The time had come to take the test that determines whether or not I will be officially licensed by the state of Florida. My mother and I got to the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV for short) right when it opened so we wouldn't have to wait the lengthy line. We got to one of the clerks and described the situation that I was there to take my Driving Test to get my license.
I was to take my license picture before the test. So I looked in the camera and smiled for the picture. When the flash was faded from my sight, I wrote my signature on an electrical pad. After showing the man required papers and answering a series of questions, I was handed a blue laminated sheet of paper describing what would be on the test. When I handed the paper back, the man went back to get his clipboard and scoring sheet. My palms were suddenly getting sweaty. When he reappeared with everything, him and I went out to my mother's car to begin the session.
When he finished inspecting the car, the test began. First, I pulled out of the parking lot to park in a spot with cones. I thought I had done very nicely and was thoroughly impressed with myself seeming how a weak spot of mine was parking. While put in park, I was asked what to do when parking uphill. I told him to turn my wheel to the right, put the emergency brake on, and to turn off the ignition. After carefully pulling out, I went down a dirt road and into a small neighborhood.
After a few stop signs and turn signals at or under 15 miles per hour, I turned on a long, straight road. When being told to stop, the man told me to drive close to 20 miles per hour and come to a quick stop. I did as I was told and did it smoothly. Then I was asked to revers 50 or so feet backwards. After doing so, I was directed to do a three-point turn. Since the road was so narrow, I was allowed a five-point turn. When it was over, I was directed back through a series of stop signs and turning signals. On the way back to the DMV while at a stop sign, I knew I had the right of way when I stopped first, but I let the other driver in front of me go first. Then everything went smoothly as I parked in the parking lot and was told my evaluation.
I was penalized for not using my turn signal while parking between the poles. I was also penalized for not going idol speed while going in reverse approximately 50 feet. I was penalized on my "three-point" turn for not looking through both of my mirrors on my third turn. I was finally penalized for not using my right of way when I stopped in front of the other driver. With all of those penalties, I managed to pass. He didn't tell me by how much, but he said that I passed. That was all I needed to know. One thing he did tell me was that my nerves almost failed me.
We went back in and I looked at my worrisome mother to give her a secretive, reassuring thumbs up and a grin. After a very small payment of $6.25, I finally got to take hold my very own license.
With that, I would like to present a few tips to help you out before and during your test based on my first hand experience:
1) Practice, practice, practice!
Get as much practice as you can before taking your test. I can't stress the importance of this enough. In order to pass, you must know what you're doing and how to do it.
2) Know the rules and signs of the road.
In order to pass your exam, you must know the rules of the road or you could fail your test. The signs are pretty easy, but you may not know all of the rules of the road. Keep note that rules can be different in each state you go into. I'm not sure how things are up there in Canada and other foreign countries.
3) Keep your mind at ease.
Like the man told me, my nerves almost failed me. So this is just a sign to all of you young readers to stay calm and collected in and out during the test. If you have trouble, just take deep breaths to level your breathing. Always stay focused on the road!
4) Follow the instructor's directions.
If you don't follow your instructor's directions, you'll almost certainly fail the test!
Author's Note: Keep in mind that driver's tests are different depending on where you live and where you go. However, these tips are still pretty helpful to young drivers. Thanks for reading! I hope you found this rather entertaining and informational.
