Much harder US driving tests?

I've got a pretty simple prompt that I thought was interesting. Assuming that for some reason a majority of US states adopt much harder driver licencing tests in the late 1940's and multiple failed attempts means no license for you, what happens to the automotive industry and car culture in the US. Does the US still convert so completely to a car-based transportation society? Or does this reduce the wealth and influence of the auto companies and the car in civil design?
 
I've got a pretty simple prompt that I thought was interesting. Assuming that for some reason a majority of US states adopt much harder driver licencing tests in the late 1940's and multiple failed attempts means no license for you, what happens to the automotive industry and car culture in the US. Does the US still convert so completely to a car-based transportation society? Or does this reduce the wealth and influence of the auto companies and the car in civil design?
In my opinion
Test in Slovakia are much harder then US tests and number of cars is increasing though. Number of cars is not really about test but how many people can afford car.
 
The only way your scenario could work is if the federal government required federal licenses for federal highways and interstates.
 

Philip

Donor
Or does this reduce the wealth and influence of the auto companies and the car in civil design?

Or do the industrialist use their influence to get the laws changed?

The only way your scenario could work is if the federal government required federal licenses for federal highways and interstates.

More likely it follows the drinking-age pattern. If states want federal money for roads, their driving tests must implement federal standards.
 

Driftless

Donor
One of the drivers (pun intended...) for allowing younger age licensing was the impact of so many young men going off to war during WW2 especially. In the US, with it's vast distances that loss of manpower put great dependence of rural economies on younger farm kids to be able to drive on the roads. Most farm kids then were driving tractors by the time they were 12 or so. Even if 95% of that driving was in the field on private land, you still needed to be able to use the roads to get from one field to another - or to the feed mill in town. At the same stroke, those same rural towns needed younger drivers to deliver goods, pick up milk & eggs from the farms.
 
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