My Fun Trip to the DMV!

[Eihwaz]

I am in the process of getting my driver's license, and all I have to do now is pass the road test. I took it yesterday and failed (several times over :disapprove:), but no worries, really. The second time will be much better, I tell myself. Oh, how wrong I was.

I get up early, and am ready to leave by 6:30 AM. The DMV opens at seven, and I want to schedule an appointment as early as possible, so off I go. I arrive, park, and get into the line. A short while later, I have my appointment slip, for nine. Not a big deal, I had to wait over two hours the first time, so no surprises here.

I make myself comfortable, crank up the Zune, and wait patiently. Perhaps a bit too patiently, because before I know it, it's 8:20 and the queue is starting to fill out nicely. This was probably my fatal mistake, although no one can say for sure my fate could've been avoided at this point.

So, I pull into the queue, and wait. This mostly consists of alternating between sitting with my car off and all the windows opening, scooting forward periodically, and having the AC turned on low for a few minutes. As I live in Texas, it is quite warm out, but I've been through worse heat.

Anyway, around 10:20 or so, I'm finally at the head of the line. I feel a bit nervous, but generally psyched. One of the clip-board wielding ladies walks me through the required car examination (checking to make sure the lights/brakes work, etc). I notice that the lady examining my car is the same one who snapped at me for reading a magazine while waiting to pull up the previous day.

At this point, since the cars are sitting under an overhang/raised ceiling type thing, all the cars are turned off, and all my windows are open. The same clip-board lady (I'll just call her CBL from here on out) who examined my car walks up, so I unlock the car. As she's getting in, I move to crank up the car, let up the windows, get the AC going, etc. Instantly, she snaps "Hey, do you mind waiting before I get in the car? Can you wait before I get in the car before cranking up?", in a rather aggressive tone. In retrospect, I suppose I should've waited for her to tell me to crank up, but excuse me for being eager. (Note that the bitter rage begins about here.)

"Um, well, it's so hot out, I just wanted to make sure you'd be comfortable. Sorry." I stammer. I'm not big on confrontation, so I figured this would be safe to say. Wrong!

She rather angrily replies "I've been in cars without AC before. There are cars without AC in them, you know."

I gulp because I can tell that this is going to be rough, but it gets worse. So, she's seated, and begins to tell me the rules are the same as yesterday, explains some of them briefly, again mentions that the rules are the same as yesterday, so I decide that now would be a good time to crank up. Again, in retrospect, this was something I shouldn't have done, but she was making me really nervous. Immediately: "You're obviously more concerned with getting the AC turned on than listening! Pay attention!", once again in the most confrontational and abrasive manner. I bite back the slight bit of bile I'm feeling, and let her explain in great detail how the rules are just the same as yesterday.

So, finally, it's deemed appropriate to crank up, so I do so, and drive to the first portion of the test: the parallel parking. Ironically this was the best part of my entire examination today. I didn't do an astoundingly great job, but I did it decently and without wasting time. She curtly tells me to continue on, so I do so. We hang a right, and the road test proper has begun. While watching the road, I ask to confirm "The speed limit is 35 here, right?" A side note: I often, especially when nervous, ask questions like this, and nothing comforts me more than a direct, informational answer. I get a sarcastic "Same as it was yesterday." This does nothing for my nerves.

So the first turn is coming up, and I'm going a bit fast. She yelps out "You might want to SLOW DOWN!" and I take the turn a bit harder than I would've liked. I continue driving along and then, again she yelps out "Wait! There's a car there! What are you doing?!"

I then stop, let the car pass through the intersection in front of us, go up to the stop sign, and then take a the appropriate turn. While going along, she asks me, once again in her now characteristically caustic way, "How long have you been driving, anyway?" I stammer out something about "months." (I got my permit last summer.)

I continue along, incredibly nervous now, take the next turn. As we head down this road, I make sure to stay to the right side of the road. Yesterday, at this same section, I had given the cars on the right side too wide of a berth and had technically broken the law by driving on the wrong side. Today, I was much closer to the cars, but I knew I was okay. However, CBL decides now would be a great time to let out a needlessly loud and abrupt "Whooaaa!!"

