46% Of New York Driver License Applicants Flunked The Road Exam In 2012

Fewer than half of the city’s would-be drivers passed the road test last year, an alarming drop, new state records reveal.

Just 46% of the city’s 181,196 test-takers passed the basic road exam in 2012, state Department of Motor Vehicle records show. That’s down from the 52% of the 165,743 test-takers who passed in 2005, according to a Daily News analysis.

Experts say the drop is due to cash-strapped schools cutting driver’s education classes and teens failing to properly practice before taking the test. It’s not that the basic road test has gotten harder, said a DMV spokesman.