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The Brain Dead should not be Driving

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  • The Brain Dead should not be Driving

    This morning alone, I had the following two customers:

    (1) Teenager and his mom are here to get his beginner's permit. Mom is nattering on and on about how she hopes they have all their documents because this is their 3rd trip here. They have been sent home twice to get all of his documents. Okay, so I need those documents. Mom and son look blankly at each other. Oh, the papers are out in the car! I finally get all the documents, but now the problem is that the son keeps going and sitting back down in the lobby to text. Brian? Come back up here so I can test your eyes. Brian! I need you to sign for your permit. Brian? Do you want your permit or are you just going to wander away?

    (2) Man is standing in the "Return" spot (i.e. - we have sent you away to get something, you don't have to pull another number and wait again). I call him up and he hands me an application for an adult driving permit.

    Me: Okay, so why were you sent away?
    BD (Brain Dead): {deep sigh} I needed to bring in documents.
    (I look at him. Except for the application, he has no other papers.)
    Me: Oh, did you already turn the documents into one of the clerks, and they just asked you to complete the application? (I look over at the desk where we hold documents while the applicant tests).
    BD: (shakes his head and mumbles) no
    Me: Who has your documents?
    BD : (another long sigh) I do.
    Pause.
    Me: Where?
    BD: My pocket.
    Very long pause.
    Me: (It's hard to speak while clenching your teeth) I need them.
    BD (visibly starts): Oh.

    He finally pulls out his wallet, and graces me with the documents.

    Dude, I don't want you behind the wheel of any vehicle, except for maybe a tricycle, and I am not certain about that.
    To seek it with thimbles, to seek it with care;
    To pursue it with forks and hope;
    To threaten its life with a railway share;
    To charm it with forks and hope!

  • #2
    People like thsoe in the OP are the type like the one I saw stop at a red light (light, not a stop sign) and then go.... while it was still red. I facepalmed, and stopped and waited like I was supposed to. You're right. The brain dead should really not be driving.
    "And though she be but little, she is FIERCE!"--Shakespeare

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    • #3
      I'm worried that "Brian" aka "Can't put the damn cell phone down" is going to have an accident the first time he drives a car.
      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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      • #4
        Quoth MoonCat View Post
        I'm worried that "Brian" aka "Can't put the damn cell phone down" is going to have an accident the first time he drives a car.
        And probably with Mr. Brain Dead...
        I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
        My LiveJournal
        A page we can all agree with!

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        • #5
          Explains a LOT about some of the drivers I see around My Hometown ...

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          • #6
            Went to the BMV today to transfer tags. While waiting in line I watched a woman getting her license. She took off her glasses for the vision test and apparently could not read anything. The clerk had to ask her something like 5 times to put her glasses on and try it with them. When she finally did put her glasses on, she passed the test just fine. Why she would not realize she might need to see to pass her vision test, I have no idea.

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            • #7
              Over here, it is made entirely clear that you should:

              a) take the vision test while wearing any corrective lenses that you normally wear while driving, and

              b) if you require corrective lenses to pass the vision test, you *must* wear them when driving.

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              • #8
                Uh yeah... I'm restricted to corrective lenses on my license and I KNOW I wouldn't pass test without my glasses. The woman should know how bad her eyesight is, you'd think. Then again... we're talking about folks who DON'T think.
                "And though she be but little, she is FIERCE!"--Shakespeare

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                • #9
                  Right, I meant that it is explicitly spelled out at testing time.

                  In the UK, the "field" version of the test is reading a registration plate at a specified distance, which can in the first instance be estimated by whoever is administering it. If there is any doubt over the result of the test, then the distance is measured and the test repeated if necessary. This works because UK registration plates are in a uniform font and size which can easily be read at a decent distance with normal vision.

                  When I took driving lessons, the vision test was literally the first thing the instructor did, even before driving me to the industrial estate that gets used for basic control practice. It is also the very first item on the checklist for the final driving test. Just to be sure, I tried reading the plate without my glasses first - being mildly myopic, I could see where the letters were, but not quite distinguish them unambiguously. With glasses, of course, I could read it easily.

                  Failing eyesight is, of course, one of the main reasons why elderly folks eventually have to give up driving. Convincing them that this is happening to them, however, is not always easy.

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                  • #10
                    I would never drive w/o my contacts since I'm very nearsighted and I'd be saying "What cars?"

                    I freakin' hate all the documents we have to bring to the DMV now, it's rediculous. Can't wait for a grassroots movement to vote out all the new driver's license laws and go back to the old ones.
                    Figers are vicious I tell ya. They crawl up your leg and steal your belly button lint.

                    I'm a case study.

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                    • #11
                      Quoth Chromatix View Post
                      Right, I meant that it is explicitly spelled out at testing time.
                      Yep, here too. Unless you are wearing glasses.

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                      • #12
                        Quoth Cia View Post
                        I would never drive w/o my contacts since I'm very nearsighted and I'd be saying "What cars?"

                        I freakin' hate all the documents we have to bring to the DMV now, it's rediculous. Can't wait for a grassroots movement to vote out all the new driver's license laws and go back to the old ones.
                        You'd love it here, then. All I have to take in is my old license.

                        What worries me though, is that the state now allow us to renew our licenses online for up to 8 years with just our say-so that our vision hasn't changed.
                        It's floating wicker propelled by fire!

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                        • #13
                          Quoth Pagan View Post

                          What worries me though, is that the state now allow us to renew our licenses online for up to 8 years with just our say-so that our vision hasn't changed.
                          That's the standard down here, for up to TEN years.

                          Although that said, the DMV requires us to take a vision test at an optometrist, who will quite happily squeeze you in since the test takes all of 5-10 minutes.
                          The best professors are mad scientists! -Zoom

                          Now queen of USSR-Land...

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