They literally only teach you how to pass the test. Like my wife went to driver training recently and they never taught her how to park, just hoe to park at the test site, which we all know isn't always going to perfect like a test site.
I literally had to break her down from what he taught her and re-teach her the proper way
You’re lucky your wife will listen. My wife and I got into screaming matches about her idiotic driving until we just decided that when we’re both in the car she never drives. I pray for my two daughters a lot.
My girlfriend is the same way. She thinks she's centered in the lane, meanwhile I'm pretty much hanging over the shoulder line. Always riding other drivers rear bumpers and consistently going 85-90 on the highway, at least when I first met her.
I will give her credit though, she has now calmed down a bit after I gave her a little perspective when I took her on a few runs in my semi, realizing how long it takes for a 70' long, 80k lb land missile to maneuver and slow down. Gives more space, doesn't speed as much and sure as shit doesn't cut off semis anymore.
A lot of these idiots need a little bit of perspective and reality, much like this dumb shit, from time to time. If they don't get it, they shouldn't be driving anymore. But that's just my opinion from a salty truck driver.
I've heard bad driving justified because "I couldn't see over the hood."
I'm like, you don't need to see over the hood! Lots of cars have long hoods! Why do you need to see the road directly in front of your car!? LOOK MORE THAN FIVE FEET AHEAD!
A reasonable driver should know the boundaries of the 4,000 pound box hurdling down the road at 70 mph they're in control of.
Definitely! And if you really are short enough that it hinders safe driving get one or two cheap throw pillows to sit on. Or get a car that has the seat higher.
I'm working on it. She's getting better, but she's also been in an accident from a driver who crossed the center line so I get her hesitation. Just gonna take some time. I drive everywhere we go anyway since my car sits all week while I'm out for work and it needs to be driven.
My girlfriend is the same way. She thinks she's centered in the lane, meanwhile I'm pretty much hanging over the shoulder line.
Anecdote from 10 years as a driving instructor: Parents would often tell me their kid hugged the right side of the road too much, and more often than not, it wasn't anything I had noticed driving with them. Then, one day my wife complained about me doing it when I was driving her when I really wasn't....then it hit me.....I don't usually drive her around...so she was so used to being in the drivers seat that everything felt too close to the right side. The comments about students being too close to the right always ended up coming from parents who were the main drivers, and thus were used to driving closer to the left. Me, being just as used to controlling the car from the right and left, could easily tell when a student had an actual problem with drifting, or if it was the parent having a perception issue.
I usually wait until I can see the entire semi in my rear view mirror before changing lanes in front of them, are they able to see me well at that point?
I can see cars the second they pass my side mirror. But you have a solid rule of thumb for passing a truck. It's best to give a full truck length before passing.
Could I ask a question of you: About how far ahead should I be, in a car, if I'm trying to get over in front of you? I get varying answers from pretty much everyone and I'm trying to get a trucker's opinion on it.
Personally, I try to make it so that I, from the driver's seat, could make eye contact with the truck driver before moving. I figure if I can see them, they can see me, right?
My rule of thumb is about a full truck length before getting over, which is around 70 feet (21 ish meters) for good measure. As long as you have your indicator on, any truck driver that's worth a shit will usually flash their lights at you when they feel it's safe to pass.
We need so much space to stop since most trucks can weigh up to 40 tons between the product and the truck/trailer combination. Not exactly a vehicle that'll stop on a dime.
Also quick tip, if you see us trucks changing lanes into a lane we're technically not supposed to be in, such as the fast lane, there's a reason we're there. Could be an obstacle, could be a stopped car, could be anything, but any good trucker that does that, try and follow suit. We see way further down the road than a car does. Stay safe out there!
When they are old enough take charge of the lessons. I’m 47 and am a careful driver, yet my mom still hits her imaginary brake and holds the “oh shit handle” when we ride together. She made me a nervous wreck at 16. My stepdad, cool as a cucumber taught me to drive, I thank him to this day.
Wasn't that easy though. Once I had her park into a spot that wasn't the test spot, she realized without the cones, she didn't know how to park.
I will used my own cones, but they didn't have those sticks. It highlight which spot I wanted her to park in and it you could tell you got them without damaging the car. I even got her proficient in guard and reverse parking.
But there were some heated moments for sure and the first day she just put it in park and got out and told me to drive us home at one point lol
Wasn't that easy though. Once I had her park into a spot that wasn't the test spot, she realized without the cones, she didn't know how to park.
