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Watabou

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Feb 10, 2008
3,426
759
United States
So I have my DMV drive test soon and I'm really freaking out.

I think I'm an OK driver but sometimes just forget something to do. Thing is, I already took two tests and I failed...at both. This is my third time going there and I am afraid that I might make different mistakes this time.

The first time, I forgot to check my speed. The second time, I was told to parallel park and reverse and I did but then i was told to pull out from the curb and I forgot to look back. I cursed myself afterwards. Thing is, I keep making some mistakes over and over again and I don't know what to do.

Some tips will be helpful or just share your own experiences. Am I the only one to fail like two times?! Or maybe even three now! I just don't know. :eek:

Everyone says its easy and all but its hard for me. And I'm a teenager too and that's saying something! As far as I know, most of the people I know from my high school(which is a fair bit of people) passed theirs.
 
i failed my first one a couple of summers ago.. i crept out into the intersection during an unprotected left turn while i was waiting for oncoming traffic to end.. which i guess is illegal.. so its an automatic failure.. and it was as we were pulling out of the dmv.. so i had to finish the whole test and he wasnt even grading because i already failed. and the law here is we had to wait thirty days to take it again. kinda sucked major.
 
Go practice more. If you've already failed twice, you're obviously not ready to take the test.
 
My test is tomorrow. And the thing is, I do practice everyday and every weekend I go to a city 30 miles away to do something for my parents. It's just that when exam times come, I get really nervous. I don't know why though. :(
 
Practice practice!
And try to relax before you take the test and just take it easy one step at a time while its going on.
 
That's exactly what's happening. Hopefully I will be alright tomorrow.

just chill have some redbull or something before, make you alert and just try to forget your doing a test and drive normally.

little hint if you think you have done something wrong, keep going as normal, my mate failed his test because he thought he did something wrong and drove the rest badly only to find out it wasnt because he thought it was originally
 
Here in Arizona, there are two types of DMV tests, everything is exactly the same except one does 3 point parking/backing out and the other does parallel parking. When the time came for me to take the DMV test I called around to see which places didn't do parallel parking and I went there instead :p
 
My girlfriend was suppose to take hers today, but her family had a time conflict so now she is doing it next week so I think I'm going to go watch. :D Anyways, here in Ohio we don't have to do parallel parking, but I stead we have to do this manuverability test. In my opinion, that was harder than parallel parking. Just don't worry about your test and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, just don't freak out while your driving, that's why you're speeding. :cool:
 
we don't do parallel parking in California either. They just tell you to drive to some random residential place and sometimes stop next to a curb and reverse and then it's back to the DMV. Basically, if it is a critical driving error, then they just lead you back to the DMV. You know if it's only been like 5 minutes, you have failed most likely. Happened to me both times LOL. But yeah this time though I will pass this one. I can't afford to fail this one.
 
we don't do parallel parking in California either. They just tell you to drive to some random residential place and sometimes stop next to a curb and reverse and then it's back to the DMV.

This would explain some of the driving I see when I visit family in SF...

Anyway, I took three times as well. First time I hit a cone in maneuverability (also from Ohio), second time I "failed to stop" at a stop sign, third time I got a guy that was actually pretty cool and managed to pass with no points off. No one's a great driver that early in their lives; just pass and keep on learning.
 
Well, this is a timely thread.....

I have to get a California driver license, and I'm taking the written test next week. I moved here from Toronto, Canada, so they're telling me that I'll have to take the driving test as well. I've been driving for around 16 years, and I have to take the driving test again all because I'm coming from Canada. If I moved here from another state, then all I'd need to do is take the written and vision test.

You'd think that California and other states would have some sort of reciprocity with the Canadian provinces since our driving laws are practically the same. What a waste of time for both me and the DMV.

Anyway, anyone have any tips for either the CA written or driving test? I'm in Westwood, can anyone recommend a good DMV (less crowded, easier tests) around here? I've got an appointment at the one in Culver City, it has 4.5 stars on Yelp.......

And to Watabou....... good luck. I'm sure you'll do fine.
 
Well, this is a timely thread.....

I have to get a California driver license, and I'm taking the written test next week. I moved here from Toronto, Canada, so they're telling me that I'll have to take the driving test as well. I've been driving for around 16 years, and I have to take the driving test again all because I'm coming from Canada. If I moved here from another state, then all I'd need to do is take the written and vision test.

You'd think that California and other states would have some sort of reciprocity with the Canadian provinces since our driving laws are practically the same. What a waste of time for both me and the DMV.

Tell me about it. After coming over from the UK in 05 I had to take both tests after holding a clean UK license for 5 years. After a year in the UK to graduate University, I came back to the US only to find I had to do it all again. I can see why, sometimes, but really, it's just a waste of resources...

And the driving test in the UK is about 6000000 times harder than the US one... Trust me

However, Good luck Watabou! Stay confident and you'll be fine
 
I've only taken the written test (will be taking behind the wheel when I turn 18 in November) and I thought it was easy (I missed none :cool:) Then again I was a determined kid who was pissed off he still couldn't drive so I studied my ass off. The DMV has a study thing online where you read a section and then you'll get quizzed on it. If you read everything and do well on the quizzes then you should be fine. The questions presented in the quizzes are very similar to the ones given. I also read the entire manuel (twice :eek:) but I don't think it's really that necessary.

