Drivers test

I'm taking my drivers test tomorrow. I'm so nervous!! What should I expect?What kinds of things will they ask me? I'm freaking out a little bit..lol!

are you doing the written or the actual road test?

Mine was simple - just a little tour around the area by the testing center. One parallel parking, one hill start, one back-in turn around. My only blip was forgetting to put the new turn signal on after the turn around.

Don't stress - if it doesn't happen, you can re take it later.

I went around a sub division. No parallel parking, fancy turns, backing up... any of that. Just a little drive around the block, less then 10 minutes. Stop completely for stop signs and just calm down.
Also, read the person who's giving you the test. I would say that you shouldn't really chit chat with them, unless they seem to like it. Mine was completely silent and generally it's hard to concentrate while rambling on. Just go through with the test, be deliberate and polite.

My road test was about 3 minutes long lol. He had me operate all the lights and blinkers before he got in and then I had to pass the parallel parking first (in my mini van haha) and then we drove around the block and that was it.

One thing I was very mindful of during the test (not so much in real life lol) is when coming to a stop sign... STOP right at the sign and then slowly move out to where you can see to make the turn, don't go up to the edge where you can see and stop there.

If it's just the road test they probably won't really ask anything. Before we started driving they just made sure I knew how to operate my car lol - headlights, wipers, hazards, etc.

Mine was on a course. I don't know if that makes it easier or more difficult since it's just set up the way they want it. But it was simple. Drive around. Don't hit people. Stop at stop signs and red lights. Make a couple turns. Change lanes. I had to do the 90 degree back in and parallel park, both of which I sucked at (and probably still do lol haven't done either of them since!) but I still passed.

Not always true We had one stop sign that was beyond the pedestrian crosswalk. Every stop sign in town was placed as it should have been, before the walk, except for one by the post office, and they always took people to that one for their test So we had to stop before the walk, then pull up to the sign and stop again.

I got to take my test after a nice snowstorm, had to park on a hill, got stuck for a bit because of the ice and snow on the hill. Thankfully no curb, I put it in 4 wheel and was able to make it to the grass and gravel and get up the hill. Not a chance in hell I would have stopped there on my own, but we had one tester that was considered the hard one and that's who I got. He failed everyone, or so we though when we were 16 So when he said stop, I stopped.

What I meant was don't go beyond the stop sign to where you can see the oncoming traffic and stop there. Lancaster is notorious for "blind turns" lol you have to practically BE in the lane to see if there is any traffic there.

I know, was just pointing out a weird traffic scenario I haven't seen anywhere else, but you must stop before the crosswalk if it is encountered before the stop sign.

well that's definitely one I wouldn't have thought of lol. We have a lot of weird traffic scenarios here but I don't think that is one of them. We have a lot of of "STOP unless turning right" and whenever my dad visits he thinks I'm running random stop signs lol.

Thanks guys! It's just the road test, I already passed the written exam.

I hope there isn't any parallel parking, I've never even attempted it. I don't think I've ever backed into a parking space either, but I've backed out plenty of times. I'll have to do a little practicing today.

The thing is, I can't use my van for the test because the brights are out on it. So I'm renting a car. I don't get the car til 5 tonight (my parents are picking it up, I work til 6) and then I really only have a little while to practice in it because I go straight to the DMV in the morning. And it is not in an area I'm used to. I have to get my license in the next 3 weeks because my parents are going on a cruise and I have to get to work, get my brother to college, and take care of a friends pets who are the ones taking my parents on the cruise! But road test appointments are booked 3 months out. And the only DMV that takes walk-ins is an hour away from here. So I'm going to be in an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar place taking an unfamiliar test. Lol! But I'm going to try my best. I really hope I pass. I don't want to spend $50 on a rental car and take off work to drive an hour away for nothing lol!

I actually drove to a different town to take my driver's test because the word around here was that the local driving test was CRAZY HARD with all kinds of stuff that most people never do - like drive around, pull into an alley, back out of the alley and parallel park at the same time - and this other town was much easier. So lots of people just went to the other town and took the test there instead. I had never driven around the town before so I was kind of nervous. Constantly looking for hidden stop signs LOL. But it was indeed super easy, just like what Airn described. Drove around, la la la, that was it!

