Driving Test

[dazzleman]

Did any of you guys have to take the road test multiple times to pass it?

I have a feeling that most of the guys on here passed on the first road test.  I only had to take it once, but one person I knew at the time had to take it 4 times.

[Cookie Monster]

Once.

My dad took it 4-5 times I believe.

[2o6]

Once.
My dad took it 4-5 times I believe.

How?   

[ifcar]

Passed on the first try. Both my parents needed multiple attempts to pass the parallel parking portion of the test, but they both blame it on the cars they were driving: a full-size 1970s Oldsmobile wagon and a full-size Dodge pickup with a camper shell.

[Cookie Monster]

How?  

Young, foreign guy living in NYC... they failed him for getting one or two errors only so he went to a different state to get his license.

[dazzleman]

Young, foreign guy living in NYC... they failed him for getting one or two errors only so he went to a different state to get his license.

The driving test in New York State is very easy.  That's the state where I took my road test (they waived it when I switched my license to Connecticut years later).  He probably failed because his driving sucked.

[TBR]

Where's the option for zero? The road test is optional in Texas.

[dazzleman]

Where's the option for zero? The road test is optional in Texas.

WTF?  If it's optional, why does anybody take it?

[TBR]

WTF?  If it's optional, why does anybody take it?

I doubt anyone does. Perhaps some overzealous parents make their children take them.

[dazzleman]

I doubt anyone does. Perhaps some overzealous parents make their children take them.

So the state just issues a license with no test?  Or do you have to pass some type of private driver training course?

Not that the test that I took was worth much.  It was basically driving around the block, with a U-turn (wide street, no curbs) and parallel parking (1 car only) thrown in.  I don't think I crossed another car the whole test.  Still, it was something, and there were plenty of people who actually failed that test.

[S204STi]

2.

Grew up in a town without stop lights, turning lanes, four-lane roads, nothin'.  Test occurred in a town with all of these things, so I was very nervous.

Honestly I used to be a scary driver, up till around age 19 or 20.  These days I'm regularly complemented on my driving however, so I don't take it too hard.

[93JC]

Once, almost perfectly. The only mistake I made was bumping into the curb when I was parking the car at the very end of the test. You failed if you went up on the curb.

I remember having to parallel park on a steep hill, which I suppose is a little out of the ordinary and more difficult than most. That was about the only thing of significance about it. Overall it was overwhelmingly easy.

[TBR]

So the state just issues a license with no test?  Or do you have to pass some type of private driver training course?

Not that the test that I took was worth much.  It was basically driving around the block, with a U-turn (wide street, no curbs) and parallel parking (1 car only) thrown in.  I don't think I crossed another car the whole test.  Still, it was something, and there were plenty of people who actually failed that test.

If you're under 18 you have to participate in driver training of some sort, around me the only options are a parent taught course or the public school program. I believe that if you're over 18 you can simply go to the DPS, fill out some paperwork, and get a license.

[dazzleman]

If you're under 18 you have to participate in driver training of some sort, around me the only options are a parent taught course or the public school program. I believe that if you're over 18 you can simply go to the DPS, fill out some paperwork, and get a license.

That's crazy.  They really should give a test.

[CJ]

Over 18 and you do have to take the written and driving test.

[dazzleman]

Over 18 and you do have to take the written and driving test.

That makes more sense.  They don't require the training as they do for those under 18, but give a test instead.  It's probably a very easy test, but that's better than nothing.

I actually think there should be periodic retesting of drivers.  It would help to keep some people on their toes.  Once you pass a road test now, that's it.  Even when I moved to a different state (NY to CT) and had to change my license, they waived all the tests except the vision test.  New York used to at least make out-of-state drivers transferring their license to take a written test (while waiving the road test, which is more expensive to administer), but Connecticut waived the written test as well as the road test for me.  I have a friend who also moved from New York to Connecticut who has a license but literally can't drive, hasn't driven in years, and they also waived all the tests and issued her a Connecticut license.  I think we should have a harder road test with periodic retesting.

[Eye of the Tiger]

Once for car... in a '94 Plymouth Voyager
Once for motorcycle... on a beast of a '77 Suzuki GS750

[dazzleman]

Once for car... in a '94 Plymouth Voyager
Once for motorcycle... on a beast of a '77 Suzuki GS750

I'm one of the only people I know who took the road test on a car with a manual transmission.  I learned to drive on a manual, and that was the better of the available cars.  The other car was all smashed up, and I didn't think that taking that car to a road test would make the right impression, even though I hadn't put any of the dents in that car.

One of the worst things about my road test was that in New York state back then, they didn't give you the results at the end of the test.  You had to wait to be notified of the results by mail.  Since I took the test on a Friday, I didn't get the results until the following Wednesday.  It was a very painful 5 days.

The rumor was the there was this 'black lady' who gave the road test who failed everybody.  When I got to the test site, there were two people giving the test, a friendly looking white guy, and a severe-looking dark skinned woman.  Guess who I got?  Her technique was to turn and stare in your face when she gave an instruction, so she was pretty abrupt and intimidating.  She started filling in the results 2/3 of the way through the test, so I really thought that I had failed, or why would she be filling in the results so early?  She didn't even wait for me to stop the car before she got out.

I have since come to the conclusion that this 'black lady' that everybody dreaded getting for the road test was probably a composite of a few different people, and that the person I got wasn't the one to dread (if in fact that person existed at all), but at the time, it was enough to rattle me.  The funny thing is, a few years after I got my license, the inspector who gave me the road test was arrested for taking bribes from driving schools to pass their students.  She was getting hundreds of dollars for every person she passed, and the school got a cut of the money too.  Pretty sad to have to pay hundreds of dollars to get past that easy test.

