<p>Watch out for crosswalks - they are used by our local DMV to fail kids on a regular basis. No good way around it - as your daughter experienced, they can get you either way - just let her know she is far from alone.</p>
<p>We also have a stop line in the parking lot on the way back into the DMV (stop is marked on the ground but there is no sign). Since it is at the end, kids relax and forget - boom flunked… That line has been getting people for decades - it got me the first time!!!</p>
<p>When we lived in England, we could drive on our U.S. license for up to a year and then we had to get one of theirs. So both husband and I had to test for it. We both failed twice because they wanted things like our hands on 10 and 2 on the wheel, a certain sequence on turns, etc. So we took a class on how to pass the test and did. The thing that got me was we took the test and failed, and then got back in our car and drove home. Seemed to me to be a money maker and nothing else. At that point I had been driving for 20 years.</p>
<p>What is asked depends on the state. In Illinois, you don’t have to parallel park, but you can be asked to do a 3 point turn, back up around a corner, and to regular park. I was asked how one would park on a hill. I had to change lanes and stop at a stop sign.</p>
<p>When my S got his license 3 years ago, he hardly had to do anything for the test. I was horrified that someone could do so little (pull out of the parking lot, turn left twice, K turn, turn right twice, and park nose-in back at the DMV) and be handed a license. Since then the laws have changed, the test is a lot longer and more is required. D was nervous when going for her test, rumor was the examiners were failing kids as if they got extra pay for every failure. But D passed on the first try, even though she had 2 tries at backing up straight for 30 feet and couldn’t do it either time. But she had a “nice” lady instructor and they seemed to hit it off, so she passed. </p>
<p>I echo the idea to try a different exam site.</p>
<p>D failed her first test. 17 1/2, she had no desire to drive. She hit a car in the DMV parking lot. Backed out of her space (but not far enough), pulled foward and started her turn and clipped the bumper of the car parked next to her. Broke our parking light, no damage to the other car. But that was the end of that test.</p>
<p>I refused to teach either s or d, they were too arrogant and refused corrective criticism. So I paid for driving school.</p>
<p>She was so shaken, she wouldn’t even considering going back to driving school, and retest for a 6 months. I made her pay for round 2.</p>
<p>She took the next test and passed. At 18 and a half.</p>
<p>I still cringe when she leaves. Her first car lost the transmission. I found her a gem, a 98 skylark with lo miles that my mechanic had serviced, recomended for the last 4 years. $1700, below book value.
She drove it a week, got hit crossing traffic coming out of work, totaled it. No collision insurance. Three weeks later I found an 05 Hyundai Accent, 20k miles, original elderly owner for $7500. A steal.</p>
<p>She’s no paying off both cars on a five year note. First payment this month. She can’t afford another accident. Her insurance is a few bucks more than her car payment. </p>
<p>No issues with son. One of the safest drivers I’ve ever seen.</p>
<p>I failed my first driving test, in Manhattan, when I was 19. I hit the car in front of me pulling out of the parking space at the beginning of the test. Talk about over before it began! But the DMV person had me go through with the rest of the test anyway, for practice, and I passed the next time I took it.</p>
<p>In our area, if you take behind-the-wheel instruction through our school system, the driving instructor is also given the authority to grant the DMV license at the end of the course. This instruction is also less expensive than a private driving school.</p>
<p>Ohio must have stricter rules than many states. Our test includes a “maneuverabililty” test, which involves pulling forward between cones, then to the right or left, then backwards again, only by this time you can’t see the cones anymore! I’d much rather parallel park.</p>
<p>And we have required driving classes (if kid is under 18) that you pay big bucks for, but they do not grant you a license. For that you have to go to the DMV.</p>
<p>And 50 hours required practice driving with a parent.</p>
<p>Good rules, but there are still accidents and loss of young lives when kids think they are invincible and do stupid things, often with others in the car.</p>
<p>I also had to take the test after many years of driving because we’d spent five years in Germany and I no longer had a valid US license. I arrived in our stick shift and was very comfortable driving. He didn’t even have me parallel park, because apparently I’d done well enough that I could still pass without it.</p>
<p>I passed my drivers’ test the first time when I was still 16 years old. My parents insisted that I drive and record 100 hours before I officially do the test. Freeway, parking, turning, stopping, using signals, changing radio stations, etc. They even made me drive to/from school every week. I think this is why I passed the first time flawlessly. The state of Michigan is so strict that it requires graduated driving education for under 18 to obtain a temporary license and log at least 50 hours of driving practice before you can do the actual test.</p>
<p>IN must be one of the easiest states in the nation. If the instructor at the driver’s school is licensed, then the instructor can give the exam. If they pass that exam, they don’t need to take the BMV driving portion of the exam. D passed the school exam. S just finished driver’s ed last week. The school D and S attended recommend they “save” one hour of their paid/supervised driving time until just before their state written exam. That gives them plenty of time to practice (a year in our S’s case) for the driving exam with the instructor. </p>
<p>There is some talk in the state right now about changing the licensing requirements for young drivers. We’ll see what happens. I’m hoping son is still able to get his license next year.</p>
<p>^California has been talking about raising the driving age to 18 for several years. I doubt they’ll ever actually do it.</p>
<p>Our laws are kind of weird…</p>
<p>At 15 1/2, we can get our permit provided we have taken Driver’s Ed and signed up for behind-the-wheel training. However, we can’t take the training until we have passed the written test and gotten our permit.</p>
<p>After the 6 hours of training, we can drive with a licensed adult in the passenger seat (over 25, if I remember correctly) for 6 months.</p>
<p>At 16, we can get our license provided we have 50 hours of supervised driving (10 of which must be at night). </p>
<p>Once we get our license, we cannot drive from 11 PM to 5 AM for the first year and we can’t drive anyone under the age of 20 for the first year.</p>
<p>She has to give them the impression that she isn’t a nervous wreck. The compounding failure is probably making her even more nervous. The main problem is taht she probably has nothing significant to worry about so something trivial like this just shatters her world. Try to get her mind off and also teach her how to not be such a bad driver.</p>
<p>definitely more practice with the car she’s taking the test in. different cars are different.</p>