The ROAD TEST!

[Azariah]

:D Yeah so, I'm kinda old and taking my Road Test. (Old compared to my friends that is)

 

And I'm really scared, anxious, everything under the sun really!

 

I know what to expect in a ways and I've been driving for awhile now (with my parents) but I'm still shaky and scared of it.

 

I think it'll be that way for awhile because I'm afraid of cars. I hate driving but I need to get my car for college you know?

 

Does anyone have any non horror stories? or funny ones? Or maybe just how you felt before your road test too.

 

D: So scared. </3

[Ashbash]

I felt the exact same way when I took my driving test. I think it's pretty normal to feel that way. It ended up being super easy though and the guy testing me was really nice and helpful. I absolutely hated driving until I stopped driving with my mom and got out there on my own with my license. Now it seems so much easier and even a little fun at times. I think just having my mom there with me always made me nervous like I was being judged. Good luck by the way! I'm sure you'll do great! :)

[vyvren]

In Sweden we have a lot of 'mini tests'. I remember the 'frost test' most vividly. We were a group of people from the driving school (we can either drive with our parents or with a certified teacher) on a race track were we were supposed to experience some possible situations under controlled forms; like if a moose all of a sudden pops up in front of the car or if you come in to a curve with black ice too fast. I was really nervous, because my teacher always said that I suffered from a severe case of lead foot (meaning I like speed, it's genetical o: ) and I did go a little too fast, but there was this other girl...

 

She was a really careful driver, and the instructor actually had to tell her to speed up when going in to this black ice curve (the whole point was for us to experience not having full control over the car) and she went from 25 mph to 110 mph and spun around, after that I felt pretty good about just crashing in to the moose twice :b

 

Before my road test, I was really nervous and had been for a long time, but my teacher took me out for a warm up and when it was my time, I realized I had spent all that time being nervous for nothing.

 

(Oh, and my story wasn't meant to be a horror story; there was never any risks of an accident happening!)

 

I'm sure you'll do a lot better than you might think c:

[chiaroscruo]

I took my test in the middle of August, and where I am (the Midwest U.S.) it was 110 degrees outside. I was driving a slightly older car with mediocre air conditioning and the man testing me was HUGE. First thing he did was get in, glare at me and say "turn up the air." I think I just squeaked and pretended the air could go up higher (it couldn't). I'm terrified of men in general and the guy was not very friendly, but long story short I passed. Even though I turned onto a residential street where all the stripes had worn away and couldn't see that the far right "lane" was actually parallel parking. I way overcompensated and lost a lot of points for that, but luckily he didn't know I thought it was a real lane, he just called it a bad turn :laughingsmiley:

 

Just don't do what my best friend did and turn left on a yield green light...into oncoming traffic :sad01_anim:

 

Seriously though if you've practiced and know the laws you'll do fine.

[Haliaetus]

I felt the same exact way! My friends told me horror stories of this one location they all tested at (the closest one to all of our houses), about how the people were mean and they were too hard on you. I had my test at that location, and the guy was quite unfriendly and mean. I ended up failing that test because he made me so nervous about everything I was doing, but I went to a different location for my next test and it was so different. I was super nervous, but the guy was so friendly and nice and made it so much easier for me to relax. He talked to me the entire way and was actually quite funny. He told me to lay on the horn at one point because we drove by a news reporter doing a live story, and then he asked me if I had any money because he wanted me to pull over and go to the bakery. :P As long as you've practiced a bit, you should do great. Just try some breathing exercises or something before so you don't get too worked up for the test. ^_^

[passiflora]

Ahh driver's tests. I was super nervous for mine too, and once you actually get your license it's so much easier to relax and enjoy driving. I think I actually because a better driver once all that stress was out of the way.

 

Here, 10 points off on the test is a fail - I turned right when they said to turn left and got 5 points off for it :* , plus 4 more for minor things. I was soo close to failing but got it on my first try, and since then I've had a perfect driving record; no accidents or anything.

 

 

Good luck! :)

[Jacky]

just take a deep breath and do it! You'll be fine. When I went for my motorcycle road test I got stuck in an unexpected snow storm. I just kept my head cool and did it. My instructor was amazed. XD Anyway, my point is, just relax and don't worry about it! you can do it! :)

 

BTW, i got my DL in Germany. Getting your DL in Europe is pretty hard. I had to go for another road test when I moved to california, and I was amazed at how easy the road test in the USA was. Piece of cake!

