Person number six just got called, and you know what that means; you are next to take the road test. Regardless of how many times your peers have told you it is easy, you still feel a step up in your heartbeat, sweat stains begin to form, and your eyes start to fill with panic. It is time to face the music. But how can you make yourself feel any better for this moment? What is something you desire to know to feel more at ease?

Preparing for the Driving Test

To start off with the preparation process, you need to first realize the importance of your road lessons. That being said, depending on which driving school you go to you will have a different amount of lessons. For example, at Moriarty Driving School in Salisbury, Massachusetts, you have eight lessons, all 1.5 hours long. At Hoffman Driving School in Merrimac, Massachusetts, you have twelve lessons which are 1 hour long each.

In order to fully progress during your lessons, you must be driving outside of these lessons. Furthermore, if it is your first road lesson, it most definitely should not be the first time that you get behind the wheel. 

Understanding the importance of driving with your guardians is half of the battle. This is an essential part of the process considering they are experienced drivers and they have so much knowledge to bring to the table when giving you advice. 

What Current Young Drivers Think

When speaking with James Cordaro, a Junior at Pentucket, he did not hesitate to express how, “The most critical part of learning to drive was with my parents. They would take me to places that my driving instructor did not. One big thing that I am so grateful they taught me was parking. For example, they taught me how to drive through a parking lot.”

Cordaro brings up a great point that people tend to overlook. While driving schools teach you basic skills such as making a 3-point turn, parallel parking on a curb, backing up in a straight line, and uphill and downhill parking, they do not teach you how to park in a parking lot.

Cordaro then expresses the way, “My mom would stress out about me driving because she gave me this constant weight on my shoulders, judging my every move. This helped make me scared of the consequences if I was to do something wrong.”

Furthermore, this is most likely because the driving instructors are used to the duty of teaching students how to maneuver and drive on the road so they do not get as scared as your parents would. This highlights the importance of going to different areas with your parents such as downtown, a variety of different neighborhoods, and highways.

Outline of the Test 

Before driving schools schedule you to take the road test, they will make sure that they believe you are ready for the test. 

One’s driving school will most often host a mock exam the day before so that you know exactly what to expect. Not only do they give you a trial run, but they also tell you where your test will be in case you want to check out the area before test day.

Now I am going to give you the ultimate advice and rundown of the test so keep your eyes and ears peeled.

Let’s pretend that your road test is scheduled at 5:30 on a school night. I recommend arriving at  the RMW approximately 20 minutes before to get a feel for the place and to sign in and get your order. After you get your number, you will go and sit back in your car. 

It is best not to get fixated on how long the people before you spend taking the test because then you will get overwhelmed by the amount of people passing and failing. As such, just sit back and drink some water and maybe even take a few deep calming breaths. The matter of the fact is the instructor wants you to pass the test; therefore, they will do everything in their power to make you feel tranquil and at ease. 

When your number gets called up you will go to the driving school’s test car. My biggest word of advice here is to be yourself. If you would like you can shake the instructors’ name, but getting my hair stuck in the door robbed me of the opportunity to make a graceful introduction.

At first you should ask everyone (your instructor and sponsor) if they are buckled. Next, the instructor will tell you to situate yourself by adjusting your chair and mirrors. The last step before you start to exit the parking lot is that they will ask you to do your hand signals. Although they do not tell you this, it is implied that you know to roll your window down and do your right, left, and stop or slow down hand signals. 

One common way to feel relieved of any stress is to talk through every step. This will also help minimize any mistakes. Any time you are shifting gears you must always remember GWBL: gear, wheel, blinker, looks and this will help you ensure that you are following the steps. On a side note, when you do your looks always do exaggerated looks because a pedestrian can always come out of nowhere.

The driving test is almost identical to a road lesson in the way that you go through all of the same skills. 

For starters, you will parallel park and then make a 3-point turn. After this you will be asked to show the direction in which you would put your wheels if you were uphill with a curb or downhill. One big tip for this is to remember UCLA: uphill, curb, left, always. Lastly, you will be asked to back up in a straight line. 

Always be aware that the instructor may try to trick you. For example, if there is a stop sign about 20 feet ahead they will say okay continue straight, but you must know to stop at the stop sign.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the driving test is something that you will have to take eventually if you want your license. Always remember to talk yourself through everything, have personality, and as always have fun.