50 years down the road - Drivers exams began in Cape in 1952

They're eager for a license, but it's the test drive that scares them.

That hasn't changed for half a century.

Missouri has required driver license exams, both written and behind the wheel, since 1952. Driver exams in Cape Girardeau date back to August of that year.

Driver's examiner Randi Markham sees the hopeful and the hazardous. Accidents happen, she says. So far, during her nearly 10 years on the job, she hasn't been involved in any serious accidents.

Markham said she hates to flunk people, but it's part of her job to be picky about driving. "It's devastating to them," she said. "I hate to tell them they didn't pass."

Most people pass the driving test the first time, she said. But only about half of applicants pass the written test the first time, she estimated.

"Some people take it without preparation," she said while grading tests at the Osage Community Centre, which has housed the driver examination office since last fall.

There are 25 multiple-choice questions on the regular driver's test. Applicants must answer 20 questions correctly to pass. The test is offered in 11 languages, including Vietnamese.

Eddie Bowen, 15, of Jackson let out a sigh of relief Thursday afternoon after completing the written test to get his beginner's permit. No actual driving is required to get a permit.

Bowen said he had taken the test six times before passing Thursday. Why? He just never bothered to completely read the driver's manual.

"I skimmed through it a couple of times," he said.

Grace Hoover never even skimmed. She never took a driving test, written or behind the wheel.

But she's been driving for nearly 60 years, ever since she was a 16-year-old high school student in Advance, Mo.

Hoover received her license in 1943. Back then, no driving test existed. There wasn't even a vision exam. Applicants just had to show they were 16 or older. There were no formal driver's education courses.

"My daddy taught me to drive a car," recalled Hoover, who now lives in Cape Girardeau. She learned to drive on the family farm.

"You had to learn to clutch, shift and brake," she said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123