Henry Park, an 80-year-old Korean resident of Irvine, could not hide his joy when he heard the news that seniors in California would no longer be required to take a written test when renewing their driver's licenses (as reported by this paper on October 1, A1). Park had struggled with the written test, which is taken on a computer, failing three times and suffering great stress. Excited, he went to the DMV near his home, waited for a long time, and showed his temporary license at the counter, requesting the issuance of a regular license.

However, the DMV employee, after checking Park's records on the computer, told him that he would need to pass the written test to get a regular driver's license. Surprised, Park asked, "I have a valid temporary license issued by the DMV, and I have no record of accidents or tickets. Why can't I get my regular license?" The DMV staff only responded mechanically, "Because your license expired last year."

Earlier this month, the California DMV announced the elimination of the mandatory senior written test for license renewals. However, it turns out that many Korean senior drivers who had previously failed the written test are still unable to renew their licenses due to the DMV's bureaucratic procedures. Park strongly criticized the DMV, saying, "It's unreasonable and contradictory that the DMV recognizes my driving ability by issuing a temporary license but refuses to issue a regular one just because my license expired last year."

Park's driver's license expired in May of last year, and he took the written test to renew it at the DMV. However, he found the test questions much more difficult than expected and was overwhelmed. Not only were the questions hard, but the computer-based test format was also challenging. It was difficult to go back to previous questions to change answers, and clicking the correct answers with a mouse was unfamiliar, causing him to miss questions he knew the answers to. After failing the test, Park, following the DMV's advice, studied with the handbook and tried two more times but failed each time. Each time he took the test, the DMV issued him a temporary license.

Since he relies on a car to get to the hospital and do grocery shopping, Park had no choice but to continue driving with the temporary license. His wife had stopped driving long ago due to health reasons. The stress of paying fees, waiting in line, and taking the test each time was significant for Park.

When the DMV staff informed him that it was impossible to issue a regular license, Park pleaded, saying he had a valid temporary license, but the staff's response remained the same. In the end, the DMV told him, "Next time, we’ll let you take a paper test. There's nothing more we can do."

Park pointed out, "It's contradictory that despite the policy change, they refuse to issue a license just because it expired last year." He added, "It makes no sense that some people can renew without a test, while others are forced to pass the test, simply because of the expiration year."

By Reporter Hwang Eui-kyung.

<Hwang, Eui-kyung>