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California has demanded that approximately 11,000 residents re-take their written driving tests after the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles discovered “discrepancies” suggesting that widespread cheating may plague one of the simplest evaluations known to humankind.
The DMV has not outright said what methods are being used to cheat, but after parsing its rather circumspect description, it seems fairly obvious that they’re referring to some sort of digital shenanigans:
“The California DMV has identified irregularities in certain driver knowledge test results that may indicate instances of cheating,” a DMV spokesperson told the San Francisco Chronicle. “Through our routine internal monitoring, we reviewed multiple data points and found patterns suggesting that some individuals may have attempted to circumvent the testing process using various cheating methods.”
A post from a Redditor who received a notice from the California DMV (username redacted for privacy).
Any driver whose test results were determined to be “potentially problematic” was sent a notice (like the one above) informing them that they would have to re-take the test if they did not want their license to be revoked.
The DMV performed an internal audit and determined that the discrepancies are not related to any technical (or A.I.) errors or issues with the test itself, though the Department did not rule out the possibility that drivers used A.I. to take the test for them. The DMV declined to say which version of the test was vulnerable to the methods being utilized by the alleged cheaters; Calif. offers both online and in-person testing.
According to the DMV, that information will remain under wraps until the state has concluded its criminal investigation. Yeah, this goes beyond simple grade-school plagiarism. The DMV has already referred “several” cases to law enforcement; no further details were provided, but it seems likely that prosecutors would target those responsible for making it possible to cheat in the first place.
Look, I get it. That driver’s handbook is thick, but even the state of California offers resources for people looking to study up before taking their written tests.
It’s not that hard, people. Seriously.
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Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
