 million licensed drivers in the U.S. (1 in 5 licensed drivers) would not be able to pass a written drivers test exam if they had to sustain one today.

The American drivers seem to have forgotten some of the driving rules since last year, as the national average score decreased to 76.2 percent, from 76.6 percent in 2009. Eighty-five percent could not choose the right answer for the situation when the vehicle is approaching a steady yellow traffic light, while an important part of the subjects were not familiar with safe following distances.

A regional analysis of the results shows that the NorthEast drivers had the lowest average test scores (74.9 percent) and registered the highest failure rate (25.1 percent). At the other end of the scale we find the MidWest region, which had the highest average test scores (77.5 percent) and the lowest failure rates (11.9 percent).

The results also showed that the score grows with the age of the drivers and that males outperformed females in terms of average scores (78.1 percent male versus 74.4 percent female) and failure rates (24 percent female versus 18.1 percent male).

The sixth edition of the annual survey included 5,052 licensed Americans from 50 states and the District of Columbia, testing driving knowledge by asking participants to answer a set of 20 questions taken from the Department of Motor Vehicles exams.

“It’s discouraging to see that overall average test scores are lower than last year,” said Wade Bontrager, senior vice president, GMAC Insurance. “American drivers need to make safety a top priority and be aware of the rules of the road at all times."