Also the driving test is a joke in the first place so there are a ton of unsafe drivers.

I'm sure this varies state-to-state. I wouldn't say my driving test was a joke (in the sense of easy), but the hard parts had very little to do with driving safely. the whole thing took place in a parking lot at 5 mph. I failed the test my first two times because it was really difficult to perfectly parallel park my dad's massive truck.

I think it would be okay to make the initial test a little harder, and ideally more focused on real world driving safety. the real problem is if you let someone have a license, they plan their life around it, and then you yank the rug out from under them because they couldn't back up 100 feet in a straight line ten years later.

In my state, the test never touches the highway or any busy roads so you don't have to learn how to merge, stay in your lane, drive at speed, etc. Actually most highways around explicitly prohibit permit holders. I personally know more than one person who had their first experience on the highway after they had a license and it was an absolute disaster. They were white knuckled, driving 20-30mph under the limit and every merge was a close call. I think the only thing they actually test is whether you can parallel park or not.

In Indiana we went on the highway in drivers Ed, which had a speed limit of 55. Then we crossed for a day into Michigan because their state limit was 65. Indiana has since raised the state limit...

Maybe getting to work should be an incentive for practicing safe driving. You cant get to work if you crash your car either.

sure, that's not unreasonable. but with the current situation in the US, you would need to drastically expand welfare, public transit, or both if you really want to lean into the "driving is a privilege" idea.

Yeah I don’t think “drive safe or lose your job” makes for a good billboard.