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driving exam

Started by Crispy Apr 29, 2003 at 12:29 PM 22 replies 750+ views

Original Post

Apr 29, 2003 at 12:29 PM

I had my driving exam today (city driving). Beside me there was one more student in the car plus my driving instructor and the examiner. The whole thing kicked off as the other guy started the engine with the clutch released while the car was in the first gear. Anyone who''s done that knows it''s a fun ride. Anyway - he amost dented some guy''s BMW even before we started off. Then he tried taking off without first turning the ignition on. He turned to the examiner for advice on what was wrong. When he finally got started, he almost caused a major accident at the second big intersection we got to. At this time the examiner ordered me up and sent him to the back. I started off quite well - followed every rule I knew and was finally ordered to stop - the exam was over. The examiner turned to me, smiled and told me that I''d missed a temp speed limit of 30 kph and driven at 40. Additionally I''d made a left turn from the right side of a unidirectional street. Apart from that my driving had been flawless. He then explained with a very soothing voice that he though my hands weren''t positioned perfectly on the wheel and that he thought my turns weren''t 100% smooth. Then he flunked me. Then the other guy got a heavensent and manned the controls again. He drove for some 5 minutes (whereas I''d driven for 30-35) and passed. Is this normal? I mean I''m really short on the green right now and the examiner (who''s also the director of the driving school) told me he wants to see me take a lot more driving lessons before I show up for an exam again, each costing about the amount I make in 2-3 days (and I don''t make much money)...

Lilwonder

Apr 29, 2003 at 12:36 PM

I passed my G2 with flying colours (city driving). But a year later when I got to the highway test -- the G test -- the examiner failed me with this comment: "Excessive mirror checking".

I'm still scratching my head on that one...

[edited by - Lilwonder on April 29, 2003 1:37:47 PM]

nes8bit

Apr 29, 2003 at 12:37 PM

Given that you used kph instead of the superior mph, I''m assuming you''re in a non-american country. Consisting of not USA. The test I took was based off a point system. I have a feeling your test was too. And I also have a feeling your tester didn''t have a slot for "doesn''t know how to operate clutch" and it doesn''t mean he can''t drive automatic.

oh and

WHY DO YOU TAKE A DRIVING TEST WITH STICK IN THE FIRST PLACE?

PouyaCat

Apr 29, 2003 at 12:54 PM

*shrugs*

Did my driving test half a year ago. Had the worst examinator: the Bitch of the ROC. Oh well, shit happens. Even better, it''s just you and the examinator over here. Still even better, she stole my mirrors, and forced me to use the little extra mirrors that SHE was supposed to use. Still even better, she asked me to park forward. Well, that was novel. Never done that before. I can perfectly fit into any spot while driving backwards. But forward? Oh well.

After the exam, she looked at me, and sayed I passed thanks to the benefit of the doubt. Fine with me

alexmoura

Apr 29, 2003 at 1:04 PM

quote:
Original post by nes8bit
WHY DO YOU TAKE A DRIVING TEST WITH STICK IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Because it's faster/more economic and more fun?

Oh, and the imperial system sucks

flame on

Had this been in Portugal, I'd say the instructor had taken a bribe - that said, if you drove over the speed limit that typically is enough to flunk an exam there...

"I woke up sweating and clutching my pillow. Thankfully the powerful and reassuring visage of Optimus Prime staring back at me from my pillow case served to ease my frayed nerves. Like the giant robotic father I never had he always knows just what to say" - Gabe, Penny-Arcade

Alexandre Moura

[edited by - alexmoura on April 29, 2003 2:06:23 PM]

sjelkjd

Apr 29, 2003 at 1:25 PM

Yeah, go stick!

Driving an automatic isn''t really driving at all.

Crispy

Apr 29, 2003 at 1:29 PM

The gear thing: my instructor loves to tease the students - he often leaves the gear in the first or the handbrake just barely on (so that you''d have a hard time getting off (no pun intedend

) the place). As for the speed limit: the sign was a temp - it was fifty centimeters in size max (checked later) and half covered in mud.

nes8bit: no USA here, no point system(s) either. The point (again, no pun intended) was to drive for 30 mins straight - then was the first time the examiner opened his mouth and said how you did. As simple as that...

