
She said she’s been driving for 57 years, spent a Saturday studying the driver handbook, took five practice exams on a Sunday and thought she was ready. Now let me get back to test questions that irked so many readers, including Carolyn Bryant of Brea. But you’ll still have to go to a DMV office for the eye exam. You can find out whether those are options for you by going to the Senior Drivers website and beginning your license renewal process online. I was told that in some instances, depending on driving records and other factors, you might be able to take the test online or qualify for something called the e-learning course, which is a roughly 45-minute driver’s ed and testing program. But a few readers told me they had been able to take the test online at home, so I asked the DMV what was up.

When I wrote that at age 70 and older, renewing your license requires an in-person eye exam and knowledge test, that was mostly true. I’m going to get to both of those topics, but first some clarifications. And a lot of people said it would be more useful, past a certain age, to require driving, rather than written, tests. A lot of people complained about the test questions. Two things stood out for me as I perused reader comments. But that’s somewhat misleading because they tend to drive fewer miles. I dug up statistics suggesting that older drivers, by percentage, have fewer accidents than those in their 20s and 30s.


Many people argued that you should be judged on your driving record, not your age. My column explored the question of whether, as some insisted, this was a case of age discrimination. The requirement had actually been in place since 1978, but was temporarily lifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it possible to renew online with no hassles. 1 - that anyone 70 or older who wants to renew has to go to a DMV office for a knowledge test and an eye exam. I’d written about the requirement - as of Jan. They have opinions, suggestions and gripes they can’t wait to unload, and I’m still going through hundreds of responses to my column about driver’s license renewals for people 70 and older. When it comes to the California Department of Motor Vehicles and its policies and practices, people are not timid.