Things were about to get much worse, unfortunately.

We were at the section where we practice backing up, which I performed flawlessly the previous day. I begin backing up, and there's a moving car a decent distance behind me, or so I thought. As I turn around, she tells me to go, then immediately snaps, "You're not observing things properly!! There's a car behind you, and you didn't see it, did you?! He had to stop because you didn't observe!"

At this point, my hands are shaking, my heart is pounding, and I want to crawl out of the car and die. I attempt to continue to follow CBL's commands, but after making a rather fast turn, she jerkily tells me to pull over, and get out of the car.

I had run the previous stop sign.

She begins to harp on me about observing things. In retrospect, I should have mentioned that is pretty god damned difficult to drive well when an exceptionally heinous fucking bitch is constantly, and loudly, yelling into my ear in the most confrontational way possible.

I instead opt to sit and not speak to her. Like I said, I don't like confrontation.

Anyway, she drives me back to the DMV in utter silence, for which I am eternally grateful. She parks my car, and then tells me in her most calm voice (read: only marginally less sarcastic and obnoxious as usual) all my errors. I wonder why she couldn't have made the effort to not be in my face when I was on the fucking road. She then gets out and tells me I should practice for a few weeks before coming back. During this whole exchange, I try not to look at her, and only respond with nods or "Mmhmm."

tl;dr I'm not mad that I failed the test. My driving needs some refining, yes, and I rightfully should have been failed after running that stop sign. However, I do not need your needlessly aggressive and abrupt yelps when I am trying to drive. I am already a bit anxious after waiting for hours, and your constant, loud, angry bitching does NOT HELP me drive better. I'm sorry if you think your shitty job working for a crappy local government office gives you license to walk all over me, you stupid fucking bitch.

It doesn't fucking accomplish anything, other than making me frantically nervous. The examiner I had yesterday told me about the same amount of stuff you told me, but he did it in a calm, low, even voice. I know you go through this a million times a day, but try to imagine how nervous the person trying to get their driver's license is. Yelling in their face when they're already nervous about passing the test isn't going to do any fucking good.

What a fucking bitch this woman was. God damn.

[beatrixkiddo]

The DMV is never fun ;(

I need to get around to going there to renew my DL. It expired on May 5 when I turned 21, but they give you 45 days to renew it in Kansas, since you aren't allowed to renew it UNTIL the day you turn 21, which was a monday for me, and the DMV is closed then >_>

[Powder Keg]

Well, if you failed, you failed. That's one thing.


But, I can totally agree with you that this person is more than likely a bitch, from hearing your side of the story, anyway. People like that do not belong with people taking road tests.


As an example. when I first started to practice driving, it was in my mom's car with her in the passenger seat. The very first time I was behind the wheel, I just practiced learning how the car feels in an empty parking lot...but because of the way she would say things and freak out, I was totally nervous for the entire practice and didn't look too great driving.

Eventually we got into an argument and I said I just can't drive with you in the car anymore. Afterwards one of my best friends helped teach me on the road. He gave me tips on everything, judging distace, parking, everything. Even on the first day, I felt 4000x more comfortable on the road, and even drove on the highway before I took my road test and passed no problem.


So, if I can give you any advice, find someone to drive with you that you feel comfortable with behind the wheel as they give you tips...this will REALLY help in your practice and eventually your test. And if you can, request another person at the driving center if you get the same person...don't be afraid to let them know that the way she talks makes you feel uncomfortable behind the wheel since you are a new driver. I know you said you're not a confrontation type of person, but for situations like this you gotta speak up.

[BlaizeYES]

that story made me laugh a little bit... jesus, she broke you

[beatrixkiddo]

I agree with Artea. I've been driving since I was 16 (21 now) and I'm still uncomfortable driving with my mom in the car because she complains about EVERYTHING the whole time. Some things never change.

[ABDUR101]

What I'd do, is if you get her again, tell her to her face that you don't want her being the one to take the drive with you, and if she asks why, tell her that she caused you more distress than anything.

