I let a friend borrow my car to take his driving test. He did OK up to the 3-point turn. He completed it, then drove to the end of the road - on the wrong side!! He did pass the second time he took it.
I’d suggest a LOT of practice so that you’re very comfortable in the car - that makes a big difference.
Hm? Drive at the posted speed limit, which in town may be 25.
Don’t:
Cut in front of a pedestrian trying to cross the sidewalk at the exit from the DMV.
Swerve subtly across the double yellow line.
When turning right at a red light (this was in DC), start out before letting the traffic go by on green
Failed my first test miserably at age 21. The instructor actually made me move over while she drove us back to the DMV.
Do:
Have your radio turned off when you turn the car on.
Pretend to (or really do) check your mirrors before turning on the car.
Remain composed even if they start small talk to see if you can still concentrate.
Follow the lowest posted speed limit even if you’re not sure school is in session–be on the safe side.
Passed my second test at age 29. It was in small town ville so the test was short and sweet with no parallel parking. We rarely have to do that here.
Oh, and about the high beams. They may also test your emergency brake so make sure that is in good order.
Hm? Drive at the posted speed limit, which in town may be 25.
Don’t:
Cut in front of a pedestrian trying to cross the sidewalk at the exit from the DMV.
Swerve subtly across the double yellow line.
When turning at a red light (this was in DC), start out before letting the traffic go by on green
Failed my first test miserably at age 21. The instructor actually made me move over while she drove us back to the DMV.
Do:
Have your radio turned off when you turn the car on.
Pretend to (or really do) check your mirrors before turning on the car.
Remain composed even if they start small talk to see if you can still concentrate.
Follow the lowest posted speed limit even if you’re not sure school is in session–be on the safe side.
Passed my second test at age 29. It was in small town ville so the test was short and sweet with no parallel parking. We rarely have to do that here.
Be sure your emergency brake is in good working order too.
been a while, but IIRC: Lot of residential, some commercial. Not too bad. Crossbay/Woodhaven Blvd is a big strip, I don’t think it gets as far north as Queens Blvd. Speed? Watch the traffic. If you are doing 25 and everyone else is doing at least 40, you are a problem. Do a little slower than the average person. City limit, unposted, is 30. Be careful is you go around stop signs - don’t assume the other guy is going to stop. If a guy semi-runs it, you may get flunked for failure to anticipate. Drive around the area a bit too - you aren’t supposed to drive the course, but the surroundings may help give you an idea of the area.
This is going to sound cold hearted, but you shouldn’t be looking for tips on how to pass. You probably know how to drive so just do it normally and you will pass easily. If you don’t know how to drive then you shouldn’t be on the road and you shouldn’t pass. In that case ,wait and practice some more until you know what you are doing.
But good luck anyway.
When I got tested, one of the big tips going in was that they would try to catch you by not wearing their seatbelt. If you didn’t tell them to put it on and just started driving, you’d fail.
So imagine my “aha” feeling when my tester got in and didn’t put on his belt. “Go ahead and pull out to the right,” he said.
“Shouldn’t you fasten your seatbelt first?” I asked, a bit smugly. Ha ha, you didn’t catch me!
“No,” he answered, “It’s okay. Just pull out to the right.” ACK! Now what? They didn’t prepare me for this! Well, I did what he asked and he didn’t fail me, so I guess that tip stinks. (This was after he got in the car and wrote some stuff down and then said, “Okay, start the car.” I had to tell him, “Umm, the car is running already, sir.” Maybe it wasn’t his day.)
Also, don’t do what the lady before me did and immediately pull into the wrong way lane of traffic and fail on the spot. It not only gets you a fail, it gives the person behind you the willies.
In the end, I totally screwed up parallel parking (0 of 8 points) but I still passed with a 70 something. Woo hoo!
Well, I’d just like to say that even with my limited driving experience, I still drive better than most of the ass-clowns out there who are either yapping on their cell phones, not using their signals or tailgating when I am driving at the speed limit. :mad:
But thanks for the well wishes!
Thanks, emulsified - I never would have thought to ask the inspector to put on his seatbelt! Good tip. 
When you park, or at the end of the test, apply the parking/emergency brake, even if you’re driving an automatic and don’t normally do this. Get in the habit of always doing it before you take your test- it’s probably worth a point or two. (Just don’t forget it’s on when you take your test though!)
Whoa…didn’t you have to do a course at some point? At least a theoretical one, if not practicals? In our theoretical course we covered all the minute silly things to do: check mirror, look both ways, check mirror, check blind spot check mirror, look again, now go! That kind of thing. I am SO glad I took drivers ed with a driving school and took practical lessons. Even if it is optional, I am sure I would pay for my kids to have lessons, and I recommend them to anyone. The teachers know what they look for on the test, and the good ones will give you all the tips and tricks you need.
Well, good luck anyways!
Re: Setting your parking brake – You should always, always set your parking brake when parking the car whether or not you are taking the test and whether it is stick or automatic.
