Back in July I visited the DMV (the Eastside location) and have a few items to report:
1) They installed a bike rack in a moderately convenient location.
2) Last year, one person was reading the Motorist's Handbook during their wait. This July, nobody was reading the motorists handbook (except me). Now the manuals they had on hand were identical to the ones I saw last year (I guess there has not been an update), so I suppose someone with a perfect memory would derive no benefit from reading the same manual twice (assuming they read it in the first place). Still, when I went over the handbook, I rediscovered a few things during my read that I had forgotten.
3) The purpose of my visit was to renew my "License", and seeing as I am originally from another state, and the DMV just handed me a card at the time I moved to Madison in 1998, I decided I wanted to make sure I was up to par on wisconsin driving knowledge, so I requested that I be given the written exam. This sent the staff into a panic. A manager told me I was not allowed to take a written exam. The only exam I received that evaluated my driving ability was a quick vision test. I now refer to the card the DMV gave me that day as the "State Vision Certification"
Being the pigheaded safety enthusiast that I am, I decided to contact the state DMV office to request permission to take a written exam, even offering to pay for the "privilege". Well, they too denied my request and referred me to someone else (without telling me how I could contact that someone else). After a little research on the DMV web site, I discovered that the primary goal of the DMV is to maximize the number of "products" they provide per day. So there it is: to save taxpayer dollars, the DMV refuses to administer written driver's exams for people who volunteer to take them.
I guess if I really wanted to be pigheaded, I could file a voluntary temporary surrender of license form and see what happens:
[http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/drivers/apply/doc/vol-surrender.htm]
Or someone else could file a MV3141 on me:
[http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/forms/mv3141.pdf]
Why would you want to report me? I can tell you that at the time I got my license in the State of Oregon, bicyclists riding on sidewalks or bike paths crossing driveways were required to yield to a motor vehicle using the driveway: i.e, my state encouraged me to not bother to look when, operating a motor vehicle,I crossed a sidewalk or bike path upon leaving my house. Also, at the time I originally obtained a license, bicyclists were forbidden to use road lanes if a bike path or lane was present i.e.: My state gave me the impression that I, as a motor vehicle operator, should not expect to see bicyclists in the road. The State of Wisconsin has never certified that I understand anything but what was on my original driver's exam (which for all they know, was 20 years ago). If you feel unsafe because of my potential lack of knowledge, then you should report me!
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: [Bikies] toll of driving
From: "Robbie Webber" [EMAIL PROTECTED]
_______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
Make a driver's LICENSE mean something. Hard to
get. Important to hold onto. Easy to revoke. Serious penalties for being caught
without one when driving.