The thing is this, she had good points about paying attention and observing, BUT she was also contradicting herself because she was a 'backseat driver'. She was telling you to "Go, its ok", and then yelling at you for not looking. Well, you were listening to her, you most likely glanced and saw that it looked ok, and if she was telling you to go, obviously she would'nt just be fucking with you. Aswell, her attitude and behavior doesn't mesh well with anyone driving decently; ever sit in a car and try to observe the road with kids in the backseat argueing?

Even seasoned drivers would have been thrown off, my Dad for example doesn't like going anywhere with mom when he's driving, she's CONSTANTLY yelling at him for how he drives. "Slow down, Jesus Christ!", "WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!", etc. Even when I'm driving with her, she'll make bitch-comments about other drivers, like if they pass her, "Go ahead asshole", or if someone is alittle too close for her comfort "You better get off my ass, dickhead".

What I'd do if I were you, go back in afew weeks, and if you happen to get her again, tell her to her face you REFUSE to have her, that you'll wait for the next person available; and if she says anything ask to see the manager. Explain to the manager how her attitude, teetering on abusive and demoralising made you unable to relax and properly go through the motions, and that when you asked legitimate questions she'd give you smart ass answers that, had no answer to them; they were just verbal backhands that made it harder for you.

You don't need someone taking you through the test if they're going to be a cunt the whole time, that only makes things worse.

Honestly, had I been you and she had been freaking out on me, I'd of told her "Hey, chill the fuck out, I'm a person just like you; I'm being respectful to you and I expect the same courtesy. If you CAN'T be courtious and talk to me like a person, I'll drive your ass back to the DMV and ask for someone who can."

[CupOfCoffee]

Man, that really blows Eihwaz. The DMV has traditionally been a just a step or two ahead of the dentist in terms of overall fun, but it sounds like you totally un-lucked out and found one even lamer than most others. Are there other ones near where you live? When I was getting my license I just went to the closest DMV and ended up passing on my first try, but most of the kids in my classes swore by "The Mustache Guy," a tester from this alternate DMV in a little town a few miles away. There's probably someplace else you could take the test that'll be more laid back or at least less queue-tastic.

That said, high five for not getting all bent out of shape and making it even harder for yourself to get a successful retest. I'd feel even worse about going back if I'd totally blown up at someone who worked there at any point in the past, yipes.

And remember, don't crack a shit-eating grin at the last second for your license picture. I made that mistake and now every time I get pulled over, I can just feel the cop rolling his eyes at my stupid license mugshot.

[Eihwaz]

that story made me laugh a little bit... jesus, she broke youThanks for pointing out the obvious. I'm glad my social anxieties amuse you so much.


What I'd do, is if you get her again, tell her to her face that you don't want her being the one to take the drive with you, and if she asks why, tell her that she caused you more distress than anything.

The thing is this, she had good points about paying attention and observing, BUT she was also contradicting herself because she was a 'backseat driver'. She was telling you to "Go, its ok", and then yelling at you for not looking. Well, you were listening to her, you most likely glanced and saw that it looked ok, and if she was telling you to go, obviously she would'nt just be fucking with you. Aswell, her attitude and behavior doesn't mesh well with anyone driving decently; ever sit in a car and try to observe the road with kids in the backseat argueing?

...

What I'd do if I were you, go back in afew weeks, and if you happen to get her again, tell her to her face you REFUSE to have her, that you'll wait for the next person available; and if she says anything ask to see the manager. Explain to the manager how her attitude, teetering on abusive and demoralising made you unable to relax and properly go through the motions, and that when you asked legitimate questions she'd give you smart ass answers that, had no answer to them; they were just verbal backhands that made it harder for you.Yeah, I totally agree, my driving was pretty sloppy today, and I doubt I would've passed even if the heinous bitch hadn't been my examiner, at any rate. I've decided to practice for a while before going back, and if I end up with her, I'll GIRD MY LOINS and tell her I'd rather wait for a different examiner.


There's probably someplace else you could take the test that'll be more laid back or at least less queue-tastic.This is a really good idea, but this one is by far the closest, the others are out stupidly far away.

