Little-Acorn
02-05-2012, 05:01 PM
I was in San Francisco recently (couldn't avoid it), and made a U-turn in a business district. Turns out that's a no-no, as a fellow with a REALLY bright light on his car told me while protecting and serving.
In California, if you have a clean driving record for the last 18 months and the offense isn't "too bad", you can go to Traffic School, where they lecture you on proper driving etc. and give you a quiz, collect some (actually a lot of) money from you, and then kick you loose and tell you not to do it again. Don't know if other states do this, it beats getting a point on your record and having your insurance company get pissed at you.
And some of those Traffic Schools can be done on-line.
Long story short, I just finished mine, which involved five different 10-question quizzes, nothing too hard. I passed with flying colors, acing three of them.
Then it kicked me into a surprise "Final exam", which is apparently peculiar to only San Francisco county.
This "Final Exam" had 40 questions, some of which were pretty standard driver-exam questions (What's the speed limit in a residential area, What's the minimum Blood-Alcohol Level to be considered DUI, etc.), all of them multiple-choice.
But about halfway thru, I found a block of questions that I didn't expect.
Flunked the test the first time, ALL of my wrong answers were on these questions. You'll see why. Finally passed it.
You'll all be relieved to know that you are a LOT safer driving among other drivers (in San Fran) who know the correct answers to the following:
--------------------------------------------------------------
From "Final Exam for San Francisco County" from an online Traffic School:
19. ____ billion dollars are saved each year by Americans using public transportation if they live in transit-intensive areas.
22
23
29
21
25
20. What percentage has public transportation ridership increased in the last 6 years?
21%
28%
26%
29%
22%
21. In 2000, Americans took ____ billion trips using public transportation, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year - the equivalent of more than one million new trips each day.
9.3
9.4
9.8
9.2
9.5
22. It has been estimated that over ____ teenagers are out-and-out alcoholics. Several million more have a serious drinking problem that they cannot manage on their own.
half a million
1 million
2 million
three million
one and half million
23.
Public transportation helps to keep ____ off the road by providing a needed transportation choice.
safe drivers
good drivers
non-defensive drivers
reckless drivers
dangerous drivers
24. The National Safety Council estimates that riding the bus is over ____ times safer than automobile travel.
169
145
165
170
150
25. In the last ____ years, transit use has increased faster than any other mode of transportation.
7
2
5
6
3
26. During 1985 to 2001 carpooling declined by ____%, public transporation by 0.4% and the percentage of people working at home declined by 0.2%.
4.6
4.8
4.4
4.5
4.7
27. In a study conducted recently, the average driver would rather spend more money on public transit than on ____.
new roads
new cars
new homes
new private investments
new bridges
28. In the year 2000 ridership grew ____ as fast as the U.S. population and outpaced growth in other travel modes.
three times
four times
six times
twice
five times
29. In Los Angeles, ____ of every $1.00 spent on public transport gets recirculated in the local area, translating into $3.80 in goods and services.
35 cents
80 cents
50 cents
65 cents
25 cents
30. For every passenger mile traveled, public transportation is ____ as fuel-efficient as private automobiles, sport-utility vehicles, and light trucks.
five times
four times
half
three times
twice
31. ____ of Americans support the use of public funds for the expansion and improvement of public transportation.
one-eights
Three-quarters
Three-eights
one-half
seven-eights
32. Public transportation is a $____ billion industry that employs more than ____ people.
31/325,000
32/375,000
31/375,000
32/325,000
32/350,000
33. Every year, more money is spent promoting the use of ____ than any other product.
energy drinks
alchohol
cellular phones
cigarettes
weight loss food supplements
34. The poorest quintile of American households spend ____% of their budgets on transportation, while the richest fifth spend only ____%.
36/19
35/18
39/15
36/14
36/15
---------------------------------------------------------------
Aren't you glad that the drivers you may encounter in San Francisco, aren't driving around near YOU with the dangerous misapprehension that Public Transportation ridership has increased 21%, rather than the correct figure of 22%?
(or whatever the hell the answer is)
I have yet to figure out what any of these questions have to do with my being a safer driver. But the County of San Fagcisco insists.
It's good to know that there is no attempt by our various governments taking place, to indoctrinate us into beliefs of questionable value simply because they support larger government that will "help" us more than we thought we needed them to. Don't you agree?
