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I walk on the road all the time, having grown up in an area with plenty of rural roads without pavements.

I would get into a ton of shit should I visit anywhere that had jaywalking laws, though in the places they exist and are enforced, they presumably get by without a dedicated licensing and testing regime.

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Dude, you're missing the point. You do not walk on the road the same way a cyclist cycles on the road. You do not walk up to T junctions, indicate with your arms and turn left. You neither come to a set of traffic lights in the same way. Cyclists have to do all these things.

And they are somehow managing to do so currently without licences.

One thing to consider is how much effect licensing has on car safety anyway. Mexico city has no test requirement at all, you just pay for permission to drive rather than sitting any test, while Peru has more road deaths per capita, despite needing a practical test, written test and medical certificate before you get behind the wheel.

so what is the conclusion here? Road tests have no positive impact on road safety because Mexico City has fewer accidents than Peru?

No, just that the effect on safety seems minimal compared to other factors.

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