<p>Thanks for this thread, OP. My D failed twice and we feel very bad about it. Here’s the funny thing: I actually thought she was a much better driver than my son at testing time, who passed the first time around. D had taken the required lessons, and then I even paid for a refresher package where the driving school instructor takes the kids out for a review and then takes them on over to the testing facility. The instructor said she handled the parallel parking well every time with him, and did the entire test perfectly except for the parking. So, she practiced more and we were confident she’d pass easily the next time. Nope. Apparently the second time, she made several additional mistakes as well as failing the parking to boot. The examiner made a snarky remark about the problem not being her driving but her confidence. Other girls we know were told the exact same thing at this facility. So we wondered if she seemed too nervous for his chauvinistic taste and so he just checked off a few things in order to fail her, because standing there and watching neither I nor a random instructor who was there saw anything wrong.</p>
<p>Sooooo, she has had to endure the shame of being able to get into Harvard et. al. but not be able to pass a stupid driving test. Actually, though, I think the two are slightly correlated. She’s a busy kid with lots of studying to do and EC involvement. Many times she’d have to do homework in the car while we traveled as a family and so couldn’t drive, so it’s possible she and kids like her practice driving less because of time constaints. Also, when she stays up too late I’d don’t let her drive.</p>
<p>She has another test scheduled for this month, and frankly hasn’t really had time to practice. I think we’re both avoiding confronting this. HELP!!</p>
<p>My d passed the driving test on her second attempt and the instructer should have failed her. Fortunately she realizes this and refuses to drive alone until her driving skills have improved. She has no sense of direction and I’m not sure if a GPS is helpful or a distraction. She also has no sense of how fast she is going which frightens me.</p>
<p>I failed twice. Was a rural girl not used to driving in town, specifically residential neighborhoods. My parents just spent more time letting me drive around town, passed with flying colors the 3rd time and am 15 years later accident free.</p>
<p>We didn’t have to do parallel parking where I was from thankfully. But it was crushing to fail, especially for an overachiever like myself.</p>
<p>I can’t even get my DD to take the darn exam. She’s had her learner’s permit for 18 months, but hates driving. I’m sick of driving her everywhere. It doesn’t matter how many times they have to take it. I say, if your child is willing to take the test, then get her lessons. Count yourself as lucky!</p>
<p>We found that not all DMVs were created equal. The closest DMV office was located near a busy highway, and guess what? They used the mix of that freeway, 5-way intersections, and a quiet street littered with stop signs for testing. I have had my driver’s license for god knows how long, have lived in that town for almost two decades, and I’m still not comfortable with that 5-way intersection! Our young lady-2 failed two tests at that DMV despite taking a prep course and having more than 200 hours of actual driving experience under my and DH’s supervision. I took her to a different DMV office where she passed with flying colors without taking any additional lessons. The second DMV was located in a quiet residential area with streets with 25 mph speed limits and cats sunning on the front porches of charming little houses. There were no monstrous cement trucks making left turns at 45 mph in front of DD in that neighborhood! Anyway, I think failing the test twice was a humbling experience for DD, and it made her a better driver.</p>
<p>BunsenBurner, we did the same thing. Went to the DMV with the best hours, without really even thinking about the neighborhood. D2 failed (um, she went over the posted 30 mph zone and it was downhill from there.) She felt horrible, so we tried to make light of it. (She even joined a facebook group of “Only losers get their license on their first try”). We went to the DMV more in a “neighborhood” area for her 2nd try, I think. (and she kept an eagle eye on the speedometer during her entire test!)</p>
<p>Both my kids passed on the first time, but many of their friends didn’t. S1 did the regular driver’s ed course at hs but had to do the behind the wheel portion in the summer because someone wrecked the d.e. car during the semester. S2 couldn’t fit in driver’s ed because of music obligations. Finally, we were down to the wire for when he HAD to have his license to attend the local univ part time his sr yr. I signed him up for a private driving course. THAT was an experience! In our town, the only people who take that course are an occasional home-schooled kid and those who have been expelled/dropped out for some reason. A whole new group of teenagers for S2! </p>
<p>The advantage was that he got a lot more driving hrs because a lot of the other kids never showed up for their driving time and he did. Sometimes he was the only one to drive for an hour, when the other 2 who were supposed to share the time with him didn’t show up. </p>
<p>Our state two requires 50 hrs and 3 months from the time of getting your learning permit to the time you are allowed to take the test. We required 100. The hs course took the students around the route used by the DMV. Fortunately, our neighbor had just been through it with her D at the school and showed us the route.</p>
<p>I’m not all that excited about my kids driving a lot in the LA area, especially where there are lots of freeways and speeding cars. I really had wanted S to get his license so he would have a good form of ID. I had D get her permit for the same reason and so far, she’s not shown much interest in taking the driving test. She rarely drives, except when she has a lot of energy in the summer and isn’t distracted chatting on the phone or getting ready to see her friends while I chauffer her. We do NOT have the kids drive when they’re tired; on principle, it’s a bad idea and they tell us when they’re too tired to drive (Honolulu has a ton of traffic most times of most days and a lot of bad drivers).</p>
<p>I have no idea when D will try for her license, but it may be this summer. She will have to do some practicing before then, as she hasn’t driven for nearly a year now and not all that much last summer either.</p>
<p>This thread had me smiling but most of all gave me a sense of relief. My first two couldn’t wait to drive. Our third D who is on her way to college this fall HATES HATES HATES driving! She will do anything and everything NOT to drive. She has absolutely no interest in getting her license. We already had to renew her permit once after holding it for two years. Geez!</p>
<p>She can drive and when she drives on roads she feels comfortable on, she does well. We live in Atlanta and many of you may know ~ this is some crazy driving around here. She has watched both her older brother and sister have accidents - our S totalled one car already.</p>
<p>I have tried to push this because I think she needs to drive and frankly, I’m sick of hauling her everywhere. But she has found a college with a great transportation system between campuses, figures she can ride with others (which is another dynamic I’m not thrilled about), and doesn’t need to drive.</p>
<p>After much debate between my husband and I, we’ve decided that she needs to be ready and clearly she is not. Why? I’m sure she has many reasons and I suspect the most influential reason is fear and for good cause.</p>
<p>So, here with sit with an almost 18 year old ~ but as someone else said ~ this too shall pass.</p>