Road test - DMV is cracked

I'm in my early twenties but I've had a learner's permit for several
years. I really hate driving so I had been putting off getting my
driver's license. So I finally went in a few days ago to take the road
test and what a bunch of BS.

The DMV representative had to first inspect the car to make sure it's
properly registered and everything is in working order. So upon looking
at the car, the DMV representative asks me where my county decal was. I
told him that it was there on the windshield and he gave me a nasty
look. So I asked if he meant the new decal and he said yes. I told him
that the owner of the car had it but needed to get a new scraper before
he could take the old decal off and put the new decal on. I said that
the new one didn't have to be on until November 15 anyway (I said all
of this politely as I was dumbfounded as to what the problem was). And
that did it. That guy was steaming, he told me to get in the car and he
was snotty from there on out. I still don't know what the problem was
and neither does anyone else I told this to.

At the end of the test he told me I failed because I was going too fast
in the deceleration lane and because of where I stopped at the stop
signs. But I'm 90% certain that he failed me because of that decal
issue. He told me to practice more and come back in a few weeks.

Practice more? I've been driving for four years. I think I've had
enough practice. I took some relatives out on the course that I had to
drive and told them to drive like they were taking the road test. Well,
they all would've failed too had they actually taken the road test.

So I went back the next day and got a different representative to give
me the test. I told him what the other guy had said about my driving
and that you can't follow the rules that closely when you're actually
driving. In fact, when I did follow the rules when I was practicing, I
got honked at, a finger, and some people shouted profanities at me as
they drove around me. I've never seen anyone follow those specific
rules. So the guy told me that they don't actually expect anyone to
follow them, they (DMV employees) don't follow them either, but when
you take the test you should.

So what in the heck is the point of taking the road test anyway? All
they do is make you do a few turns, change lanes once or twice, maybe
pull out into traffic and that's it. They don't have you go to four way
stops or make you park or back up. They don't make you do anything that
is important to driving (the stuff that causes accidents). The big
thing that irritates me is that you have to drive a certain way (follow
the rules exactly) just to pass the test but then when you're done, you
get to go back to driving any way you want whether you follow the rules
or drive recklessly. That's just stupid, IMO.

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Road test horror stories? Anything?

BTW, I passed the test the second time.

All DMV tests do is try to weed out those would-be drivers that are
obvious hazards. And at that, the DMV fails quite nicely.

On 28 Oct 2005 02:52:39 -0700, wrote:

>So what in the heck is the point of taking the road test anyway? All
>they do is make you do a few turns, change lanes once or twice, maybe
>pull out into traffic and that's it. They don't have you go to four way
>stops or make you park or back up. They don't make you do anything that
>is important to driving (the stuff that causes accidents). The big
>thing that irritates me is that you have to drive a certain way (follow
>the rules exactly) just to pass the test but then when you're done, you
>get to go back to driving any way you want whether you follow the rules
>or drive recklessly. That's just stupid, IMO.
>
>Anyone have any thoughts on this? Road test horror stories? Anything?
>

What state is that?

In TX, I do remember having to parallel park.

Advice from my driver's ed teacher: It's only 4 points and unless
you park downtown on the street (which nobody did anyway), you'll
never have to do it, BUT if you jump the curb or hit the pylons, you
automatically fail, so if you have any doubts, just blow that part off
and tell him you can't parallel park.

I had no problem passing the parallel parking and since then have
actually had to do it in real life a few times - IRL though - the
spaces are usually much smaller.

It was a joke - way too easy for people to get licenses

>BTW, I passed the test the second time.

> Advice from my driver's ed teacher: It's only 4 points and unless
> you park downtown on the street (which nobody did anyway), you'll
> never have to do it, BUT if you jump the curb or hit the pylons, you
> automatically fail, so if you have any doubts, just blow that part off
> and tell him you can't parallel park.
>

Pylons? When I took my test, I had to parallel park between two current
model sedans on a city street. Yes, they had private plates on them. Good
thing I passed that part. -Dave

Ben > wrote in
:

>
> What state is that?
>
> In TX, I do remember having to parallel park.
>
> Advice from my driver's ed teacher: It's only 4 points and unless
> you park downtown on the street (which nobody did anyway), you'll
> never have to do it, BUT if you jump the curb or hit the pylons, you
> automatically fail, so if you have any doubts, just blow that part off
> and tell him you can't parallel park.
>
> I had no problem passing the parallel parking and since then have
> actually had to do it in real life a few times - IRL though - the
> spaces are usually much smaller.
>
> It was a joke - way too easy for people to get licenses
>
>>BTW, I passed the test the second time.
>
>
I do not get what is the big deal with parallel parking. Give me ten
minutes and I can teach anybody. It's simply doing it by the numbers.

1. Pull up parallel to the car in front of your space and have your
wheels stright.

2. Start backing slowly, when your read wheel is even with the back
bumper of the front car, cut your steering wheel one complete turn to the
right.