Lilwonder: no real highways here... yet.

griffenjam

Apr 29, 2003 at 1:38 PM

Wow, so it''s totally up to the examiner if s/he flunks you or not.
That really sucks. I only lost 2 points on my driving test (out of 100). I pulled away from the curb without using my blinkers.

Don''t worry though, driving isn''t all that. If you can get to work without a car, then why bother.

Exume my speling.

TSwitch

Apr 29, 2003 at 1:41 PM

On my driving test (US), I almost clipped a delivery truck that was parked (at a corner with a light...!?!?) on a turn. And almost missed a stop sign.

Geez, I thought I was a bad driver until I hear these stories. That still won''t get me behind a wheel unless it''s absolutely necessary.

@crispy: Major traffic violations almost instantly disqualify you over here: Speeding, failing to stop, going down the wrong way on a one-way street... frig the point system (which is for minor crap like taking too many reciprocations to parallel park) if you can''t obey even simple rules. But that temp sign was crap.

If noone mentioned it, then I''ll be the first: In the US, you bring your own car to the test.

Erunama

Apr 29, 2003 at 2:29 PM

I just passed my driving test (US), and I must say, it sounds a lot harder than (I presume) Canadian tests. You bring your own car to the test. You need to parallel park, and then drive around for a little bit (less than 10 minutes), on not heavily-trafficed (in my case, at least... each state has their own procedures and requirements).

Let me just say that I scraped the curb a bit in parallel parking, failed to signal coming out of the parking spot, had to ask the instructor to repeat what she said a few times (she spoke really low, and she was really mean about it), and I missed one of the turns she told me to make (I had to turn at some stick, which is pretty much impossible to see if you have never done the course before).

But I still passed.

|.dev-c++.|.the gimp.|.seti@home.|.dbpoweramp.|.torn.|.=w=.|

Jakarta

Apr 29, 2003 at 2:49 PM

I took my driving test like three weeks ago (toronto/canada). At the end of the driving tes when I was pulling into the parking lot of the driving center The examinor suddenly started screaming at me and asking where I was looking. I asked him what he meant and he replied that someone there was a pedestrian trying to cross in front of me and I didn''t stop. The interesting thing is the person wasn''t even crossing she was just standing there. After I stopped the car he again repeated this to me and I argued with him for a while saying that I was right. At the end I gave up and said that I made a mistake. He replyed "OK, you pass"

higherspeed

Apr 29, 2003 at 2:57 PM

Pulling away with indicating can fail you in the UK. I got 13 minor errors, 16 and you fail. But most people fail on a major error. I haven''t driven since I passed my test, due to the fact I don''t have a car.

In the UK most people fail their first time. At a test centre near me the first time pass rate is 5% or something ridiculous. The one I took my test at wasn''t as bad as that though. All your tests sound ridiculously easy.

Also you have to have a manual gearbox, simply for economy in my opinion. The figures on many models of cars are really quite amazing. I suppose in America there''s little tax on fuel, so that''s not much of a problem.

Anyway who needs to be good at driving on American roads. They''re so wide, you would have difficulty crashing. If find it scary to think that American tourists(not just American, other non-EU countries too) are driving on British roads.

Finally if you live in the UK, don''t play GTA3 too much before your first few lessons. I was very close to driving on the wrong side of the road.

TSwitch

Apr 29, 2003 at 2:58 PM

Come to think of it, on my parallel park, I hit the curb with the tire. DOH! I normally can pull that off without too much in the way of a hitch.

@VBeir: GJ. Argue with the person who could just say "F**K you, you fail. kthxbai!"

Wolfmanyoda

Apr 29, 2003 at 3:12 PM

quote:
Original post by higherspeed
I suppose in America there''s little tax on fuel, so that''s not much of a problem.

well the federal tax is the same in every state, but the state tax can vary. Here in indiana total fuel tax is currently 37 cents per gallon. Don''t know about other states.

p.s....i didn''t have to take a driving exam to get my license, so HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

theNestruo

Apr 29, 2003 at 4:16 PM

Crispy: don''t worry! Better luck next time!

quote:
Original post by sjelkjd
Yeah, go stick!
Driving an automatic isn''t really driving at all.