Here's the link to the DMV.

I'm kind of nervous taking the behind the wheel. I'm not getting Driver's Ed so it's just me learning and listening to teh mother everytime I drive. I went on the freeway for the first time on Sunday. Scary as fu*k. :eek: But I'm glad I don't have to parallel park.
 
This would explain some of the driving I see when I visit family in SF...

Anyway, I took three times as well. First time I hit a cone in maneuverability (also from Ohio), second time I "failed to stop" at a stop sign, third time I got a guy that was actually pretty cool and managed to pass with no points off. No one's a great driver that early in their lives; just pass and keep on learning.

Well yeah. Drivers especially in the highways are just crazy. Like this one time. I was driving in a highway and a guy driving left of me just pulls onto my lane WITHOUT any signal or hand gestures and goes over to the right and then another right. It was really crazy because he didn't even look and stop he just went to the exit lane which was pretty dangerous. But you make me feel better though ;)
At least I'm not the only one that failed two times :(

Well, this is a timely thread.....

I have to get a California driver license, and I'm taking the written test next week. I moved here from Toronto, Canada, so they're telling me that I'll have to take the driving test as well. I've been driving for around 16 years, and I have to take the driving test again all because I'm coming from Canada. If I moved here from another state, then all I'd need to do is take the written and vision test.

You'd think that California and other states would have some sort of reciprocity with the Canadian provinces since our driving laws are practically the same. What a waste of time for both me and the DMV.

Anyway, anyone have any tips for either the CA written or driving test? I'm in Westwood, can anyone recommend a good DMV (less crowded, easier tests) around here? I've got an appointment at the one in Culver City, it has 4.5 stars on Yelp.......

And to Watabou....... good luck. I'm sure you'll do fine.

Thanks man. Oh and I only have real experience at a written test because I passed with no errors! :D Basically they are really stupid questions and most of them are pretty easy. From what I learned, they mostly ask questions about speed, the amount of alcohol you blood has before you get convicted and stuff like that. And trust me, all the DMVs are the same. One may be less crowded in one day and more in the other. And they are always pretty crowded. And I think the instructors go from one place to other too. I met this one window lady that was in the first city I took it in and then saw her again in the second city I went. I guess basically drive safe and be careful.

I really am bad at carrying out my own advice lol!

Tell me about it. After coming over from the UK in 05 I had to take both tests after holding a clean UK license for 5 years. After a year in the UK to graduate University, I came back to the US only to find I had to do it all again. I can see why, sometimes, but really, it's just a waste of resources...

And the driving test in the UK is about 6000000 times harder than the US one... Trust me

However, Good luck Watabou! Stay confident and you'll be fine


Thanks! I know I will do it this time. I got plenty of practice after the second fail. And everyone tells me that DMV here(US) is really easy and stuff but I find it hard! :confused:

Here's the link to the DMV.

I'm kind of nervous taking the behind the wheel. I'm not getting Driver's Ed so it's just me learning and listening to teh mother everytime I drive. I went on the freeway for the first time on Sunday. Scary as fu*k. :eek: But I'm glad I don't have to parallel park.

Oh I know dude. Highways are scary but ironically, I do better in highways than in business/residential streets. Less confusing I think.

And thanks for all the replies guys! I have my test tomorrow morning so I'll let you guys know how it went. I'll even make a whole story out of it!
 
My girlfriend was suppose to take hers today, but her family had a time conflict so now she is doing it next week so I think I'm going to go watch. :D Anyways, here in Ohio we don't have to do parallel parking, bit I stead we have to do this manuverability test. In my opinion, that was harder than parallel parking. Just don't worry about your test and you'll be fine. Oh yeah, just don't freak out while your driving, that's why you're speeding. :cool:

Here you have to do the manuverability test, where you pull to the left or the right (instructors choice) and then reverse back without hitting a cone. (Im in columbus)

Very simple, easy to do. I went too fast during the test (in all the practice runs I did, I never hit a cone but of course I hit one during the test) and hit the mirror on one of the cones which is a auto fail.

I will never forget that. Of course, I went back and did it perfectly the next time. Good times
 
I don't mean to cause a stir here however all of the Driver's from Ohio that are near my area (I'm no where near columbus so you are all okay as far as I am concerned) are horrid drivers.

Some examples would be NO SIGNALS, I swear no one uses their signals if they have Ohio plates in my area.

Extremely slow driving, There are a good many hills around here, and it's pretty bad when you crest a hill at 50 (5 over the speed limit, which is normal for us) and you see someone doing <35m/hour >_<

BAD lane changing, this is the worst, I sometimes have to drive about 20 minutes to get to a decent mall and I have people going at least 20m/hour under the speed limit in the left lane

These are just some of the things that run me ragged. Again I don't mean to offend any of you from Ohio, however I really think it is people from my area not any where else, but it's extremely infuriating if you are driving right, and see these.

