By Laurie Merrill / ADOT Communications

As if the hairdos and outfits weren’t enough to date this era, driver license tests have also come a long way since this Arizona Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Division photo was snapped decades ago. If, like me, you learned to drive in the days before computers, this photo of people sitting at classroom-style desks, complete with pencil holders, will look familiar.

Today, would-be licensees who take the 30-question, multiple-choice test do so at a computer using a touch screen. Audio assist is available.

In an even larger technological leap, teenagers hoping to get their learners permits are flocking to the Permit Test @ Home, a new online option that ADOT introduced earlier this year.

Some things don’t change. The way we take the tests reflects the electronic revolution, but the content still stems directly from the Arizona Driver License Manual. Serious studying is still required.

Remember when we told you about ADOT’s Accelerated Weathering Tester?

It was just last month when we featured that piece of equipment and told you how ADOT’s Materials Testing team uses it to analyze paint.

Well, today we found out that something similar was being used a few decades ago...

It is called a Weatherometer and the photo below was taken in 1972. Unfortunately, we don’t know exactly when the above photo was captured – we’re guessing it’s probably from the start of the 1970s, or maybe even earlier.

These photos were snapped inside the old ADOT Chemistry lab, which we’re told is now a parking lot.

We were also informed that back then, the old Weatherometer was primarily used for asphalt evaluations. However, it was also used for paints and plastics like the accelerated weathering tester is used now.

Taken in 1972, this photo shows a Weatherometer in ADOT's Chemistry Lab.

It’s safe to say things have changed since 1912 when the Arizona Highway Department was first established. But you don’t just have to take our word … we’ve got plenty of pictures to prove it. We combed through our archives and decided to periodically post these photos from the past in a blog series we’re calling, “From the ADOT Archives.”

Watching paint dry is the very definition of boring, but observing paint to see how it’ll hold up against the elements can really get interesting…

Not convinced?

Well, did we mention the process involves a weather simulating device that can conjure up rain, humidity and harsh sunlight with the push of a button?

It’s actually called an Accelerated Weathering Tester and it’s used by ADOT’s Materials Testing team to analyze how well paint will perform on ADOT projects, come rain or shine.

(top) After hours inside the Accelerated Weathering Tester, steel that has been coated with a paint sample is bent using a mandrel. The degree of cracking observed after bending is analyzed for the paint's evaluation.

(bottom) A look at paint samples that have been applied to wood. After time in the weather tester, the samples are compared to the controls.

After many weeks in the tester, ADOT gets an idea of what the paint will look like years from now.

“We program it to simulate different weather phenomena,” explains ADOT Chemist Jeff Faulkner, adding that the ultra violet lamps inside the device give off destructive UVB rays – the same type that are responsible for sunburns.

The machine also has nozzles inside that spray water to simulate rain. With various combinations of “sunlight” and “rain,” ADOT chemists like Faulkner can program many different weather conditions and humidity levels.

Faulkner and his team fire up the Accelerated Weathering Tester when a paint manufacturer wants to have one of their products added to the Approved Products List (the list is updated regularly and includes products that have been evaluated and found acceptable by ADOT – we blogged about it in 2011).

After the manufacturer sends over a sample of paint to be tested for inclusion in the Approved Products List (APL), ADOT chemists will apply a coat of it onto a thin panel of either steel, wood or masonry block, depending on the type of paint.

Once the paint dries, the sample goes into the Accelerated Weathering Tester for up to 2,000 hours of exposure. The paint gets rained on, heated up and is subject to humidity.

After the time is up, the ADOT chemists will check the sample for cracking, blistering, corrosion, adhesion, chalking and flexibility.*

Besides observing how well the paint held up, the chemists will check the paint against a control sample, which is prepared in exactly the same manner as the test sample, but isn’t exposed to anything – not even the fluorescent lights in the lab.

From there, a results report is prepared and is sent to ADOT’s Materials Product Evaluation Committee. The committee uses the test results when considering whether to allow a paint product onto the APL. If accepted, that paint product can be used on ADOT projects.

* How can paint be flexible, you wonder? This criteria has to do with paint that’s been tested on steel. After it’s time in the weather simulating machine, the sample is bent using a mandrel. The degree of cracking observed after bending is used for the rating.

Our calendar is nearing the first day of summer and as temperatures start to soar we’re reminded (as we are every year) that Arizona gets sunshine … a lot of sunshine.

Fortunately, ADOT is able to put some of those rays to work.

You might remember that we blogged last August about ADOT’s effort to develop and implement solar-powered emergency lighting for its vehicle fleet.

Back then, things were just getting started and about 50 ADOT vehicles were tapped to test out the newly designed solar-powered lights. ADOT’s test of solar emergency lights has since focused on how well they work in Arizona’s varied climates and temperature extremes.

Now, almost a year later the program is still moving forward.

ADOT plans to install solar emergency lights on 50 additional vehicles over the next several months that will incorporate improvements such as battery packs with a higher heat tolerance, an improved remote control unit with more power level indicators and more lights inside the light bar while testing continues over the next year.

“This solar lights program is part of an agency commitment to use tax dollars wisely,” said John Nichols, director of administrative services. “Having emergency lights that can operate without an engine running saves all of us money on vehicle maintenance. It reduces wasted fuel and helps the environment while still meeting the safety needs of ADOT workers.”

When do pedestrians have the right-of-way over motor vehicles? How long should you signal before you turn? What does a flashing red traffic light mean?

These are questions you might be trying to learn the answers to in order to get your very first driver license. Perhaps the questions are ones you knew long ago, back when you prepped for your first driver license exam, but it has been years since you studied. Could now be the time for a little refresher?

Whatever your reason is, if you want to brush up on your skills and learn about proper vehicle safety you can visit the ADOT Motor Vehicle Division website. There you’ll find the Arizona Driver License Manual, available for download as a PDF.

After you study, be sure to take the online Driver License practice tests.

The online practice tests are new to the site and the direct result of an MVD online web survey. Practice tests were the No. 1 item requested by those who took the survey.

So far, the tests have proven to be pretty popular among visitors to the MVD website since they went online May 31. By the end of the first week, roughly 4,500 tests had been taken, according to John Guild, the forms, publications and web content manager for MVD.

The tests are an educational tool and give people an idea of what they should expect when they take the real test … but, remember, taking the practice tests is in no way a substitute for studying the manual.

“We want to stress that they need to study the manual,” said Guild, adding there’s a lot more to passing the written driver license exam than what’s presented on the online practice tests.