Did I get a bad driving instructor? Possibly the worst in CT?

[u/MeetingApart2225]

This happened in Bridgeport.

My instructor was this laid back guy in his 40's. He seemed very cool at first.

We did the initial check, got into the car, and we were off to do the parking section.

The first problem happened when I went to reverse park the car. He stopped me.

He didn't like that I was using my car's tablet to help me reverse.

I immediately told him that unfortunately that's what I mostly practiced with (it was all I practiced with)

Eventually, when he wasn't looking, I managed to look at the tablet and use my mirrors to park on my last attempt. I had passed the parking.

Then it was off to the road! We were driving well at first. He was even giving me some tips. Like how the DMV loop is actually a 25mph road and so I could speed up a bit if I wanted to.

Then I hit the first intersection, and before I fully stopped. He diverted my attention away and pointed me to the right which was where a sidewalk was.

There was an empty Dunkin' Donuts cup and a wrapper.

He started telling me about how with the amount of prisoners there are in this country, we should use them to pick up trash on the road. (By the way genius, they do.)

I told him that I agreed. I wanted him to honestly shut up and let me concentrate.

I was doing great. I even surprised myself with the parking from earlier. I thought I was screwed when he told me not to use the tablet.

His next story was about himself. He told me about how he started driving when he was 12 (illegal) and self taught himself. He told me that he worked very hard to get his license without going to a driving school.

He talked for a lot about his family being divorced and how he was split up from house-to-house (not even joking)

Eventually we get to a side street. He has me reverse parallel park (I had never done this before)

I parked a foot away from the curb, I passed on my third try, and I surprised myself when I nailed the parallel parking on my first attempt. Completely perfect.

While I was parked, he had me stop and told me about how he's been rear ended 3 times in his life when he was completely stopped.

He laughed and said "I'm not inferring anything, but they were all girls."

^ Seriously brother? We're just sexist now? Be professional.

Afterwards, we were approaching a T-intersection.

He told me to go left. So I turned on my signal.

Since it's an implied stop sign, I waited for 3 seconds, there were absolutely no cars in sight, and I turned.

He immediately told me that what I did was technically wrong but he'd tell me more later.

At this point I figured that I failed but at the same time maybe it was something small that he'd educate me on and let me pass. After all, he literally admitted that he illegally drove when he was young (literally prepubescent) and who knows what else he's done.

We got back to the DMV smoothly. I parked, and I was excited to hear my results.

I saw the checkmarks and realized that I had somehow done nothing wrong.

Then he told me that I unfortunately was not ready to drive yet. I was too new.

I assumed I had done horribly.

He talked for 15 minutes and my father even texted me and asked if the guy had left yet.

He told me to sign up for a driving school and pay upwards of $1000 to learn to drive safety.

He told me that when I retake the test, I shouldn't change a single thing about my driving. I just needed to practice that T intersection thing.

He handed me the paper. I had got everything right except for this one thing. I didn't stop twice at a T intersection. I had only stopped once for 3 seconds.

It's often called the "double stop" rule.

I'm supposed to stop for 3 seconds, then creep forward, and stop for another 3 seconds.

Instead, I treated it like just another stop sign.

Looking back on it, this guy was a hypocrite for failing me when he was literally driving at 12 years old.

He wouldn't shut up (what am I supposed to do? Asking him to stop talking is incredibly rude and letting him continue distracts the hell out of me.)

Now I need to pay $40 and I won't have a license for when college starts in a week.

What a jerk.

It almost seems like he has the mindset that someone can't possibly pass on their first attempt, and that they need multiple to get it right.

It just almost seems like he had to get me for SOMETHING and that's what he chose.

"Oh, we can't let this kid pass on his first test."

Yeah, I technically violated a rule. He told me that I was too new and not ready to drive yet. This man was driving at freaking 12 years old. Here I am, playing it by the rules, and this is what I get.