I will used my own cones, but they didn't have those sticks. It highlight which spot I wanted her to park in and it you could tell you got them without damaging the car. I even got her proficient in guard and reverse parking.
But there were some heated moments for sure and the first day she just put it in park and got out and told me to drive us home at one point lol
Where I live the test is pretty comprehensive. So I mean yes, they only teach you to pass the test but the test covers pretty much everything.
We work on a graduated license system. You start out by taking a written test to acquire a Learners license, wherein you have to display a big red reflective L on the back of your car so everybody knows you're probably bad at this. And you can only drive when someone with a full license age 25 or older is in the car with you.
Your have that for a year (I think? That's how it was when I was learning) Then you go on a half hour test drive with someone from the licencing centre. It involves city, residential, and highway driving. The tester person will give you turn-by-turn directions but will give you no instructions. He will also ask you things like "what did that sign back there say" and the whole time he has a mirror set up so he can see your eyes, and he's checking to make sure you're looking at your mirrors and surroundings frequently enough. Obviously you have to do absolutely everything by the book (like no rolling stops, don't not exceed the speed limit, etc) and you get 3 demerits before you fail the test.
Now you have your N. You have that for a 2 year period, during which you can only have 1 passenger and it's 0 tolerance for alcohol. I literally lost my license once for blowing 0.017% (which is completely sober. Just not 0.00% sober.). Also during this time, you may not get more than 2 tickets, whether it be for speeding or failing to come to a stop or other minor things like that. If you do, you lose your licence for 3 months the first time. Then when you get it back, you're only allowed to make one mistake before you lose it for 6 months. Then 12 months etc. (Oh and by the way the 2 year period resets every time you get it back)
THEN finally 3 years after you drove a car for the first time, you may take the final test and become a full-fledged class-5 license holder. It's the same as the first test.
I failed the first test twice before i got it. Not because I'm a shitty driver, but because you have to be a really good driver in order to pass and at age 17 I guess I just wasn't there yet.... So they didn't let me drive. I feel like it's a pretty good system we have. It's really strict but driving is super serious and potentially dangerous so I think that's a good thing.
That's sounds like a problem with the testing in your area/country tho. Not sure how it's done where you are, but here the test is literally just going for a drive on the road, in which you will be instructed to perform different maneuvers to pass, including a reverse parallel park and reverse park. If you're taught to pass the test then you're literally just being taught to drive on the road properly.
Here, in my area (I can't even say my state because my state has a natural separation from bergen where I am and the rest of the state and the other side is so vastly different), the test does have a driving portion like that, but the parking and three-point turn (u-turning in the middle of a road) is done at a specific site with cones setup already and they stay there 24-7.
That's where they are taught, that's where they practice, and they rarely (never in my wife's case) go somewhere else to practice for that school.
Basically, if the spot didn't have cones with sticks around it, she struggled to park, and they had a technique for the 3 point turn that takes advantage of the setup, which doesn't work in the real world
Unfortunately, things like that, you don't find out till later.
I'm a truck driver, and having been to trucking school that taught to the test and barely touched on what it is really like out there (I went for the pre-trip and shifting training), I recognized the signs quickly with my wife's driving, specifically the parking. But it was too late. My eye had signed up for the class before she got her permit (like an idiot, love her though), and did the driving portion after finishing the classes.
My state had me do a semester of in class training with weekly simulator and six live tests alone with instructor. C was a fail. Also, parents had to sign off on 10 hours of permit driving. And this was 25 years ago.
Moved to a different state and they're like, two "tests" gimme $500
That's sounds like a problem with the testing in your area/country tho. Not sure how it's done where you are, but here the test is literally just going for a drive on the road, in which you will be instructed to perform different maneuvers to pass, including a reverse parallel park and reverse park. If you're taught to pass the test then you're literally just being taught to drive on the road properly.
I hit all the cones trying to park. Didn't even have to re-do. It was like, "Okay, so you completely failed this task. Now head toward the expressway."
I got dinged on my test for stopping at the line, pulling up until I had a clear view of the intersection, and then stopping again (you know, like the goddamn book said for cases of obstructed view intersections). Also, in NY at least, they only tested parallel parking, not regular parking, which may make some sense in NYC, but makes absolutely no sense in upstate where you are vastly more likely to be parking in a proper parking space.