[Emily]

We have a graduated system in most of Canada. You do a written test which gets you your first level. With that, you can drive only with a person who has held a Canadin license for at least 5 years in the car and you cannot drive on major highways. The second level is a road test. Once passed, you can drive alone and anywhere, but you cannot have anyone under the age of 18 in the car with you (unless it's an immediate family member) after midnight. The third test is another road test which grants you your full license with no restrictions.

 

I actually found the first road test to be harder than the final one for my full license. I work with a woman who is also a part-time driving instructor and she said that what they look for is for people to be comfortable in the car and to drive safely. If you can do that, you can pass no problem. So.... Don't hit any old ladies crossing the street and don't pee yourself in the car and I'm sure you'll do fine :P

[super_almoner]

I took the cheapo route. I got my G1 (that's after the written test, I'm not sure what system is used outside of Canada) when I was 16. I completed the classes and in-car lessons with an instructor, but just when I was going to book my test, all the examiners went on strike! I fell out of practice, and I have no real need or desire to drive, so I didn't bother with it after the strike ended. I'm just going to keep taking the written test every 4 years to renew my licence so I can have ID. I prefer to bike places anyway, so it works for me. Cheers and good luck! :)

[kiiyytco]

Late to the party, but I'll share anyways!

 

I got my license shortly before I turned 19. I had taken the test once when I was 16 and failed and then hadn't gotten around to retesting until I had finished my first year of college. I had to retake driving school because it had been so long since I had first completed it. I was really nervous when I went to retake the test. I woken up early and had driven the hour to the nearest DMV (middle of nowhere GA, y'all) to be there when they opened. And then I waited. And waited. Finally, they call me up and tell me I can take the road test.

 

I go, meet the tester, and we start the parking lot portion of the test. I pass it easily, get positive feedback from the tester (he was a really friendly guy), and then we move onto the actual roads. Now, in North GA, a lot of the roads are winding and not well-lit. There are a lot of places where you have to do some weird things to make a turn. I ended up testing on one of these roads. I like to think that I did I good job of not showing that I was panicked, but I was freaking out on the inside. The tester tells me to turn left at the next road. I get to the road and it is the weirdest thing I have seen in my life. There seems to be no possible way to make this turn without briefly driving in the other lane (automatic deduction/fail). The tester is looking at me to see how I'll handle it and I just think "Not this time." I drive forward, slightly pass the turn, and then sharply cut the wheel to try to make it. And it worked. I ended up in the proper lane and did not cut the corner. The tester just stared at me for a second and then put down his clipboard and started a slow clap.

 

I finished the route back to the DMV. He got out, shook my hand, and gave me my pass papers.

[cleomiele]

I might as well post late too :P I hope you ended up passing with no complications, Azariah!

 

I just took and passed my test yesterday! For anyone that is still looking to take it soon, the best advice I can give is to do EEEEEEEEEVERYTHING as cautiously and carefully as possible! I got points taken off for the front of my car being one or two INCHES into a pedestrian crossing at a stop light, or for stopping the same minuscule distance past a stop sign, etc. Even if you are normally a cautious driver, try to go the extra mile and drive exactly how people in safety videos do :P I don't know if I just got an extra-finicky tester or what, but it's still best to be careful anyway. I think my test took all of 20 minutes and we just went into mostly residential areas with some strangely situated streets.

[jasper_111]

My school had Driver's Ed. for your junior year they gave you the written test in class & got you the permit & all you had to do on your own was take the driver's test. So i'm supposed to have my license, except the day I was supposed to go my parents couldn't take me & thus I had no car. And I didn't have friends to borrow from. Yeah so I went back several months ago & retook the written test at the DMV this time. I failed(it was harder), then passed the second time. So I'm scheduled to take the road test in February. I wanted to have my own car was saving up) but seeing as I'm laid off(unexpectantly, I was told it was a year round job) & have still yet to find a job, all I'm worried about is having rent for this month. So yeah I'm worried that I'll miss it again.