[Cookie Monster]

The driving test in New York State is very easy.  That's the state where I took my road test (they waived it when I switched my license to Connecticut years later).  He probably failed because his driving sucked.

No, his driving is good.

He told me that they had too many people trying to get licenses so they didn't want to give out licenses. He only made 1-2 mistakes and yet they still failed him.

[dazzleman]

No, his driving is good.

He told me that they had too many people trying to get licenses so they didn't want to give out licenses. He only made 1-2 mistakes and yet they still failed him.

But maybe his driving sucked at the time.  When I took my test, it took 20 points to fail the test, and there were a few 10 point items, so 2 of them could result in failure.  There were also some things that resulted in immediate failure like an accident, running a stop sign or a red light, etc.  Maybe that's what happened.  I'm not buying the "too many people were trying to get licenses" BS.

One of my cousins failed her first road test (over 20 years ago), and she's still angry about it.  If the subject ever comes up, she still has nasty things to say about the state inspector who failed her.  She really needs to let go. 

[Cookie Monster]

But maybe his driving sucked at the time.  When I took my test, it took 20 points to fail the test, and there were a few 10 point items, so 2 of them could result in failure.  There were also some things that resulted in immediate failure like an accident, running a stop sign or a red light, etc.  Maybe that's what happened.  I'm not buying the "too many people were trying to get licenses" BS.

One of my cousins failed her first road test (over 20 years ago), and she's still angry about it.  If the subject ever comes up, she still has nasty things to say about the state inspector who failed her.  She really needs to let go. 

That's what he told me and he's never been in a major accident before.

I also think they were trying to not let him get his license because he wasn't a citizen... was on a temporary visa.

[dazzleman]

That's what he told me and he's never been in a major accident before.

I also think they were trying to not let him get his license because he wasn't a citizen... was on a temporary visa.

Obviously, that's what he believes.  But I doubt it's true.  The person giving you the road test doesn't know your citizenship status.

[Cookie Monster]

Obviously, that's what he believes.  But I doubt it's true.  The person giving you the road test doesn't know your citizenship status.

He passed it in one try in Virginia.

[dazzleman]

He passed it in one try in Virginia.

So much of the test is arbitrary.  New York tests on actual roads, unlike some tests which test on a course.  Some sites are harder than others, and there can be unpredictable events that take place on the test that affect the outcome.  It's far from perfect.

The sites in New York city are harder because of the greater traffic.  Virginia probably has an easy road test in a parking lot or something.  The fact that he passed the first test in Va doesn't prove that he was improperly failed in New York.

[Cookie Monster]

So much of the test is arbitrary.  New York tests on actual roads, unlike some tests which test on a course.  Some sites are harder than others, and there can be unpredictable events that take place on the test that affect the outcome.  It's far from perfect.

The sites in New York city are harder because of the greater traffic.  Virginia probably has an easy road test in a parking lot or something.  The fact that he passed the first test in Va doesn't prove that he was improperly failed in New York.

Well, I don't know what happened anyways... this was well before I was born.

[The Pirate]

Passed on the 1st try here.  I took it on a manual transmission car as well, and the only place I lost points was for coasting with the clutch depressed while taking a corner. 

[dazzleman]

I knew some people who passed the test even though their driving was appalling.  One friend of mine passed on the first try, and he kept hinting that his driving wasn't quite up to par.  Then his father asked if I would take him out practicing (after he got his license).  That should have been my tipoff.  His driving was unbelievably bad; I drove better than that after having a learner's permit for a week, and he had a license.  His approach to traffic lights was to slow down as he approached a green light, then hesitate, and then go through it after it turned red.  At one red light, he managed to block 3 lanes of traffic on a 4-lane road.  Then, he was completely unable to park the car in the lot, and I had to take the wheel.  I was appalled that he could have passed the test and gotten a license.

I have another friend who was also pretty bad, though not as bad as what I just described.  Still, driving with him was scary.  It took him 2 tries to pass the road test, and he clearly wasn't ready even the second time.  He also got the mythical "black lady" (though a different person from the one I got) and she screamed at him at the end of the test, but passed him anyway.  Within a month of getting his license, he drove his car straight into a tree.  I was the worst back seat driver with him; I had to tell him what lane to be in, that there was a light coming up, etc.  He had a string of accidents before his driving finally became satisfactory.

[Gotta-Qik-C7]

Once! Scored 98 out of 100. I forgot to signal when we returned to the DMV lot.

[dazzleman]

Passed on the 1st try here.  I took it on a manual transmission car as well, and the only place I lost points was for coasting with the clutch depressed while taking a corner. 

They were pretty particular to mark you down for that.  I don't think I'd have even noticed.

When I took the test, they didn't give you the markdown sheet if you passed, so I never found out where I got points off.  I'd have liked to find out, but back then, you only got the sheet (in the mail) if you failed.

Waiting for the results by mail sucked.  I gave my mom permission to open the envelope when it arrived, since I knew she'd see it before I did (since the mail arrived when I was at school).  When I got home the day the results arrived, she was waiting out on the driveway with our dog, who was then a year old and in her usual excited state, and she set up some balloons and had a sign that said "You passed."

[Rupert]

One try. I was too cautious about turning onto a busy street from a stop sign, and about turning left through heavy traffic at a light. I got over that but quick.