<p>Finally! I'll have a first driving test tomorrow.
If I pass I'll get a piece of paper that says that the law, Founding Fathers of the U.S. and everyone else to whom it may concern do authorize and entrust me a piece of metal called "automobile."</p>
<p>So, anyone has any final advice/suggestions/punches in the back?</p>
<p>Nope, I'm going to be 17 in a week and I still haven't taken it :(. GAH!</p>
<p>Haha, good luck :).</p>
<p>Do you have to parallel park?</p>
<p>I think I passed on luck alone, because I hit two curbs during the test.</p>
<p>The examiner must've been in a REALLY good mood.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Do you have to parallel park?
[/quote]
No :( I'd much rather PP than back off along the curb, that's hard.</p>
<p>^^ I have no idea what that is. We don't have to do it.</p>
<p>I can't regular park, but I can parallel park great. It's so weird.</p>
<p>Well, you just get in reverse and go along the curb, trying to not go off by more than a foot. So you end up either hitting the curb or getting a couple of meters away from the curb.</p>
<p>Oh hahaha. Yeah, that sucks. But it sounds like PP.</p>
<p>I learned how to parallel park an hour before my test.</p>
<p>Yeah, that was fun.</p>
<p>I can't regular park either.</p>
<p>I'm psyched, I've just had my license for six months now so I can actually drive more than one friend with me! Weird laws, but I guess they make sense. </p>
<p>Advice? Be alert, always know what's around you. A friend of mine got ten points off for not looking around and checking his rear view mirror enough. Also, if you possibly can, go drive around by the DMV you're taking the test at, like where you might have to drive for the actual test. You don't want any surprises! I luckily lived right by mine, but I know quite a few kids from my driver's ed class that got surprised by this weird stop sign situation that made them fail (stop sign right before a train track, but you enter a new road RIGHT after the tracks, so they didn't stop in front of the tracks and only did before entering the new road. stupid little things like that are gonna hurt you).</p>
<p>But good luck! I bet you'll do great. Just don't be nervous, the examiner will (hopefully) be pretty nice. Just make polite conversation. I talked about how I hate people who speed, because I knew he'd like that, and about loving the same sports team as he did because a friend who took the test the day before tipped me off. Just...distract them! I bet you'll do terrific.</p>
<p>chipset, aren't you from washington? if so, you have to parallel park.</p>
<p>okay, so i barely passed my license test haha, mainly because i had to use my mom's car that i had never driven before. but anyway, here is what i got points off for, so you can avoid it:
- parallel parking. i just couldn't do it in my mom's suv.
- backing around the corner. i could do it, but i didn't know that you had to look behind you the entire time. i looked in my mirror for some of it, so i lost all the points.
- changing lanes. i turned my signal on, but then i moved the wheel a little bit before i actually looked over my shoulder.
- parking on a hill. okay so i thought this was pretty strange, because we were just on a normal road, but i guess i was supposed to pretend it was a hill. anyway, you have to turn your wheels toward the curb if you are parking downhill and turn them away from the curb if you are parking uphill, and put the car in park.</p>
<p>some other things that i remember my friends messed up: keep both of your hands on the wheel all the time. turn right on red lights where you can because if you don't, you will get points off for causing congestion. stop completely at stop signs...and remember that you are supposed to completely stop at the line and then proceed. also, if you are at an intersection and there is a pedestrian anywhere on the crosswalk, even if they are on the opposite side of the street, wait until they are off the street before you go. also, make sure your brake lights aren't out or anything stupid like that.</p>
<p>hopefully this helps...good luck.</p>
<p>I'm glad I did driving through a private company... No real test, just seven classes. First class, I did everything perfectly and my instructor basically let me do whatever for the rest of the classes... Except my last one, he changed the appt. to 8:30 on a Thursday night and I was so tired that I had to open the window in freezing weather to stay alert. NOT what they're supposed to be teaching.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>^^yeah, but then you have to take a real test at your dmv/dol, right?</p>
<p>You guys have to parallel park? Thats crazy, we don't have to in Florida.</p>
<p>My test is in a few weeks, and I just know I'm going to do something incredibly stupid and fail. Oh well, I guess that's why they let you take it multiple times.</p>
<p>Passed it, 'twas pretty easy.</p>
<p>@ andreaaaaaa: nope, just the class. you have to have first completed 36 hours (or maybe it's classes) of in-class instruction, and have 40 hours of driving with a parent/guardian. then you take behind-the-wheel classes through either the state or a licensed school; this consists of 7 50 minute periods of driving and 7 50 min periods of observing others. i suppose if you're over 18 you just go to the DMV and test.</p>
<p>the public driving schools are more particular -- my friend had to pass a hard test -- but the private ones are more lax...eeeeh, probably why DC metro area has such horrible drivers.</p>
<p>congrats on your license, mr. chipset.</p>
<p>lucky you. i failed my driving test with a 38. the guy obviously hated me</p>
<p>Haha, I failed mine twice before I got my license.......both automatic disqualifications too</p>
<p>I failed parallel parking though, lol :)</p>