In this case, getting a Real ID ASAP makes sense

Q. Hi Honk: My driver license must be renewed by this October when I turn 70, and I want to make it a Real ID. Is there any way I can go in now to avoid the long lines of people that will be trying to get their Real ID?

– Jim Stedt, San Clemente

A. Yes.

You are going to have to take a written test either way, so going in early makes sense.

Let Honk explain, with the help of Nicholas Filipas, a spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles up in Sacramento.

“Normally, customers should renew their licenses within 120 days of their expiration date,” Filipas told Honk in an email. “If they come in outside of that renewal window, customers are required to take a knowledge (written) test to extend their license another five years.”

The DMV’s thinking: If you come in early, you have shortened your driving track record the agency considers. So a test is required to help ensure you will be a safe driver out there in the asphalt jungle.

Your license will still expire on the old schedule, five years from your upcoming birthday, if the DMV sees no medical or driving roadblocks.

But, Jim, you will have to take a test even if you wait and are within that four-month window anyhow.

That’s because at age 70 and beyond, drivers typically must go in for the written and vision tests every five years.

“By law he will have to take the knowledge test when he renews his license regardless of when he comes in,” Filipas said. “We suggest that he goes in now to get the renewal out of the way soon rather than later. By doing so, he can take the knowledge test, turn in documentation for a Real ID, and avoid potentially long lines as the federal enforcement date gets closer.”

That date Filipas is referring to is Oct. 1 – when the feds will begin requiring certain ID to board a domestic flight, visit federal facilities or a nuclear power plant should you find a desire to do so. The accepted IDs include a Real ID, a passport and a passport card.

Q. Must big rigs use the truck bypasses at the interchange for the I-5 and I-405 freeways? Can they receive a citation if they don’t take one?

– Scott Trumbo, Santa Ana

A. Not there … and not there.

“Trucks are not required to use the bypasses,” said Rafael Reynoso, an officer and spokesman for the Highway Patrol based out of the San Juan Capistrano station. “However, they are encouraged to utilize them as they are meant to smooth the flow of traffic through transition.”

Truck lanes are to get the semis out of the way for the rest of us and also can make it easier on the truckers at times because they may offer gentler inclines so the 18-wheelers don’t have to huff and puff so much.

Can non-truckers take truck lanes?

Yes.

There are two stretches in California where trucks must take what Caltrans calls “trucks-only lanes”: On the I-5 in both directions at State Route 14, and on the southbound I-5 near the Grapevine at State Route 99.

Even in these spots, where signs encourage non-truckers to stay on the main freeway, others can join the behemoths if they want to … for some strange reason.

Honkin’ reminder: Honk is not biased: He enjoys seeking an answer to any interesting question about transportation – whether it concerns cars, trucks, bicycles, boats, buses, planes, trains or feet. Feel free to grace his electronic mailbag with a less-traditional query.

To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk.

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