Always put your seat belt on and check to be sure mirrors are adjusted properly before starting the engine. To be sure the examiner notices that you are checking the mirrors make a point of adjusting them whether they need it or not.
Before the day you take the test, go to the actual office where the test will be done and drive around (a lot!) to become famliar with the area. Make special note of speed limits of various streets.
If you will also take a written test make sure you study the driver’s handbook carefully. When distances or other numbers are quoted (such as how close you may park to a fire hydrant) make sure you can remember the actual number.
Far and away THE most important thing to set a good tone is to ask the passenger if they would please put on their seat belt. And exagerrate exerything.
Thanks for the parking brake tip! I NEVER would have thought of that one!
My test:
I practiced driving in the test area and familiarized myself with the one-way and speed restrictions. I even discretely followed test vehicles. - My examiner took me in a completely different direction, in a different area.
My instructor taught me that it is safest to drive with the flow of traffic, even if it’s over the limit. But I was also warned that I’d be failed outright if I ever exceeded the speed limit by even 1 km/h during the test. I spent days practicing driving at the exact speed limit. After all, if the limit is 50 km/h, and you’re matching the limit, sometimes you’re going to go 48, and sometimes 52. So I learned to drive always a couple km/h less than the limit, just in case. - My examiner took me into heavy traffic where everyone was speeding, perfectly normal in that area. I drove at the limit. I was obstructing traffic. Cars were swerving to get around me. The examiner asked me if I thought that was a good idea. I told him, normally I’d drive with the flow since that’s safest, but I was told I’d be failed if I exceeded the limit. He told me just to drive normally and safely.
The car I’d been practicing in wasn’t available for the test, so I used a test vehicle supplied by them. I started the car and almost immediately came to a stop sign. (Placed for that reason.) I reached for the brake. It wasn’t there! Where’s the brake? I kept reaching and reaching. There it is! This car’s brake was several inches further away than my practice car. I stopped just in time. - The examiner suggested that it is the driver’s responsibility to familiarize himself with the vehicle before starting the engine.
Most important is attitude. - At the end of the test, the examiner told me that my score was just at the limit, it could go either way. He asked me “How do you think you did?” - I said “I think I made too many big mistakes.” (I had accidentally outright broken three separate laws during the test!) - He said “Congratulations. You’re a licensed driver.” - They know that new drivers make mistakes, we’re all human. They just want to make sure you’re going to be careful and take your responsibility seriously. A skilled driver that’s cavalier can be more dangerous than a marginal but careful driver.
After I got my license, I rented a car for the weekend so that I could practice my new found privilege. Monday morning, driving the car back to the rental place, I completely totalled the car. Looked like an accordian. Just one block from my house. I didn’t see a red light and slammed into a truck going through the intersection. Ouch.
I was warned about being sure to set the parking brake by someone else who almost failed because he didn’t set it. Then again, I always set the break when I’m parking.
You should be checking the traffic around you, esp. at intersections and such, but make sure to exaggerate this. Nearly all the points I lost on the driver’s test (which I took three weeks ago and passed) were because the tester didn’t think I was checking traffic enough – which is funny to anyone who’s seen me drive, because I’m still an extremely paranoid driver and I’m always looking at what’s going on around me. But I guess that didn’t show so well behind my shades.
Also, you may be asked to locate things like the brake, the hazard lights, etc. Normally not a problem – though when asked where the windshield defroster was all I could do was wave vaguely at the climate controls. Apparently that was good enough.
And always look over your shoulder when you change lanes. If you check and there’s someone there, and you wait for them to pass you, check again before you actually change lanes. Another thing I lost points on.
Well, with all this advice, I HAD BETTER PASS on my first shot or else I’m gonna feel pretty foolish!
Interesting, but yesterday I went to my library & there on the counter was a little booklet from the state of California about this & how to do it & a bunch of things about driving & laws. You might look around in your library.
Lola, are you taking classes through a driver’s school? I did and one of the most helpful things the instructor did was to take me a tour of the testing area and point out some road hazards, downed stop signs, etc (I did my test in Red Hook). Thus when I went to take the test the area was somewhat familiar. I suggest a quick car tour of Middle Village an environs.
For non-NYC readers, it is not at all uncommon for New Yorkers to be non-drivers well into their 20s and beyond. My parents last owned a car in 1980, so I didn’t exactly have a lot of chance to practice growing up. Car ownership in NYC: who needs the tsurris*? Exorbitant registration fees, alternate side of the street parking, car theft, absurd insurance rates… the list goes on.
*trouble, hassle, annoyance (Yiddish)
Hello Again, my instructor said it’s very forbidden to go driving around the test area.
Lola,
I think you can have someone drive YOU around - you’re not supposed to drive it.
Hello Again is right about a lot of NYers not driving - I did get a laugh when someone showed me something in a RPG (GURPS) - the average adult is assumed to know how to drive, except NYers, who are assumed to NOT know. I know several people who never had a license.