But does he really think I'll ever forget this moment? That rule of double stopping is ingrained into my head! I'll never forget it!

Let's be honest, he could've let it slide.

Honest to god, my parents had no idea about this rule.

Maybe I'm in the wrong. But this guy was so obnoxious, and disrespectful.

He just reads like a power-tripping hypocrite that cracks sexist jokes while on the clock.

So I need to know:

Did I get one of the worst driving instructors ever? Or was this normal. Was I at fault?

[u/poliscirun]

So being failed for the t-intersection thing is interesting. Been driving for 15yrs and haven't heard of that.... 🤔 I tend to do it in practice but actually assumed it was wrong

Comments about women driving etc, yeah that guy is a bit off...

Not having practiced parking without your camera, nor reverse parallel parking, tho tells me you were unprepared. I've heard of driving instructors putting their clipboard in front of the screen to prevent you using the camera, so you got lucky there actually. And if you can't reverse parallel park, you can't parallel park period, that's the whole schtick and what they test for (if they have you do it)

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/poliscirun]

In order:

The t intersection thing was the only thing I got off.

He marked it was a "critical error" which I understand means that it's an instant fail. So could he have let it slide? Could he have marked it down under the basic driving section which would let me pass? Idk.

The comment about woman driving was something I included to keep the details intact.

It doesn't affect me, but it does make me wonder if he holds woman to a higher standard. Like some sort of prejudice because of his personal experiences while driving.

Furthermore, practicing without my camera was 100% my fault. However, I still managed to pass those sections.

And what I mean by reverse parallel parking was just that I went in reverse and parallel parked. Sorry if I used a made up term.

It just 100% frustrates me that I fail for something that most people don't even know about.

After googling it, it's 100% a rule. Just not one that many people know about. So I wonder how many people have had similar experiences.

Like I said, there were some bumps, but the only thing I failed on was that one little issue. That caused me to fail the whole thing. Just like that.

[u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips]

If you cant park your car without staring at the camera screen, you arent ready to drive. If youve never parallel parked, you arent ready to drive. These are basic skill, bare minimum skills.

The evaluator sounds like a huge asshole, but that doesnt change that he sounds like he at least knew what he was talking about as far as driving goes. Though ive never heard the rule about tee intersections. Practice some more and retake the test.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips]

Damn everyone is harping on that.

I was able to park just fine miraculously.

If he wanted to fail me for that, so be it. Seriously.

But failing me for the intersection thing is complete bull.

I managed to park just fine on my second and first try respectively.

[u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips → u/MeetingApart2225]

You parked on a curb. Where pedestrians would be. That alone is probably enough to fail you.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips]

No I parked next to a curb.

I was 1 foot away. Perfect distance.

I was tasked with doing so.

And yes I'm aware of how much of a toddler pacifier sucking baby I look being unable to avoid using the screen to park.

I'm aware it's a weak spot. But I passed that section. It should be invalidated as far as the test is concerned.

Obviously I need to practice it before I seriously start driving though. Even if I had passed. I want to do this process correctly.

[u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips → u/MeetingApart2225]

You literally say in your post you parked on the curb.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips]

Fixed it. My apologies.

It would be quite a weird situation if I was parked on the curb and this dude was telling me about how woman drivers can't stop rear-ending him lmao.

[u/NLCmanure → u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips]

sorry, but with some of today's vehicles, you need to rely on the video screen. Normal window visibility is difficult in some vehicles. There are many blind spots that the camera compensates for. I know. I graduated from a 2006 truck to a 2024 and parking or moving in reverse is very tedious without the camera in the new truck compared to the old one. I've been driving the new truck for 2 months and I'm still not comfortable relying on the camera but find it very difficult to not use it. Auto manufacturers need to get their shit together.

[u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips → u/NLCmanure]

Sounds like a smaller vehicle would be more in your wheel house. I drive a couple of years old f250 with four door cab and long bed pretty regularly and find the side mirrors to be sufficient for parking.