[Sekani]

As a commercial driver I probably have a lot more experience than your average commuter, but that type of haranguing would have even thrown me off. I'd report her to a DMV supervisor or something. If a professional driver can't tune out that level of distraction, what chance does a newbie have?

[Kion]

I've always had a pleasant time in cars. Probably thanks to the way i learned to drive. My dad taught me. For the first couple weeks he sat in the car, offered advice and explained things as they came up. He always told me to take it easy, and take my time if i needed it. After i got used to driving safely, speed limit, in lanes, basics really well, he started to go to sleep when ever he was in the car. From then on i learned to figure out intuitively figure out what people are doing and traffics patterns and to drive smoothly, as my dad complained about being woken up. Once my confidence got pretty good, one day he directed me to a really windy road with a lot of trees, hair pins and blind curves.

He tells me to stop the car in the road. I'm looking at him kind of worried, but there were no other cars around, so i did it. He turns to me and says, "Ben, you know the news and news paper articles where kids wrap their cars around trees and die because they're racing like idiots on a dangerous road?" "Y-yeah?" "Well this is one of those roads; have fun." And he then started teaching me some street racing, how to take a line, accelerate out of a curve, engine breaking (down shifting), and power slides. Anyways, my dad had a very hands off approach as he knew my driving was unsafe and held on to the death grip for a while before he let go refusing to admit that he was scared. It gave me the notion that my driving was bad, but he always offered assurance which help me move on pretty quickly. Alot of people have parents like CBL who get freaked out at everything and driving is never a pleasant experience for them.

The reason your story made me remember that is because when you drive, you need to be relaxed. Relax, go and go your own pace, but also making other people feel safe is important. You were nervous and i'm sure you were making the woman you were with nervous taking turns too fast or not noticing other cars. With driving tests you need to show intent; steadily slowing down or speeding up based on what you observe. in drivers ed, i had to sit in the back seat with some really bad drivers and it made me very uneasy. CBL's have to deal with horrible drivers every day so they have reason to be edgy when someone makes them uneasy. Show you're in control of the car, that you know what you're doing and make them feel safe. Think of it as an exercise in zen.

[Ceresa]

If you had put as much effort into driving practice as you did on that wall of text I'm sure you would have passed just fine!

Did she know you failed the day before? Honestly I'm kinda surprised they even let you take the test 2 days in a row, how much magical practice are you gonna get in one day, especially if you failed horribly, which you apparently did by your own admission. I'd be annoyed if I had to ride with someone like that for sure! Actually I'd probably make it my goal to make your test as inconceivably bullshit hard as possible.

Also man the fuck up, you ain't allowed to be nervous when it comes to driving! It's man's sacred fucking duty to be in the driver's seat at all times if there's a female present, do you want your girlfriend to live in terror in the passenger seat? I surely hope not.

And quite frankly, if you got your permit last summer, what the hell have you been doing with all your time, there's no reason you should either be nervous or suck at driving after this long. Every damn time your mom needed groceries or shoes or little timmy picked up from soccer practice, you should have got up, logged the fuck off PSU, and said "oh, mother, you look ever so stressed, please allow me to shoulder the burden of driving."

[Solstis]

If you had put as much effort into driving practice as you did on that wall of text I'm sure you would have passed just fine!

Did she know you failed the day before? Honestly I'm kinda surprised they even let you take the test 2 days in a row, how much magical practice are you gonna get in one day, especially if you failed horribly, which you apparently did by your own admission. I'd be annoyed if I had to ride with someone like that for sure! Actually I'd probably make it my goal to make your test as inconceivably bullshit hard as possible.

Also man the fuck up, you ain't allowed to be nervous when it comes to driving! It's man's sacred fucking duty to be in the driver's seat at all times if there's a female present, do you want your girlfriend to live in terror in the passenger seat? I surely hope not.

And quite frankly, if you got your permit last summer, what the hell have you been doing with all your time, there's no reason you should either be nervous or suck at driving after this long. Every damn time your mom needed groceries or shoes or little timmy picked up from soccer practice, you should have got up, logged the fuck off PSU, and said "oh, mother, you look ever so stressed, please allow me to shoulder the burden of driving."

