If a crucial phrase is not in the pamphlet, Johnson said, the examiners rely on gestures. The examiners use the phrases to give instructions to the applicant during the test. That doesn’t work during a driving test, so the DMV supplies its examiners with pamphlets that list key phrases and words in eight languages. Once she locates that person, she sets up a three-way conference call with the customer. If a customer speaks Russian, for example, Johnson must consult a list to find a local DMV employee who knows the language. Johnson, the former DMV examiner, said things can get sticky when a non-English speaker comes into a field office to discuss a complicated problem, such as a drunk driving conviction or a lost vehicle registration.
#California driving test in punjabi drivers#
Spanish is the only language that qualifies under the law.īut DMV spokesman Steven Haskins said his department goes beyond the minimum requirement to make safe and legal drivers out of as many motorists as possible. The agency is required only to translate its material into languages spoken by more than 5% of the population. State law does not require the DMV to be so accommodating.
#California driving test in punjabi license#
In 1998, the agency began offering the written test in its latest language, Turkish.īut English is still the official language of the American road, so the DMV also tests all license applicants to ensure that they understand the meaning of every street sign.įor example, Spanish speakers who see the “No U-turn” sign on a test must choose the corresponding phrase prohibido dar vuelta en U. Based on the results, the department decides whether to publish the driving test or the handbooks in a new language. (It is also given in American Sign Language.)Įvery two years, the DMV conducts a survey to determine which languages are spoken by its clients.
The written test is published in 31 tongues, from Arabic to Vietnamese. Lois Johnson, a former driving examiner who heads the Culver City office of the DMV, has used all of these tactics in the 17 years she has worked for the agency. The DMV not only translates its literature into dozens of languages, it also relies on three-way conference calls, gestures and quick, hand-drawn illustrations to communicate with non-English speakers. Nearly 40% of county residents were born in another country.Īs a result, DMV officials are forced to get a bit creative when serving a burgeoning number of motorists whose grasp of the English language is tenuous at best. In Los Angeles County alone, the agency serves a population that speaks at least 120 tongues, from obscure Mayan dialects to the more familiar Korean, French, Russian and Spanish. It helps to know such terms when you are a driving examiner for the Department of Motor Vehicles, particularly in Southern California, one of the most racially and ethnically diverse regions in the nation. The word for “brake” in Spanish is freno.Īnd the phrase for “stop the car” in Mandarin Chinese is ting che. The word for “signal” in Tagalog is senyas.
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