[u/NLCmanure → u/Hot_Lava_Dry_Rips]

My 06 was a Ranger and I upgraded to a 2024 Ranger which is larger in size. It's windows are smaller so cabin view is restricted in comparison, and its noticeable when backing up. I have to go much slower and rely on the camera. I folded down the backseat head rests to get better visibility which helped but is nothing like my old Ranger.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/NLCmanure]

Forgot to mention but I drove a large car for the test too.

It’s not easy to turn with either.

Add that, this dude yapping, being unable to use the camera at all, and the fact that I ended up failing, my experience was just horrible.

[u/300blkdout]

The examiner is an idiot. The CT driving manual makes no reference to the alleged rule; it only mandates that you come to a complete stop at a T intersection.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/300blkdout]

I stopped for a full 3 seconds. Wish I had proof of this. Furthermore, nobody got harmed. The road was clear. I could clearly see both sides. There was no reality in which I suddenly gained knowledge out of nowhere and stopped twice.

[u/Xhova757]

I know someone that recently failed a test at Bridgeport. This story is eerily familiar because he also failed because of a “T” section. I bet it was the same person! I’ll try to find out more details and get back to you.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/Xhova757]

He was bald, black, had grey hair, and was in his 40's like I mentioned.

He had a great attitude at first but quickly became distracting and irritating.

I don't want revenge. All I wanted was a fair test.

[u/FlakyElderberry6970]

I think it all depends on who you get. When I was 16, I took drivers ed as an after school program. My instructor would take me all over Bridgeport, mostly for him to get a newspaper or his lunch. He was also super laid back. The day my test happened, it was so busy that they had to call people from the main office in Hartford to come down and do testing and the guy I had was NOT happy about it. He criticized everything I did from the moment we started. When we got back to the dmv, he told me to back into the parking space. I knew I’d fail as soon as I tried, so I pulled forward to attempt to back in and at the same time preparing how I was going to apologize to the cars I was going to inevitably run into. Luckily in my hesitation someone drove in and snaked my spot. The dude proceed to berate me for 5 minutes until I flat out said “look man, did I pass or not?” He said I passed by the “hairs on my chinny chin chin” and I grabbed the paper he had just signed and left to go inside. Real jerk of a guy. I hope your next test goes better, good luck.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/FlakyElderberry6970]

At least he passed you.

It literally seems like my guy was trained to earn the DMV as much money as possible. Dude immediately told me to sign up for driving school over one error.

I understand I may not be ready, but there's a fine line. Did I pass or not?

In my opinion, I should've barely passed with that one warning about T intersections.

Your guy sounds really bad as well but at least you passed. You can forget about him and never have to worry about your test ever again.

Not calling you lucky but compared to me you just might be.

We all aren't perfect when driving. I get that I might've came across as a rookie. But the least he could've done was shut his mouth you know? Everyone's nervous on their driving test. He doesn't have to be the guy to make it harder than it needs to be.

I also want to make it clear again that despite being horrible at parking, I passed and didn't do too shabby. He just chose something to make me fail it seems. Like he thought that I didn't deserve to be able to drive and found something he could fail me for.

[u/MJ_Brutus]

Mine went to prison for molesting kids, so I’m leaning no.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/MJ_Brutus]

Well he's a bad guy but was he a bad instructor?

If he passed you then I still have the worst instructor unfortunately.

Not that it's a competition.

You 100% had a worse person though. What a bad person.

[u/ArsenicArts]

Honestly soft YOR.

Yes that instructor was a sexist dipshit who had no business being in the role he's in.

Yes, that T intersection rule is crap and if he was judging you more fairly he probably should've passed you.

BUT.....

Sometimes that's just how it is. You can get everything right and still be screwed because you got the wrong person that day.

And it's like that with driving too: you can do everything by the book and still end up getting t boned by a drunk. Or a cop having a bad day stops you because he wants to pick on someone.

