What a relief...

[KtownScroller]

It was an eventful past three days. On Thursday, I took my 18 year old son to the testing center to qualify for his driving license. The day started out bad when traffic was jammed up on the local highway. We ended up doing a big detour and arrived at the testing center only 15 minutes ahead of time. We were supposed to be there 30 minutes early. We walking in the door and discovered a line waiting at the front desk about nine people deep. Had we arrived five minutes later, we would have had our goose cooked, as the line grew to 25 people long! The lady at the desk directed us to drive around the back of the building to the test course.

We followed the lady at the desk's directions only to discover an ordinary parking lot. Since our directions were rather vague, we drove around a little and found a small sign that said the testing line forms here! We parked and waited. As we looked around, we saw a fellow taking the parallel parking portion of the test. He was having problems getting his small car into the parking space without hitting the barrels. A few minutes later he pulled his car around and dropped the tester off. Later I discovered that he had just failed the test.

Now it was my sons turn. (You really need to picture this: The tester was a 50ish, overweight man, with a distinctive limp. His hair was greasy and he was dressed like a bum. He also had an abrasive attitude to match his attire.) After testing the lights, turn signals and horn my son was off to the parallel parking area. He was extremely nervous and pulled wide of the space. As he backed up his angle was off and he barely got into the space. Next he went forward and back a few times in the space, all the while I was wondering what he was doing? Soon enough I would find out that my son had just followed the footsteps of the previous testee and screwed up the test, before it had barely started. What a bummer!!! So, off to Wendy's for lunch and we discussed what went wrong.

One of the problems was the testing center that my son choose. He picked the one with the earliest appointment time. Had he worked the details out with me, we would have never gone there. The center is the only one in a county of several hundred thousand people. Far too small to handle all it's customers. The people are overworked and have a short fuse. Not the place to take a driving test!

I asked my son to schedule the test at a rural area in another county. We go there for almost everything, because it is never real busy. The people are nice and somewhat friendly. My son called the test scheduling phone number. As fate would have it they had an opening yesterday at 1:30PM. Two days after the original test.

On Friday we set up an 8' x 24' parking space in a local lot. My wife and myself were the corner markers. At first my son was having a little trouble worrying about running into us, but he eventually got over it. Once he relaxed, he found that parking in the space was easier than parking in between parked cars. Twelve attempts later his confidence was building. Saturday we did the same parking exercise, before the real test. He was set! (BTW - We did practice parking behind real cars during the past week, but I guess the pressure of the real test was too much. He has been driving since March and his skills are very good. I didn't think he would have so much trouble parking, but I guess I was wrong!)

Saturday we drove up to the rural testing center. The man giving the test was nicely dressed and respectful. (Already we were ahead of the game!) I waited inside the building this time as my son took the test. I didn't want to make him nervous by watching him. About 10 minutes later the tester arrived with my son in tow. My son had a big smile on his face and a thumbs up. He passed this time with flying colors. Whoopee! Another milestone achieved. I only wonder how my son would have made out had he tested at the rural center in the first place?

[Wood Dog]

Congratulations to your son Rick........getting your drivers license is one hell of a big event in ones life. Didn't have to park the car when I got my license umpteen years ago. Good thing!

[KtownScroller]

Originally Posted by Wood Dog

Congratulations to your son Rick........getting your drivers license is one hell of a big event in ones life. Didn't have to park the car when I got my license umpteen years ago. Good thing!

My neighbor, who is attending college in Kutztown, got her drivers license in Massachusetts. She said that she did not have to park either.

The parking test does tell the tester a lot about how the testee handles their vehicle. One major problem with the first testing center was that the tester was overbooked. The quick way out for him is to fail people and get them out of the way quickly. Once you screw up part of the test the test is over. The parallel parking of course is first. My son failed because his rear tire was covering the line by one inch. Yes he was outside of the box, BUT how much could an inch matter.

After my son failed the tester screamed at the next testee because she wasn't in her car waiting on the line. Gee it sure would be nice if the lady inside gave better instructions. Like I said before, I would have never scheduled a test for that location. Another lesson learned!

[Woodbutcher68]

Now you need one of these: The Driving Activity Reporter at Hammacher Schlemmer
Keeps track of how and where they're driving.

[KtownScroller]

Originally Posted by Woodbutcher68

Now you need one of these: The Driving Activity Reporter at Hammacher Schlemmer
Keeps track of how and where they're driving.

$229.95. Not bad. Looks like an excellent spying device.

[wood-n-things]

Congrats on gettin it dun......

[Forester21]

Congrats to your son - and to you too!

Here in MI my kids have the parking and backing up portion in a parking lot, then they have to drive around the community with the tester in the front seat and parent in the back. They are allowed a couple of points off for the test before they fail. If they fail the parallel parking portion they can still pass the test because of the way things are scored.

[JohnB]

G'day Rick,
Congratulations to your son on passing his test.
My trauma has just started.
We helped my daughter buy a little Hyundi last week, and she is sitting for her learners permit this week, then I'll take her out for lessons.

She can do a couple of lessons with a driving school, and sit her test in their car, when she's ready.

When my Dad got his licence, he walked into the cop shop and said he was there to get his licence. The Sgt went outside with him and asked how he'd got there, and the Old Man said, he'd driven.
So he was told to get into his car and drive down to the end of the street and back again, while the Sgt stood on the verge having a smoke and watching.
Gave him his licence with the words You'd still drive with or without one so we'd better make you legal young Browner LOL

[Jan]

I had the opposite problem when my daughter took her driving test. She was a terrible driver but kept bugging me about taking the driving test. Since I was working as a paramedic for the State Police I figured the guys would give her the test, flunk her and tell her to get more practice. No such luck.......cop came out to the car and told me he had passed her because she was my kid even though she really hadn't done well. Should have told him how I felt first, I guess. Congrats to your kid!

Jan

[Powakee]

I remember when I was young and took the drivers test in WA state. When we were done I asked the tester how I did and he said it was good. Only problem he had was when he told me to turn right I turned left . . . . but, he said, it was a good left turn . . . . .

John