As for the test, just calm down, don't sike yourself up, I bet you do that for school tests too, just blank out. A calm state will make sure you are concentrated, and you'll do much better. (I had to parallel park, and trust me it's not that bad!)
 
How narrow minded. Mistakes happen under pressure, certainly doesn't mean your not ready to take the test.

If you can't perform under pressure, then you shouldn't have your license. Driving in some situations can be kind of nerve-wracking (really heavy traffic, bad weather), and if you can't handle the test (which usually isn't in conditions like that), then how are you going to be able to handle it when the situation occurs?

Here in Massachusetts, the people who give the road test are fully uniformed (and armed!) staties. So yeah, it makes it more intimidating and makes you a bit nervous, but in the end I think it's good. I remember a bunch of my friends who said they screwed up something just because they were nervous. They all passed the second time though. (I passed the first time :D)

Well yeah. Drivers especially in the highways are just crazy. Like this one time. I was driving in a highway and a guy driving left of me just pulls onto my lane WITHOUT any signal or hand gestures and goes over to the right and then another right. It was really crazy because he didn't even look and stop he just went to the exit lane which was pretty dangerous. But you make me feel better though ;)
At least I'm not the only one that failed two times :(

lol, that's a normal occurrence here in Mass. I guess I've just come to expect people to do that.. just like the 7 more cars going through on a yellow light and 3 more once its red. Traffic laws are more like guidelines here ;)

And thanks for all the replies guys! I have my test tomorrow morning so I'll let you guys know how it went. I'll even make a whole story out of it!

Just relax. The test is easy, and since you've attempted it before you know what to expect. Take your time and you should be just fine.
 
Ok guys, I've come back home from the test.

Instead of just telling you the result, which is no fun at all, I decided to tell the whole thing. I assure you, you don't have to read this. It was just to entertain myself :p :p

So I woke up at 8 to get prepared. I took my permit, ID, registration and insurance of vehicle and of course, my dad.
My city has a DMV but for some unknown reason don't administer drive test which is kinda gay because otherwise, I have to drive all the way up to 30 miles to take a drive test. So I pulled up google maps and wrote down the directions because I din't feel like printing because there was barely any ink left. So my drive test was at 11:30 and I left at 10. Plenty of time, I thought.

So I got in the car with my dad and I drove to the city where my drive test was. I got lost in the highway because google maps was telling me to take an exit that I didn't even encounter. So I took a random exit and I was running a bit late. It was already 11 and I should have been there by now. Pulled next to a curb and got out my handy iphone and found the directions. I reached there at 11:16. I was panicking and ran straight to the window where the women was busy laughing with her friend. I waited there was three minutes and was getting angry because it was already about 11:20.

Finally, the lady called and checked me off and then said "Oh you barely made it!" I gave her a feeble laugh and said it was because of traffic, which was partly true. Here in California, traffics are bound to happen if you want to go somewhere because of an important business. I don't know why. It's like drivers read my mind and think "haha, lets pull one on this guy!"

So I got in the car and was told to wait. At this time, my heart started to beat hard and my hands got all sweaty. The longer I have to wait, the more I get nervous. Finally I saw the instructor and I hastily wiped my sweaty hands should I need to give him a hand shake.

He was a cool dude and made jokes at me but I kinda felt sorry for him because I couldn't make myself to laugh because of all the nervousness.

So we got in and there was another instructor that came over and joked that he will sit in the back and pretend he is my brother and say, "Brother! Hurry Hurry! I gotta go pee!!" At this time, I couldn't help but laugh hard. My nervousness slowly left and the guy left too. Man, I never got to thank that guy. I felt somehow more confident. I was ready to drive.

I started up the ignition and the instructor called "Mark" told me to drive straight and pull out of the DMV and take a right. I did so and for the next five minitues, I changed lanes for him, took, left and right and stopped, came to a yield sign and let the cars go while I waited and then he told me to pull next to a curb. Here, i was careful because I failed on this one last time when i forgot to look back when pulling out. So I looked back and smiled and noticed that my signal was blinking at the right. I said "oops" and then changed to left, where it was supposed to be. I prayed that he didn't notice.

Next, he just said to drive and then he led me back to the DMV. Here's where the panic set in. I repeated "please, please, please" in my mind. And he bagan to talk. Mark said "well you did good but you were going 40 in a 35 mph zone and were going 35+ in a 30 zone so you got marked off for that." I said "****" in my mind. Mark continued, "Just remember to maintain speed and you should be fine. Well you passed with one mistake so congrats man" I was ecstatic and I exclaimed "Yes Yes!!!"

He told me to go back to the DMV and I was handed my paper license which is a license but my "card" license will come via mail. I was excited and finally relieved that I got my license. I called all my friends afterwards and let them know.

Watabou is licensed to drive!
Next goal: get a job. :eek:
Oh and thanks for reading and thanks for all the good lucks. It helped. ;)
 
Congrats man! :)


I hope I pass on my first try because I do not want to talk the bus to school more than I have to.
 
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