You sound like a fascinating individual.

I'd cover the other things if I felt like it, but it must be pointed out that mothers are doing their children a favor when they let them drive. Mothers, generally, don't want to die more than the next person.

Since I got my license (4-5 years ago, I can't remember), I stopped asking my mother if she wanted me to drive. I know the answer. Of course she doesn't!

[Eihwaz]

If you had put as much effort into driving practice as you did on that wall of text I'm sure you would have passed just fine!

Did she know you failed the day before? Honestly I'm kinda surprised they even let you take the test 2 days in a row, how much magical practice are you gonna get in one day, especially if you failed horribly, which you apparently did by your own admission. I'd be annoyed if I had to ride with someone like that for sure! Actually I'd probably make it my goal to make your test as inconceivably bullshit hard as possible.

Also man the fuck up, you ain't allowed to be nervous when it comes to driving! It's man's sacred fucking duty to be in the driver's seat at all times if there's a female present, do you want your girlfriend to live in terror in the passenger seat? I surely hope not.

And quite frankly, if you got your permit last summer, what the hell have you been doing with all your time, there's no reason you should either be nervous or suck at driving after this long. Every damn time your mom needed groceries or shoes or little timmy picked up from soccer practice, you should have got up, logged the fuck off PSU, and said "oh, mother, you look ever so stressed, please allow me to shoulder the burden of driving."...But I don't play PSU.

[EphekZ]

If you had put as much effort into driving practice as you did on that wall of text I'm sure you would have passed just fine!

Because typing takes so much effort, right?




Did she know you failed the day before? Honestly I'm kinda surprised they even let you take the test 2 days in a row, how much magical practice are you gonna get in one day, especially if you failed horribly, which you apparently did by your own admission. I'd be annoyed if I had to ride with someone like that for sure! Actually I'd probably make it my goal to make your test as inconceivably bullshit hard as possible.

Because obviously if he already failed you should make it harder the next time he takes it. :disapprove:



Also man the fuck up, you ain't allowed to be nervous when it comes to driving! It's man's sacred fucking duty to be in the driver's seat at all times if there's a female present, do you want your girlfriend to live in terror in the passenger seat? I surely hope not.


hahaha, what? None of this made any sense. Since when was it a man's job and more importantly, EVERYONE gets annoyed, flustered, nervous, when there's a backseat driver. Especially one like that bitch. Also, since I assume you drive, you should know that driving when you're alone or with a friend etc, is a lot different than when you're taking a driving test. That word alone gives off anxiety for most people.



And quite frankly, if you got your permit last summer, what the hell have you been doing with all your time, there's no reason you should either be nervous or suck at driving after this long. Every damn time your mom needed groceries or shoes or little timmy picked up from soccer practice, you should have got up, logged the fuck off PSU, and said "oh, mother, you look ever so stressed, please allow me to shoulder the burden of driving."
Shit happens, you don't know his circumstances. Get over yourself dude. btw, I really hope this was a troll, flamebait, whatever you wanna call it because god damn you're dim.

Regardless, Eihwaz, sounds like that whole event was a bitch. Sucks when shit gets so out of hand like that. Hopefully, you'll be a lot more calm next time, and get a different examiner. Best of luck.

[Kion]

I can't believe you guys are taking Ceresa's post so seriously. It wasn't meant to be taken that way; was exagerated and sarcastic. The tone was well voiced, and made me laugh. I wont deny this is trolling, but if you took offense to his post, then i don't think you're in any possition to be calling people dim. Try to find the humor in it. With alittle less offensive langauge; this is what he wrote.

◎ if you failed the test the day before, why would you expect to get miraculously better in such a short period of time?
◎ CBL lady or girl friend, would anyone really want to be in the passenger seat of your car if you're running stop signs, near missing cars, and are in a shaken state while driving? (If you've never had that experience, then an analgogy would you want a surgon or dentist who can't hold a scalpel/drill with out shaking?)
◎ teenagers, tend to think of a car as their ticket to freedom, so they tend to gravitate around any chance they can get to drive. If you've had your permit for a year, why have you not taken, or openned oppertunities to practice?