P.S. Yes, our tax dollars (and the occasional traffic fine) paid for this.
In California, if you have a clean driving record for the last 18 months and the offense isn't "too bad", you can go to Traffic School, where they lecture you on proper driving etc. and give you a quiz, collect some (actually a lot of) money from you, and then kick you loose and tell you not to do it again. Don't know if other states do this, it beats getting a point on your record and having your insurance company get pissed at you.
And some of those Traffic Schools can be done on-line.
Long story short, I just finished mine, which involved five different 10-question quizzes, nothing too hard. I passed with flying colors, acing three of them.
Then it kicked me into a surprise "Final exam", which is apparently peculiar to only San Francisco county.
This "Final Exam" had 40 questions, some of which were pretty standard driver-exam questions (What's the speed limit in a residential area, What's the minimum Blood-Alcohol Level to be considered DUI, etc.), all of them multiple-choice.
But about halfway thru, I found a block of questions that I didn't expect.
Flunked the test the first time, ALL of my wrong answers were on these questions. You'll see why. Finally passed it.
You'll all be relieved to know that you are a LOT safer driving among other drivers (in San Fran) who know the correct answers to the following:
--------------------------------------------------------------
From "Final Exam for San Francisco County" from an online Traffic School:
19. ____ billion dollars are saved each year by Americans using public transportation if they live in transit-intensive areas.
22
23
29
21
25
20. What percentage has public transportation ridership increased in the last 6 years?
21%
28%
26%
29%
22%
21. In 2000, Americans took ____ billion trips using public transportation, an increase of 3.5% from the previous year - the equivalent of more than one million new trips each day.
9.3
9.4
9.8
9.2
9.5
22. It has been estimated that over ____ teenagers are out-and-out alcoholics. Several million more have a serious drinking problem that they cannot manage on their own.
half a million
1 million
2 million
three million
one and half million
23.
Public transportation helps to keep ____ off the road by providing a needed transportation choice.
safe drivers
good drivers
non-defensive drivers
reckless drivers
dangerous drivers
24. The National Safety Council estimates that riding the bus is over ____ times safer than automobile travel.
169
145
165
170
150
25. In the last ____ years, transit use has increased faster than any other mode of transportation.
7
2
5
6
3
26. During 1985 to 2001 carpooling declined by ____%, public transporation by 0.4% and the percentage of people working at home declined by 0.2%.
4.6
4.8
4.4
4.5
4.7
27. In a study conducted recently, the average driver would rather spend more money on public transit than on ____.
new roads
new cars
new homes
new private investments
new bridges
28. In the year 2000 ridership grew ____ as fast as the U.S. population and outpaced growth in other travel modes.
three times
four times
six times
twice
five times
29. In Los Angeles, ____ of every $1.00 spent on public transport gets recirculated in the local area, translating into $3.80 in goods and services.
35 cents
80 cents
50 cents
65 cents
25 cents
30. For every passenger mile traveled, public transportation is ____ as fuel-efficient as private automobiles, sport-utility vehicles, and light trucks.
five times
four times
half
three times
twice
31. ____ of Americans support the use of public funds for the expansion and improvement of public transportation.
one-eights
Three-quarters
Three-eights
one-half
seven-eights
32. Public transportation is a $____ billion industry that employs more than ____ people.
31/325,000
32/375,000
31/375,000
32/325,000
32/350,000
33. Every year, more money is spent promoting the use of ____ than any other product.
energy drinks
alchohol
cellular phones
cigarettes
weight loss food supplements
34. The poorest quintile of American households spend ____% of their budgets on transportation, while the richest fifth spend only ____%.
36/19
35/18
39/15
36/14
36/15
---------------------------------------------------------------
Aren't you glad that the drivers you may encounter in San Francisco, aren't driving around near YOU with the dangerous misapprehension that Public Transportation ridership has increased 21%, rather than the correct figure of 22%?
(or whatever the hell the answer is)
I have yet to figure out what any of these questions have to do with my being a safer driver. But the County of San Fagcisco insists.
It's good to know that there is no attempt by our various governments taking place, to indoctrinate us into beliefs of questionable value simply because they support larger government that will "help" us more than we thought we needed them to. Don't you agree?
P.S. Yes, our tax dollars (and the occasional traffic fine) paid for this.