taking driver's exam (road test), how hard it is?

[mayumi69 0]

Hello! just want to ask how hard to take a road test here in the USA. I live in Alabama, & quite nervous to take the road test. We called the licensing office & they told us that we need to go to downtown city ( Birmingham) which i think 45 miles from where we live. Does anyone here can give me some suggestion or tips? Thanks!

[Kez/JWolf 6]

Did you drive before you came to the US and if so where???

I took the road test and passed without having to do anything other than drive round the block.....

I had driven in the UK for 10 + years and had also been driving on my UK licence here for about 5 months...

Kezzie

[mayumi69 0]

no i didn't drove before i went here,,,but i do my driving lesson right now (i started two mos. ago)

[silvanski 1]

I've had my drivers license for 25 years but TX law required a written and driving test. The driving test took apx 30 minutes. Afterwards the lady who judged me told that with my 25 years of experience only a grave mistake would have made me fail. She even pointed out some peculiarities about TX road behaviour which has proved very helpful.

Make sure you know the US/state rules of right of way like t-bone junctions, 4-way stop signs etc and I'm sure you'll do fine

[mayumi69 0]

thank you guys for sharing your experiences.

[Garfield fan 0]

My suggestion will be familiarize yourself with the sign and the way people drive here in US. I myself have been driving for 10 years back home when I did my road test. It's a bit awkward driving here at first since they have everything backwards (e.g here you drive on the right side of the road while back home we drive on the left side, etc). Find some info on how the officers are in the driving test place, in our area some offices have nice officers but some just have @$$ that will fail you for the simplest thing. They also might want something to be done in certain way, for example when you come to a stop sign, they want you to stop way behind the sign (when you stop, make sure that the front end of your car doesn't pass over the sign), etc. Good luck to you !

[Ephesia 0]

It seems each license branch has slight variations of the standard driving test (at least this is the case in Indianapolis). The license branch that issued me the learner's permit, which is 20 mins further away from a branch closest to our home, is where I plan to book my test date. When I went to get my temp permit renewed a couple of months ago, the nice counter staff told me to take my test at their branch because it's very easy. She even described the route for me, then turned around to point at a smiling lady sitting behind her and said, "And this nice lady will be your instructor."

She also gave me a list of branches if I choose not to take my test at that branch, stating that all those branches won't make me go out on the interstate for my test. She also made it clear that at their particular branch, I won't be made to go on the interstate. When I return to the branch after going around the block, I just have to parallel park (eww, parallel parking). She confirmed that license branches that are near the interstate tend to make drivers go on the highway as part of the test.

I am hoping to take the test by the end of Jul. Been driving to and from work every day now. Have the routes memorized already. The only thing I've not tried out is parallel parking, which my husband plans to have me do this weekend with trash cans.

Edited June 13, 2006 by Ephesia

[mayumi69 0]

thanks!

[CanGal 1]

is parralell parking a requirement for a tennessee driving test? I'm just curious, because I've never once yet seen anywhere here where people ever paralell park to begin with.

[rob&ana 0]

Im in PA.

Yesterday I took my road test. I drove back home for a couple of years, but my car was quite small, and my Mother in Law's is a large Toyota, that had me a lil nervous.

The guy who gave me test was not friendly, but he was not too grouchy either.

He tested the controls first: wipers, turning lights, brake lights, flashers, horn. Then he took me to parallel park, and here he said: "Touch the curb or the barrels and the test is over", which totally made me nervous. But I did it right the firts time.

Then we went on to the road, and it was just a quick round around the block, but it had lots of speed changes (school zone, 25, 30 and 35 miles per hour). Also a couple of Stops. Make sure you actually STOP at the stop sign, not just slow down and check the intersection. Stop at the sign even if it's not right on the intersection.

Use your turning signals (I know it's easy to forget). All in all, it was not really that hard, but nonetheless a tad scary.

Good luck on your exam!

PS: By the way, I passed my exam and got my license!!

[alexil74 0]

Im in PA.

Yesterday I took my road test. I drove back home for a couple of years, but my car was quite small, and my Mother in Law's is a large Toyota, that had me a lil nervous.

The guy who gave me test was not friendly, but he was not too grouchy either.

He tested the controls first: wipers, turning lights, brake lights, flashers, horn. Then he took me to parallel park, and here he said: "Touch the curb or the barrels and the test is over", which totally made me nervous. But I did it right the firts time.

Then we went on to the road, and it was just a quick round around the block, but it had lots of speed changes (school zone, 25, 30 and 35 miles per hour). Also a couple of Stops. Make sure you actually STOP at the stop sign, not just slow down and check the intersection. Stop at the sign even if it's not right on the intersection.

Use your turning signals (I know it's easy to forget). All in all, it was not really that hard, but nonetheless a tad scary.

Good luck on your exam!

PS: By the way, I passed my exam and got my license!!

CONGRATULATIONS

Edited June 14, 2006 by alexil74

[mayumi69 0]

Thanks to all your advice.

I'm concern also with my parallel parking, its a little bit hard.

[ladybutterfly 0]

I had my test a few weeks ago and I passed, although I did already have my UK license. My test lasted about 15 minutes. I had to drive around the block and like another person said, there were lots of speed changes and two schools I drove past where I had to slow down. I also had loads of stop signs! I got marked down several times for stopping at the stop line so make sure you stop well before it. I was also asked to reverse in a straight line parellel to the kerb.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

I

He tested the controls first: wipers, turning lights, brake lights, flashers, horn. Then he took me to parallel park, and here he said: "Touch the curb or the barrels and the test is over", which totally made me nervous. But I did it right the firts time.

Then we went on to the road, and it was just a quick round around the block, but it had lots of speed changes (school zone, 25, 30 and 35 miles per hour). Also a couple of Stops. Make sure you actually STOP at the stop sign, not just slow down and check the intersection. Stop at the sign even if it's not right on the intersection.

Use your turning signals (I know it's easy to forget). All in all, it was not really that hard, but nonetheless a tad scary.

This sounds almost identical to my driving test. I had to parallel park around parking pylons and I couldn't even see where they were - that was the hardest part - and I didn't do well, not because I can't parallel park but because I wasn't sure where the pylons were. I had to back in a straight line, and then turn at 90 degrees as if backing into a parking space, and then the road test included a small stretch of highway and then subdivision streets with lots of changes of speeds and road signs. As long as you know the rules of the road and pay attention to the roadsigns you should be fine. Remember to wear your seat belt!

[sparkofcreation 0]

It really varies from state to state. In New Jersey, all "road" tests are given on closed courses, so no actual road is involved. In New Mexico, you basically drive around the block. In Illinois, the test is supposed to be quite long and difficult.

When I took my test in New Jersey, you could fail up to two things and still pass. I failed parallel parking, but passed the test. (They later changed the rule to you could fail up to two things, but parallel parking was something you had to get right or you failed the test.)