Road Test
 

So I go today to get my driver's license by taking a road test. I did this about 1 or 2 years ago and I failed the first time. Was a real bummer cause i was driving a 1989 Thunderbird and the width was pretty fat. So I get in there fine, but as i backed out, I ran over one of the cones (automatic disqualification). <_<;

Anyway, went today and I recently got a car--a 91 Ford Escourt. I'm not a big fan of Ford, but it's small and not a real gas hogger. So as the instructor comes out to the car with me, everything is working, and the only thing i'm thinking about is squeezing the car in between those tiny cones. She then tells me to honk the horn, (Ok, not hard...) I do so... ehhh... don't hear anything? ... shit... "Yes, unfortunatly sir, you need to have a car with a working car horn... so pissed. -_- And it's one of those things you never really check to make sure it's working before you go cause it never even crossed my mind.

So I'm supposed to take the road test tomorrow again with a 2006 Hundai SUV. I've drove it before, and the maneuverability is really nice, just the front end is a little bigger than the escourt. That's all I need. -_-;

Moving on. Any tips anyone has or just some major key things to pay attention to? I'm taking the test in FL.

LOL You'd have the shit luck having it done around the time the news are blasting MIAMI as the TOP ROAD RAGE city. :D Just what this city needs, another ROAD RAGE DRIVER. Good luck btw!

I hated to parallel park because well I have a sense of distortion of space between the car and the cones/pole inbetween.

Which is good cause I don't live in Miami ^^;

I actually live in the middle-east coast. I even dislike FL because of the heat, and hurricane season is a bitch... Also we don't need to parrellel park down here, so that's one thing off my back.

I guess I'd recommend making it very obvious that you're checking your mirrors every six seconds... or what the amount is supposed to be.

I ran a red light on my driver's test.
I passed anyway.

Take as much time as you need to make turns and such. Don't feel pressured by the presence of a tester in the car.

Also, if you see me around, be sure to come to a complete stop. :nodnod:

I was told this the first time in my drivers test. "take your time, they won't pressure you" but unfortunately I got a naggin bitch screaming at me because I took more than 7 seconds trying to make a safe turn.
For some reason it felt like she hated me and wanted to rush the damn exam and I ended up getting nervous and failing the damn thing.

I got a cool asian dude for my second try and all went well. Too bad you can't choose the examiner ~_~

That sucks. I had a tester who congratulated me for taking my time making those turns.

Tilt the mirror up higher than usual so that you have to raise your head noticeably when you look at it. Same goes for any other time to look at the mirror; exaggerate it as much as much as possible and don't just shift your eyes.

Maybe you'll get lucky. I didn't have to do any parking at all for some reason.

I don't know where all these hellish driving instructors are coming from. I had a fine experience. Patient and decent.

Mine let me palm-turn during my test 'cause she could tell I was faking trying to hold the wheel normally. ='D

Yeah, well mine let me fuck her in the back seat of my beamer. She was a hottie (huge tits, no big deal).

Mine didn't let me, but I did it anyway. Made sure I'd already got my license first, though.

Same here, except I noticed a bit too late and stopped right in the middle of the intersection! Luckily it was a slow small-town intersection and nothing bad happened. The tester passed me because "even though I ran a red light, I still did stop at least." That thought makes me shudder. I'm not that bad of a driver all the time, but how many people do they pass that DO drive that badly?

I had some good luck when it came to my driving instructor. He was actually rather lax about the entire test. He let me keep my hands on the wheel in any position I wanted (hands on eight and six). I didn't even have to demonstrate parallel parking (which is definitely not my strongest point)!

Anyway, the only tip I can come up with is try not to be too nervous when the test comes up. Getting nervous can make your driving spontaneously erratic at the wrong time.

lol funny comments. Had another question. What exactly is a Turn-a-bout? Is it a 3 point turn or what?

Isn't a turnabout a giant circle like in the Simpsons, where you drive around until you exit where you want to?

I think I may have passed my test by sheer luck. I'm a decent driver, but I can't back into a parking space to save my life. I think that most of the test the tester was distracted because we both worked at Target and were ripping on the Human Resources woman there.

I would suggest staying at ease and being friendly, making sure to pay attention to everything they say. From what I've seen, most testers look for an equal amount of skill and safety, meaning you can take a safe turn, just don't take 3 years making it.

Yes, that's what a turnabout is (though they're technically called roundabouts.)

Normal people call them "circles."

I probably shouldn't have passed my driving test. I was speeding the entire time, I cut someone off, and I hardly looked at my mirrors. The lady was real nice, told me what I did wrong, but passed me anyway.

"Now we're going to play werewolf."

"What's that, student Brent?"

"That's where I put on my werewolf mask and rape the shit out of you."

Eh, just drive like you normally would! If you're "faking" being a good driver just to get your license, then you don't deserve to have one! Dangerous drivers should not be on the road!

Speaking of safe driving, is anybody else under the impression that they actually drive BETTER at faster speeds, say, around 70-80mph? (110-130km/h for you other folks). Slower speeds I tend to get bored with and not pay attention to anything. That's why I want to get a manual - it's funner to drive and it keeps my attention longer than an automatic.

