Florida Drivers Test for Foreign Language Speakers

[wexford65 0]

I took my test about three years back in Palm Beach Gardens. The instructor sat in my SUV and mumbled with such a southern drawl I honestly couldn't understand a word he said. Now bear in mind my wife is from rural Virginia so it was a VERY thick accent.

He supposedly asked me to drive in between three cones that were mimicking a parking space. I asked him what he had said three times and by the time I understood it had driven past them. He marked me down for that. So, I stopped the vehicle and asked him to speak clearly as I wasn't used to the US accent (what I meant was the red neck hill billy accent). I don't think he liked that but he did indeed speak up more clearly and I flew through the rest.

The 'emergency stop' was hysterically funny being from about 5MPH. I could have taken my foot off the gas and stopped in 20 feet. Back in the UK the emergency stop is from 40'ish and without seat belts can cause an instructor to head butt the windscreen (a windshield for those confused).

I have had pets that could get through the practical part of a test and I was informed by a DMV employee that they make it that easy as too many failures results in people stranded in their house. In short you need to be able to drive or it is a major issue. I would have thought raising the skill rather than lowering the bar would be the way to go but what do I know.

I guess the point to this is that it is NOT always the student that has language difficulties. Bear in mind English is my native tongue. If you feel the instructor is not speaking clearly you need to politely ask them to speak up. If not you may fail through no fault of your own.

Edited July 16, 2009 by wexford65

[NavarreMan 10]

Taking Victor down today for his Driver's License. He has been working hard at the on-line prep test and thinks it is time to try it. Today we will go without the translator. He wants to see what he can do on his own. If that fails then we will reschedule with a translator. I think that he will do just fine on signs and the road test but I have my doubts about the reading/writing portion but we will see what happens.

Tanya is going to follow his lead after he reports back on what she should expect.

Keeping fingers crossed...

Follow-up:

He aced the sign test. I talked to a woman I work with and her son just took the road test and she told me the route they use. We went through that several times and I am confident that he will have no problems with that. We have gone through the manual and checked off every area they will grade him on and he is good to go there. Sadly the DUI wording and several other questions kicked his butt. I will be getting a translator for his next go at this. His first road rules test he got 3 wrong and 6 right at which point it ended the test. Second try he did much better at 11 correct and 6 wrong. With translation dictionary and electronic translator in hand, the wording of the questions just do not mechanically translate well enough for him to pick up on several tricky questions (no I did not say trick this time but they are worded to be a bit confusing and mechanical translation just cannot do the job). Florida DUI laws are really complicated and I even failed the on-line practice test in this area several times. We should all count our lucky stars that we don't have to take this exam every few years.

Anyway we will try again next week. Tanya will go and take the computer tests (road rules and signs) to see where she still needs study. Hopefully Victor will breeze through it next time.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

And now insults, better and better and on top of that, absolutely not my point -

Actually, if you knew Russian you would see that it was the OP who started the insults. Therefore, in some respect, he got back the same treatment he started.

Put the following phrase the OP wrote in a translator and you will notice the original insult:

Я не ваш друг, я не ваш товарищ, вы тщеславный свинья

If he had written that to me, I would have not accepted his behavior, no matter that my answer was not what he was looking for. In life you can only expect the same kind of treatment you give others. Better than that, and consider yourself lucky.

And to the OP, now come back and insult me because my post is Off Topic. Do it in Russian, and I will be glad to translate it for everybody. You need a little bit of "Anger Management."

[NavarreMan 10]

And now insults, better and better and on top of that, absolutely not my point -

Actually, if you knew Russian you would see that it was the OP who started the insults. Therefore, in some respect, he got back the same treatment he started.

Put the following phrase the OP wrote in a translator and you will notice the original insult:

Я не ваш друг, я не ваш товарищ, вы тщеславный свинья

If he had written that to me, I would have not accepted his behavior, no matter that my answer was not what he was looking for. In life you can only expect the same kind of treatment you give others. Better than that, and consider yourself lucky.

And to the OP, now come back and insult me because my post is Off Topic. Do it in Russian, and I will be glad to translate it for everybody. You need a little bit of "Anger Management."

Actually if you can read English you can judge for yourself who threw the first punch. Your opinion of who started what is only that, your opinion. Once you understand that someone else may view it differently than you, you will be on the road to understanding how foolish I think your post here is. Hey, that's just my opinion right? Other than that I really don't give a damn if you accept my behavior or not. The issue is now solved and my questions have been answered.

[clueless_in_usa 8]

Actually if you can read English you can judge for yourself who threw the first punch. Your opinion of who started what is only that, your opinion. Once you understand that someone else may view it differently than you, you will be on the road to understanding how foolish I think your post here is. Hey, that's just my opinion right? Other than that I really don't give a damn if you accept my behavior or not. The issue is now solved and my questions have been answered.

Really! You need Anger Management.

I feel sorry for your SO.

[NavarreMan 10]

Actually if you can read English you can judge for yourself who threw the first punch. Your opinion of who started what is only that, your opinion. Once you understand that someone else may view it differently than you, you will be on the road to understanding how foolish I think your post here is. Hey, that's just my opinion right? Other than that I really don't give a damn if you accept my behavior or not. The issue is now solved and my questions have been answered.

Really! You need Anger Management.

I feel sorry for your SO.

Thanks for the input Dr. Phil. I'll take it under advisement.

Far out - another VJ psychologist.

[Ayman and Yasmina 0]

thanks for bringing this topic up...Im gonna have the same problem...I would like it if my hubs would be able to drive to his classes but I guess its gonna take time till he can take the test in English...He speaks Arabic not Russian...Thanks cause were heading to FL too..

[NavarreMan 10]

thanks for bringing this topic up...Im gonna have the same problem...I would like it if my hubs would be able to drive to his classes but I guess its gonna take time till he can take the test in English...He speaks Arabic not Russian...Thanks cause were heading to FL too..

Here's what they did: We arrived at DMV office and they took the translator in a room where they had her record all questions and answers in Russian. Then they had Victor take the test listening to the recording. That way there was no giving answers to the person taking the test. I suppose that if someone wanted to cheat on this then the translator would only have to incorporate the answer during the recording. LOL

Victor passed the test first try with the recording and then aced his road test.

Good luck to you and your husband.

p.s. Make sure you make an appointment to do this cause they really jump through some hoops to do all this. If you hit them up when they are busy it probably will be a huge issue.

[Ayman and Yasmina 0]

thank you so much for letting me know.. I do have a question does it have to be a certified translator or just anyone other then me?

[NavarreMan 10]

thank you so much for letting me know.. I do have a question does it have to be a certified translator or just anyone other then me?

No certification was required.