I was kind of freaked out though because the girl who went out to take her test before me had gotten in a major accident. o_o And they were sending the tester home because she had whiplash. And I had already been there and signed up, so they sent somebody else out with me as a sub, but they weren't going to take any more tests that day... fffffffff hahaha.

So you might consider going to the other town if you need to. It will be a little nerve wracking but probably not too bad!

It's different in every area obviously, mine was 45 minutes they make you pull in to a space, back in, parallel park, back up in a straight line, SHOULDER CHECKS, stop signs, speed limit, SCHOOL ZONES, hazard perception (they tell you to pull over and you say "oh a child could jump out from behind that dumpster" etc), pulling into the curb, checking your mirrors in the correct sequence, 360 degree mirror check before backing up.

I'm probably forgetting something but those are most of the things I had to do.

Ours was the same. Every skill they talked about in driver's ed we had to do for the test and and while doing various things and stopped for parallel parking etc, they surveyed the area and asked you questions about potential scenarios that "could" occur in the future in that area and what the appropriate action would be . If you were reacting to anything you were wrong basically. If you had to react to a kid running from behind a car you were going to fast or weren't paying attention to your surroundings

Mine was simple. The instructor barely said anything, and definitely didn't ask any questions. I don't remember backing into a space, but he did have me back out when we started. Next was parallel parking, which I had never attempted before. It took me two tries but I was fine. Then we just went around the block - just some stop signs, turning, and a light or two, then back. It was easy. I didn't take mine in my car, either. I borrowed a friend's car that I had never driven before. It went better than I expected. I passed, lol.

Thanks guys you're making me feel a little better! Everyone says the test is like 10 minutes or less and is basically just driving down the road, turning around and back to the DMV. However that is for the town that I was initially planning to take the test. This town is completely foreign to me and I don't know anyone in the area to even ask what the test is like. But I'm hoping its pretty straight forward. I know I can drive. I just don't know if I can pass the test if that makes sense lol!!

Can anyone who failed the first time chime in? Why did you fail, and what did you do the next time you took the test that caused you to pass?

Let's see,

I forgot my 360 checks

I did under the speed limit (because you can't go 2 km over, and I was worried that would happen)

She made a comment about how I wasn't looking far enough back during shoulder checks, but also (resentfully) said she couldn't see my eyes because I was wearing sunglasses, which I was, because it was cloudless bright hot August day and my eyes are really sensitive to light.

Also I think she was a bit of a bitch and judged me because of the car I was driving.

The next time it was raining, so I was justified in going a bit under and I wasn't wearing sunglasses, so that solved that.

Main things I did wrong during that test were

a) I couldn't back up in a straight line, that was painful lol
b) pulling out from parallel parks I was verry close to the car in front lol (was traumatized by the previous backing up in a straight line exercise)
c) at the end of the test I thought I'd probably failed and was soo happy to be done that I was just like "**** it" and didn't back in with proper checking.


Whichever kind of parking you have the most trouble with, when you park the car for your test, park it that way. Of course they're not in the car at that point. On the return they usually tell you to do the opposite.

I failed the first time!

I took my first test at a place that had a course. The tests here require 90 degree backing, parallel parking and driving on a one-way (they do the "take the next available left" thing, trying to trick you into driving the wrong way on a one-way).

I didn't fail any of those things though, I failed because my left turns weren't arched enough. So my tester just made me keep taking left turns over and over again until my points added up to where I failed.

The second time I took it, it was driving around the city. Again, 90 degree backing, parallel parking, parking on a hill, etc. It was a lot longer than the first one, but I didn't fail that time.

I can't imagine not having parallel parking on a test. Places really dont make you practice that?

The best thing is to stay calm. It's been so long since I took it lol but my issues were I had been permit driving for a long time and was too comfortsble do picked up some lazy habits.

Mine was super easy. Check that everything works, drive around the block, park, and done. No parallel parking. No backing up. I even had a HUGEEEEE crack in my windshield. I still passed.

Our town never tests parallel parking. So I feel AWESOME when I do parallel park. "TAKE THAT, I CAN PARALLEL PARK, YEAHHHHH!!!!" :rofl1: :rofl1: Of course I don't parallel park often, becuase we really don't have many places where parallel parking happens. Most busy streets have slanted curbside parking.