I agree!
Here (Spain) automatic gears aren''t very common; I''ve driven only two automatic cars but I think the clutch control and the manual gears give you much more control over the vehicle than with liquid/ centrifuge/ electronic/ etc... clutchs and automatic gears. Of course, learning to drive is a little harder than with automatic gears, but when you really get the controls... Wow!

quote:
Original post by higherspeed
Anyway who needs to be good at driving on American roads. They''re so wide, you would have difficulty crashing.

Again, I agree. I would like to know what an American would think if he could see the roads near my city; most of them have no line between the two lanes with opposite directions, with a lot of turns with reduced visibility (the classical "mountain roads") and intensive truck traffic.

theNestruo

Syntax error in 2410
Ok

MDI

Apr 29, 2003 at 4:25 PM

quote:
Original post by higherspeed
Pulling away with indicating can fail you in the UK. I got 13 minor errors, 16 and you fail. But most people fail on a major error. I haven''t driven since I passed my test, due to the fact I don''t have a car.

In the UK most people fail their first time. At a test centre near me the first time pass rate is 5% or something ridiculous. The one I took my test at wasn''t as bad as that though. All your tests sound ridiculously easy.

Also you have to have a manual gearbox, simply for economy in my opinion. The figures on many models of cars are really quite amazing. I suppose in America there''s little tax on fuel, so that''s not much of a problem.

Anyway who needs to be good at driving on American roads. They''re so wide, you would have difficulty crashing. If find it scary to think that American tourists(not just American, other non-EU countries too) are driving on British roads.

Finally if you live in the UK, don''t play GTA3 too much before your first few lessons. I was very close to driving on the wrong side of the road.

It''s 14 and you fail here in Wigan. I''ve got my test on June 10th. I''ve been at test standard for weeks, but the bloody system is so overloaded the only date I could get was that. Ohh, and somebody complained about having to parallel park on their driving test? Wtf? In the UK, you can get assessed on at least one, maybe all of the following:

Turn in the road (3 point turn)
Parallel parking.
Bay parking.
Left reverse.
Emergency Stop.

Crispy

Apr 29, 2003 at 4:45 PM

We here in Estonia have 6 exams in total: the driving school and the National Car Registry (blunt translation) both have:

1) a theory exam
2) a closed circuit course (comprises 4 different maneuvers - bay parking between obstacles (both ways), parallel parking between obstacles (also both ways), starting the car on a slope, forward and backwards slalom)
3) a city course

The Registry exams cost roughly 5 times more, the closed circuit (or whatever it is officially called in English) is a different one for the Registry (a lot more difficult one) and no one asks you where you''ve driven before when doing the urban driving. In fact, I know of a case when a girl was asked where she''d driven before and when she answered, she was instructed to go to a totally different part of the town with totally unknown and relatively complex street layout and traffic.

In addition, we have to pass a preparatory thory test before we get to do the Registry exams plus we need to have a medical crtificate (we need to take a 10-hour course and pay for it). To this day I cannot figure out why they showed us a picture (the real thing) of a man who''d lost his hand because he hadn''t let go of a grenade after pulling out the pin... I had nightmares for two weeks after that - ick...

TSwitch

Apr 29, 2003 at 4:54 PM

They''re trying to f**k with you. See how you react to blood and gore. So they can decide if you''ll flip out if you maul some kid into a dozen and a half pieces.

I guess.

Boops

Apr 29, 2003 at 6:06 PM

quote:
Original post by nes8bit
Given that you used kph instead of the superior mph, I''m assuming you''re in a non-american country.

They should call you "the flaminator", you just ask to be flamed

kph is a scientific standard, mph is not.

quote:
Original post by nes8bit
WHY DO YOU TAKE A DRIVING TEST WITH STICK IN THE FIRST PLACE?

Because, at least in Belgium, when you do the test with an automatic you aren''t allowed to drive non automatic cars with the licence you get.

bishop_pass

Apr 29, 2003 at 10:04 PM

quote:
Original post by sjelkjd
Yeah, go stick!

Driving a stick is for children who haven''t got it out of their system yet. Believe me, 400,000 miles is more than enough in a stick. Eating, chatting on the cell phone, and driving stick is just not necessary.

Besides, today''s automatics last longer.

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