I had a course test as opposed to a road test. I ended up passing the first time, but I forgot my documentation the first time I went, so 10 minute ride back home. Went for my test, passed the parallel parking (even though I hit the curb... The guy was probably to fat to notice), but failed on turning since I kept going in too deep when I took turns. <_<

Ugh, at least I don't have to go through that again. <_<

lol, i definatly agree. Anyway I'm gonna be taking the 2006 Hyndai SUV. I went in back of the corner where the DMV is when it was closed and practiced parking where the cones usually are. They aren't there unless someone's taking a test, but you can see where they put the spray paint square marks in the lane.

You ever feel though that no matter how hard you try, you just can't get it right. Everytime i know if i went over the cone, i feel like such a dumbass, like I don't learn from my mistakes. I think i just have bad judgement trouble for parking, yet i can shoot a rocket somewhere where i know where the person is going to be (say in BF2142) and hit them perfectly. ><

I remember that I lost three points total for just being a few inches or so past the limit line at one stop sign. I took my test during the summer also, so the woman who was giving me the test seemed to be more concerned with turning up the air conditioner. I'm not sure about bike lanes in your state, but those were also important during my test.

I failed the first time I took it, too. One of the reasons was because I wasn't looking at both sides when driving through an intersection. That still seems so unnatural to me to do that while you're driving through one. Whatevers.

Or a fucking rotary. What the hell people.

Here in Massachusetts, you can pretty much get a driver's license by simply breathing. It's a depressing state of affairs - no wonder no major insurance companies will sell their policies here.

When I got my license, I had no actual, legal "training." I had never been to a drivers ed class, I had never had an instructor. The best I got was some lessons on my mother's stick shift Volvo when I was 14 in a giant parking lot.

And of course, we have a state trooper who sits in the car with you and a parent or whatever. THAT makes one a little nervous. The best advice I got was "be sure to check all your mirrors, know your hand signals, and buckle up."

I did all of the above (as I often do anyways) and passed with flying colors. In all honesty though, all the trooper made me do was drive around the block, do a 3-point turn, and pass through downtown Worcester traffic.

I've NEVER heard of someone having difficulty passing the test up here. But we're kind of, you know, horrible.

My suggestion? Don't take the test in Florida. I read your account and I could have sworn you were in another country entirely.

Cones? Disqualification because of the horn? When I took my test, the lady didn't even care that I had trouble finding the headlight switch. The hardest part of the test was backing out of the parking lot, and she didn't even care if I used my mirrors as long as I didn't hit anyone. I took four left turns around the block, and didn't even have to park the vehicle afterwards.

I mean, wow. Do they actually fund the DMVs in Florida? Here they barely have time to give tests at all, since the understaffed DMVs are usually swamped with renewing the licenses of DUI offenders and handing out IDs to illegal immigrants.

I've always known them as rotaries. O_o;

Anyways, take your time, make every action obvious, and relax. I think that most instructors will generally be nice about things.

I had to take the test three damn times thanks to the hardass I got on my first try. Everything went perfectly except for turning back into the station. There was an SUV taking up both the incoming and outgoing lanes, yet the guy demanded I turn in anyway, so I had to go off to the side a bit. Then the bastard congratulated me for doing so well, and proceeded to tell me that he never passes anyone on their first time because he wanted people to get a feel for it.

The second time I was extremely nervous, because apparently these cops just fail people for no reason at all. The test still went well, except I was so rattled that I got in the right turning lane instead of the left at one point, and a truck came up behind me and blocked it before I could get back into the left lane. Instant failure, and he also added in a lecture about how kids who do well in school always seem to be the worst drivers. What?

On the third try I got the same guy as my first time. He passed me and told me how much I'd improved even though I swear that was my worst time yet. That pissed me off about as much as if he'd just failed me again for a hat trick. I saw the check sheets after each test, and there weren't any mistakes other than those.

I would have gone straight to whomever was in charge at that DMV and complained. That's GOT to be against regulations or something. Total BS.

I guess I can't really relate to you though. In my DMV, about the only thing you can do to fail is drive on the wrong side of the road.

I can't remember if the DMV and police station were one and the same or if the DMV was just staffed by the police, but there really wasn't anyone to complain to. They were all a bunch of middle-aged cop buddies who would've backed each other up completely. Trust me, that's the only thing that stopped me from really fighting his decision.

Well i failed again, yay go me!

Cept wasn't on parking this time, it was on backing up in a straight lane. It was a small-ass little residential area and i ended up going on the wrong side of the lane because the car's wheel i was using is too sensitive and i lost which direction i was going, and since i went too far on the wrong lane, i automatically failed. As i was already on the wrong lane, i just said to myself "screw it" cause I already kinda knew i was fucked. Also lost points cause i didn't answer the "Parking on a Hill" question successfully. Only part i really missed saying was facing your wheels away from the curb. Another thing was I was totally late. I set my alarm on my computer but my speakers weren't turned up. So when i got there I was still tired as hell and my eyes weren't even adjusted to the light yet.

I feel so retarded...

Ok, the DMV's in other states must suck. In Iowa, there's basically a 40-point checklist, and you can only miss 10 points and pass. For instance, way back when I was getting my license, I took a right turn really close and clipped the curb with my rear tire. That was -4 points. If I didn't check "left, right, left" before making a turn? -2 points.

I ended up only missing something like 6 points on my test, and the lady was very nice and let me know everything I missed -- and I don't feel like she was unfair or unconcerned.