With practice driving because like walking. It's not any nerve racking thing; it's normal so there's not too much reason you should be nervous doing ordinary stuff.

[Neith]

Ugh, reminds me of the first driving instructor I had. It was my first lesson and this guy was hounding me for coming off the clutch too sharp. He'd totally blow up on me if I stalled the car, and whenever I asked which way to turn at a junction, he'd just sit there and tell me which way as the traffic was moving (which is useless here in the UK when you want to turn right and can't get into the right-hand lane because your instructor couldn't be arsed to tell you 'Turn Right' before the traffic got moving).

Needless to say, I phoned the driving school up after my lesson, and promptly canceled, making sure to tell the school that their instructor was extremely impatient and didn't really deserve to be in a job that demands a lot of patience. I switched to a better driving school, got the most friendly instructor I could've asked for, and passed my final test first time. If you can, maybe report that woman you mentioned , and make sure you get a different examiner for your next test (I'm assuming it works similar there, anyway).

Learning to drive, and particularly your practical test are nerve-wracking anyway, you don't need someone like that making it worse. I was almost put off from learning to drive by the idiot I described above, but I tried to not let it get to me, and ended up passing. Once you've been on the road a while, I imagine you get much calmer. Unfortunately, car insurance in the UK is so high for me at the moment that I haven't been able to even afford one yet (despite passing my test when I was 18- I'm 22 now.)

Good luck in any future test anyway, it's much easier to concentrate if you have a better examiner.

Edit: For everyone laying into the OP, you must all have fuzzy memories of learning to drive yourself. Your driving test is horrible to go through, as is being on the road when you're learning- you're constantly in fear of crashing (even though most cars have dual control pedals so the examiner/instructor can stop the car if needed) or messing something up. Some of you are very confident, and might not have had trouble, but for someone who is nervous (I know this first hand, because I was the same), it's a horrible experience. Sure, running red lights and the like isn't clever, but we all made mistakes learning to drive. It just happens that nerves haven't helped the OP and he's made some bad mistakes on his test. At the worst, all it should tell him is to maybe take some more lessons and brush up on weak points if he fails again, before taking the test.

[Eihwaz]

◎ if you failed the test the day before, why would you expect to get miraculously better in such a short period of time?

The only reason I took the test again so soon is because my parents thought it was a good idea and insisted upon it. Obviously I'm not going to make dramatic improvements in such a short period of time.



◎ CBL lady or girl friend, would anyone really want to be in the passenger seat of your car if you're running stop signs, near missing cars, and are in a shaken state while driving? (If you've never had that experience, then an analgogy would you want a surgon or dentist who can't hold a scalpel/drill with out shaking?)

The reason I was in such a nervous state was directly because of the actions of the CBL! That was sort of, y'know, the whole point of this thread.



◎ teenagers, tend to think of a car as their ticket to freedom, so they tend to gravitate around any chance they can get to drive. If you've had your permit for a year, why have you not taken, or openned oppertunities to practice?Where did I say I have not practiced during the whole year? I've been practicing during the interval, it's just that my driving is a bit unrefined in certain areas. I can get from point A to B, yeah, but it's not perfect. My high school career was complicated by a long laundry list of bad things going down, so that put a bit of a damper on any thoughts of getting my license.

[Inazuma]

from reading your post, i sense a lack of responsibility. stop making excuses and complaining about that old cunt. you suck at driving. thats FINE. just be sure to practice at it and get better. dont go to take the license test until you are actually decent at driving. like w/ anything else, if you get good at it, confidence will come w/ it.

i dont remember my own driving test that well b/c it was so long ago, but i know i waited until i actually could drive decently before i took it. i did just fine on the test and that was that. if the person grading me happened to be an annoying fucker, it would have annoyed me but i would have still passed. there are plenty of assholes, idiots, scammers, etc in this world. you are gonna need to learn to deal w/ them better. and sometimes you need to be able to confront problems that come up in life, instead of running away.

sorry if this all sounds harsh. im not trying to be mean here. just practice your driving until you feel you are good at it, then go back and pass your test.

