GREENVILLE - Some motorcyclists in South Carolina drive for years without a license because state law allows them to repeatedly renew their beginner's permits.

"I'm ashamed to say it, but I've got some friends that for over 15 years renewed permits instead of taking the test and getting a license," said Fred Ruddock, state coordinator of the motorcycle group A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactments of South Carolina, or ABATE.

South Carolina law sets no limit on how many times motorcyclists can renew their permits.

But that does not pose a danger to the drivers or the public, said state Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman Beth Parks.

The department can refuse to renew permits if applicants don't make a genuine effort to pass the road test, she said. She did not know how many permits the agency has refused to renew and could not show records on how many permit holders have renewed more than once in the past five years.

To earn a permit, drivers must be at least 15 years old and pass vision and multiple-choice tests. A driver with a permit can cruise from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., except during daylight savings time, when they are allowed two more hours.

To receive a motorcycle license, drivers must pass a road test on a Department of Motor Vehicles course.

Those tests have been recently updated to include weaving through cones and making a U-turn. The department partnered with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation to develop a more objective test. More than half of the state's 169 employees who give motorcycle tests already are certified in the new program, Parks said.

"I personally believe it's a better idea," Ruddock said.