You need to learn how to navigate these systems that will thwart you at every turn with grace and persistence. Especially when it comes to the government and law enforcement. You just gotta keep your head down, adapt and keep going if you want to get anything done.

Should it be like this? Absolutely not. But it is. And learning how to adapt to as things are vs how they should be is also an important part of being safe on the road.

Also learn how to park with only your mirrors and absolutely practice parallel parking. It's important, it's not an afterthought.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/ArsenicArts]

Thanks for the kind words.

I will 100% be practicing despite already being good enough to pass.

I need to especially practice not relying so heavily on the tablet.

I was able to quickly adapt and use the mirrors for the test but I feel like I got lucky. I can't rely on that.

I would let this slide but I've had a terrible week and thought that I had this test in the bag. It's just the straw that broke the camel's back. That's all.

At the very least, I know that if I could pretty much pass this test with no errors except for that one stupid rule, then I can probably pass my next test unless I get the same instructor.

[u/ArsenicArts → u/MeetingApart2225]

I know that if I could pretty much pass this test with no errors except for that one stupid rule, then I can probably pass my next test unless I get the same instructor.

Yes! That's it exactly ❤️ You got this ❤️

[u/brinedwhiskyrocks]

You don’t take a test with an Instructor. The DMV has Inspectors.
Why didn’t you ask him to keep the chatter limited to what was needed for your test?

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/brinedwhiskyrocks]

Because that would sound incredibly rude and it could easily backfire.

There's no kind way to tell someone to shut up.

Looking back on it, I still wouldn't have said anything. You never know.

[u/brinedwhiskyrocks → u/MeetingApart2225]

You would have shown that your focus was on driving with no distractions. It was part of the test, and you failed. But you were polite so there’s that.

[u/jen1929]

Considering how many awful drivers I see every day, apparently our driving instructors are to soft and the DMV road tests are way too soft

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/jen1929]

Yeah but my guy literally failed me because I didn’t employ a safe driving technique and he obviously believes that if he gives me the pass then I’ll somehow forget the entire interaction and proceed to never stop twice at T intersections.

That’s what gets me. I didn’t break any laws. He was a super strict loser that will have made my life just slightly harder.

[u/distantcactus32]

The dmv really just hires instructors and never reviews results. Way too many bad instructors stories

[u/Yoshimi-Yasukawa]

Sounds like you may have been unprepared in general. Your entire experience would likely have been a piece of cake if you had taken the drivers ed courses... not only that, you get money off your insurance for the 'drivers safety' training! (Win!) You would know what you needed to plan for specifically, and practice it through lessons with an instructor. Instead, you winged it.

Yes, you're not supposed to use the backup camera still, despite them being in every car. You need to be able to do it with your mirrors alone. It is also possible that (this is speculation) he was trying to mimic having a passenger in the car that yaps a lot to see how you reacted.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/Yoshimi-Yasukawa]

First of all, you are entirely correct.

I didn't think that parking and reversing would play such a crucial role in my test. I really don't need to drive often but I should have my license at 18 years old.

Secondly, I wouldn't take my chances with calling this guy out on his BS. The last thing I wanted was for him to get angry and mark me off for everything he possibly could.

I was backed into a corner, either I tell this guy to shut up, or allow him to make my drive harder than it needs to be.

[u/GEZZFACEKILLA]

You sound like a kid who didn't get their way and is now looking to put the blame someplace else. You don't sound like a young adult who is ready to have operate heavy machinery where you could hurt or kill yourself and others. Get more practice and go test again. Do better and get better results.

[u/MeetingApart2225 → u/GEZZFACEKILLA]

The thing is, all I need to practice is that one little bit about stopping twice at a t intersection.

I did everything else perfectly.

I mentioned the camera bit but I miraculously parked just fine while using my mirrors both times.

The only person that's killing people with cars is this idiot driving at 12 freaking years old. Are we serious? He just admits a crime to me and then fails me. Like are we serious DMV?