[BlaizeYES]

[QUOTE=Eihwaz;2045408]Thanks for pointing out the obvious. I'm glad my social anxieties amuse you so much.
QUOTE]

dont take it personally, but she did. it probably made it a little easier to blame someone else for failing, or the reason why you failed being "social anxieties." i dont know, i'm just not a big fan of the whole "victim" thing. there will always be assholes that stand in the way of goals, its your job to POWER THROUGH IT


thats just my opinion though

[Raine_Loire]

I'm not 100% sure what cranking it means- it seems like it must be starting the car? Anyway, if that's what it is, I believe examiners prefer that you wait until they ask you to turn the car on. Actually my brother failed the first test he took because he turned the car on without her telling him to... after that nothing he did was right for her. But maybe she saw you crack easy and it was all intentional?

I'd do the opposite of what other people have told you to do. I'd practice with someone who stresses me out, then I'd make sure she tested me again. If you can't drive while distracted, and you can't drive under stress, you shouldn't have a license. I don't mean just you. The streets would be a lot safer if people were tested more thoroughly before they're handed a license.

I'm not judging you, because clearly you knew you weren't ready to retake the test. I'm just saying- don't try to take the easy way. Because you won't always be driving under ideal conditions. You need to be able to focus on the road, and what's going on outside the car over what's inside it. Letting the people in your car affect how you drive could kill someone.

Besides, it would be funny if she had to pass you, lol.

[MetaZedlen]

If you had put as much effort into driving practice as you did on that wall of text I'm sure you would have passed just fine!

Did she know you failed the day before? Honestly I'm kinda surprised they even let you take the test 2 days in a row, how much magical practice are you gonna get in one day, especially if you failed horribly, which you apparently did by your own admission. I'd be annoyed if I had to ride with someone like that for sure! Actually I'd probably make it my goal to make your test as inconceivably bullshit hard as possible.

Also man the fuck up, you ain't allowed to be nervous when it comes to driving! It's man's sacred fucking duty to be in the driver's seat at all times if there's a female present, do you want your girlfriend to live in terror in the passenger seat? I surely hope not.

And quite frankly, if you got your permit last summer, what the hell have you been doing with all your time, there's no reason you should either be nervous or suck at driving after this long. Every damn time your mom needed groceries or shoes or little timmy picked up from soccer practice, you should have got up, logged the fuck off PSU, and said "oh, mother, you look ever so stressed, please allow me to shoulder the burden of driving."

Well well, looks like we have another dumbass liberal on our hands.

That is all he needs, some idiot like to you make thing even worse. Man, if I had a nickel every time I heard that shit about "do you want "" to "" for the rest of their lives?" I would be loaded right now...so, I have one thing to say:

SHUT THE FUCKING HELL UP YOU STUPID ASS

Anyway, Eihwaz, you aren't the only person who gets nervous on the roads...I am 18 now, been driving for 4 years (early practice on dirt roads), and to tell you the truth, I still get scarred whenever I have to drive my dad somewhere, not that he is an asshole, it's just that there is some kind of aura or something that emanates from him that gets to me...same thing from my mom...

Now, whenever I am by myself or with friends however, I am completely fine, but I do what my dad does: yell at almost every person on the road that drives like an idiot (yes, that is pretty much everybody...).

Also, if you can, get with someone else responsable to practice with, or if there is ever a chance you are by yourself, play some music, it really helps the calm yourself when on the road.

[Raine_Loire]

lol it takes time to get past the driving with your parents stigma. Likewise it takes time for them to realize you don't suck at driving. I was 23 and drove my dad somewhere and he said to my mom later "she's a REALLY good driver!" I was like "Thanks, it's only been SIX YEARS!"

[Eihwaz]

In preparation for taking the test again on Monday, I practiced for several hours yesterday, and plan on doing some more later today and tomorrow. My parallel parking is much improved, and I feel a lot more confident.