Record Failures Prompt Florida Driving Test Review

A revamped written exam for those seeking Florida driver’s licenses is under fire after the state has witnessed a 59 percent failure rate since its introduction earlier this year.

The new 50-question test was put into play in January on the heels of growing accident statistics among teenage drivers. The test, the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, says is meant to force new drivers to more carefully study the manual.

The problem, according to some who have failed the test, is that answers to questions on the test aren’t in the manual. Nicole Carvalho had to take the exam eight times to pass, according to Local 10. When asked about the obstacle, the high school senior told the station the questions on the test were not in the manual.

“I wasn’t prepared for the questions (that) I studied for two weeks,” she said.

Stories across the state are similar as an estimated three in five people who take the test fail it the first time around.

The test is now under review by the state, but Terry Rhodes, executive director of the DHSMV, is asking Gov. Rick Scott for patience in the process. Rhodes was asked to address the failure rate during the monthly Florida Cabinet meeting Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Times reported. The state would like to see a 70 percent pass rate on the exam rather than the 41 percent rate it now has.

Rhodes told Cabinet members her department is in the process of printing a new handbook, creating a study guide and increasing its educational efforts. When one Cabinet member asked if the new test covers questions in the right way, Rhodes said, “We are reviewing the test questions constantly.”

How soon new materials will be made available to drivers studying for the exam remains unclear. Rhodes has been asked to report back during next month’s Cabinet meeting.

According to DHSMV records, teen drivers were involved in more than 26,000 crashes in 2010. The number climbed to more than 36,000 in 2013, which is the most recent year numbers are available for. The 2013 numbers were up 10.95 percent from the 32,610 teen-involved crashes recorded in 2012, state records indicate.

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