3. Looking out your right side mirror, when you see the far right side of
the back rear car next to the curb, straighten the wheel one full turn
back to the left.

4. Continue to drift back looking out your left side mirror. When your
read wheel is just before the plane of the left side of the space cut
your wheel two times to the left.

It's a lot easier to teach in an empty lot using cones and when I stand
out side the car and talk you in the first couple of times. But it is a
method that is very repeatable. I use it to teach new drivers to parallel
park buses. I walk along outside at the drivers window. If they move
faster than I walk, I tell them to slow down.

Doug

DYM wrote:
> Ben > wrote in
> :
>
>
>>What state is that?
>>
>>In TX, I do remember having to parallel park.
>>
>>Advice from my driver's ed teacher: It's only 4 points and unless
>>you park downtown on the street (which nobody did anyway), you'll
>>never have to do it, BUT if you jump the curb or hit the pylons, you
>>automatically fail, so if you have any doubts, just blow that part off
>>and tell him you can't parallel park.
>>
>>I had no problem passing the parallel parking and since then have
>>actually had to do it in real life a few times - IRL though - the
>>spaces are usually much smaller.
>>
>>It was a joke - way too easy for people to get licenses
>>
>>
>>>BTW, I passed the test the second time.
>>
>>
> I do not get what is the big deal with parallel parking. Give me ten
> minutes and I can teach anybody. It's simply doing it by the numbers.
>
> 1. Pull up parallel to the car in front of your space and have your
> wheels stright.
>
> 2. Start backing slowly, when your read wheel is even with the back
> bumper of the front car, cut your steering wheel one complete turn to the
> right.
>
> 3. Looking out your right side mirror, when you see the far right side of
> the back rear car next to the curb, straighten the wheel one full turn
> back to the left.
>
> 4. Continue to drift back looking out your left side mirror. When your
> read wheel is just before the plane of the left side of the space cut
> your wheel two times to the left.
>
> It's a lot easier to teach in an empty lot using cones and when I stand
> out side the car and talk you in the first couple of times. But it is a
> method that is very repeatable. I use it to teach new drivers to parallel
> park buses. I walk along outside at the drivers window. If they move
> faster than I walk, I tell them to slow down.

Yup, once you get how it's done it's really simple. A few weeks ago I
parallel parked my car with a trailer in a space about 5 feet longer.
Even I was impressed, but not as much as my friends! :-) And I don't
even have much experience pulling a trailer.

>
> Doug
>
>
Ulf

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:09:37 GMT, DYM > wrote:

>I do not get what is the big deal with parallel parking.

Agreed

>Give me ten
>minutes and I can teach anybody. It's simply doing it by the numbers.

Never underestimate the stupidity of some people.

Parallel parking could be a good litmus test to keep incompetent
drivers off the road.

In article >,
Ben > wrote:

> On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:09:37 GMT, DYM > wrote:
>
> >I do not get what is the big deal with parallel parking.
>
> Agreed
>
> >Give me ten
> >minutes and I can teach anybody. It's simply doing it by the numbers.
>
> Never underestimate the stupidity of some people.
>
> Parallel parking could be a good litmus test to keep incompetent
> drivers off the road.

Except that there is no guarantee that it tests for the right things.

I'm far more concerned with how a driver scans his or her surroundings
to remain aware of potentially hazardous situations before they become a
problem. That doesn't sound like something of which parallel parking
competency would provide a good metric.

--
Alan Baker
Vancouver, British Columbia
"If you raise the ceiling 4 feet, move the fireplace from that wall
to that wall, you'll still only get the full stereophonic effect
if you sit in the bottom of that cupboard."

On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:09:37 GMT, DYM > wrote:

>I do not get what is the big deal with parallel parking. Give me ten
>minutes and I can teach anybody. It's simply doing it by the numbers.

Yes, but your numbers are wrong.

Alan Baker wrote:
> In article >,
> Ben > wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:09:37 GMT, DYM > wrote:
> >
> > >I do not get what is the big deal with parallel parking.
> >
> > Agreed
> >
> > >Give me ten
> > >minutes and I can teach anybody. It's simply doing it by the numbers.
> >
> > Never underestimate the stupidity of some people.
> >
> > Parallel parking could be a good litmus test to keep incompetent
> > drivers off the road.
>
> Except that there is no guarantee that it tests for the right things.
>
> I'm far more concerned with how a driver scans his or her surroundings
> to remain aware of potentially hazardous situations before they become a
> problem. That doesn't sound like something of which parallel parking
> competency would provide a good metric.

Well, at the very least, it demonstrates that someone knows where the
corners of their car are, if they can parallel park without using the
braille method.

I guess I was blessed that I had a driver's ed instructor that actually
knew how to drive... he didn't teach me anything about autocrossing,
but he did a pretty good job of teaching me parallel parking. I can
still do it in one shot in all but the tightest spaces, even using Vlad
the Impala.

nate