We Need More Government

I can't believe I just wrote "We need more government" as the title of my post, but I did. I've often thought of this before but once again, during a 1.5 hour commute, it was made oh so apparent that many people simply do not know how to drive and should have the privilege of driving a motor vehicle taken away from them. Here are some examples I saw this morning:

• Driving on the shoulder of the exit ramp to avoid the slowed/stopped traffic a the merge
• Using a "jughandle" to get to the intersection and then turning right to go in the original direction of travel just to get ahead of traffic stopped at the red light
• Failing to clear the intersection during a left turn, thus blocking traffic when the light changed
• Using a parking lot to avoid traffic at the red light (yes, this was me the other day)

The reason why I promote more government in this case is that I believe the government should institute a mandatory road test every time a person renews his/her license, regardless of age. Here's the reason: I last took a road test in 1984 and I think it's safe to say that some of the rules of the road have changed since then; for example, triple left-turn lanes. Now, I was able to stay on top of the latest developments because I worked as a traffic engineer/transportation planner for over 14 years, but I'm not in that line of work anymore and things continue to change.

That's why there should be mandatory road tests every time you renew your license. In the state I currently reside, I was able to renew my license online and it's good for 10 years! Doesn't someone think that my understanding of traffic laws and my ability to drive safely will change in those 10 years? Isn't it the government's responsibility to uphold the law and protect its citizens? If having a driver's license is a privilege--which it is--and not a right--which it is not--then shouldn't there be some kind of minimum standards we should have to maintain every time our licenses are renewed?

So there you have it, one of the extremely few times I will advocate for more government. And please obey the traffic laws, lives literally depend on it.