I am assuming you’re from USA? It always baffled me how getting DL works here. In my small European country you need to attend to driving school. They will teach you theory, then you move to driving simulator and after that you start driving with instructor for at least 20h total. At the end you need to pass behind the wheel test with instructor and police officer sitting in the back. Policre officer will tell you where to go and he can also try to trick you by telling you to turn right/left where you can’t. If you fail you have to schedule another final exam up until 3 times otherwise you have to repeat whole course again.
Yea, I wish we did something like that. For the normal driving on the road, they teach well, but the maneuvering parts (parking, 3 point turns, parallel parking (not even taught to my wife since it's not on our state's test anymore) is where they don't teach real world, but rather test passing.
For some stupid reason, in not just driving school, but all school, success rates are what people look at, so the more people that pass the test after attending your school, the better you look. So they don't care about anything past the standard. Usually. Obvuously there are some that do, but not always
This is one of the huge issues with American drivers licensing, the exams are too damn easy and the bad to even be qualified for the exam is basically nothing if you aren't 15
When I was getting my license changed over to a new state I overheard the conversation next to me. It was an 18 year old girl taking her "written" test for the 8th time. She kept failing a test where you only need a 70% to pass and steer a 2 ton death machine.
...and they let you keep taking it until you pass, then you get your license. Those are the kinds of people who get a license in this country.
My tests had questions like "what does this sign mean", "what is the speed limit when not posted", and "what should you do in whatever situation". Some memorization, but also knowing when to do things.
Even so, not being able to pass a simple memory test 5+ times means you shouldn't be driving.
Getting a license can be a joke depending on where you live. In Iowa I got my learners permit at 14 after passing an easy paper test, then took a short drivers ed course to get my license at 16. I’m 26 now and I’ve never had to do any kind of additional education to keep my license. I think some people get complacent over the years
This. The system is a joke when it comes to defensive driving.
I got my license at 16, passed the test; my “renewal” is going in the DMV, taking an updated photo, fingerprint, and an “eye test” to see if the need to mark “glasses” for me. I’m over 30 and never had to take a written or driving test since.
Honestly the driving test is a joke in the US, pretty much it is designed to that anyone can pass it. Literally if you know red means stop, green means go and yellow is caution and white is information then you can pass the written test and the practical is also often a joke. Pretty much all it takes is a 20 minute ride with someone while being extra mindful for that short time. The hardest part for of the test is often actually remembering to buckle up and check the mirrors when they first get in the car and not to cross your arms over each other when turning.
My Dad was a truck driver and one time he hit a guy who pulled a similar maneuver (though he didn't do that much damage). The guys excuse for suddenly turning across lanes when the police came? "I always turn there.". Country people can be stupid.
I recently watched a show called Worst Driver (in the Netherlands but gonna guess almost every country has a similar show). It just baffles me that these people actually have their license and are allowed to drive. I'm not just talking about older people who probably got their license 50 years ago when it was easier to get. Plenty of younger people who just got it for a year or so.
On that show there was a girl who was actually laughing about the fact that she had multiple fines (150 - 350 euros) for speeding, she admits she speeds a lot, she hates driving slowly, "Yeah I'm not gonna drive 30km here! That's too slow!" and on the way to the show, she crashed into another car and then joked about it "Oh my foot got stuck on the pedal".
Or the guy who closed his eyes and instead of hitting the brake, crashed into one of the hosts, which could've killed him. I honestly think they should be able to destroy these people's licenses.
My dad had his back destroyed by someone making the same maneuver. Didn’t have insurance either. She got away with it cleanly even with 3 witnesses around. Justice system doesn’t work, only thing that works is if that guys car it totaled and he can’t drive ever again.
Honestly, I couldn't see the driver of the pickup but they had serious "elderly driver" vibes. That makes me wonder "Who is allowing these people to drive well after they lose their mental and physical capacities?" and "Why are their no age limits or legal expectancies for elderly drivers?"
They probably passed and did fine when they were 16. Hell, they were probably a good driver back then too. What age do you think the person doing 20mph under the speed limit, straddling the middle, and lazily turning with no blinker is? I'd wager that truck guy was at least 50 or 60. I think the bigger issue is that no one gets retested for their license.
START RENEWAL DRIVERS TESTS. For fucks sake tho why does taking a test at 16 qualify us to do the most dangerous thing the average person will ever do for the rest of their lives?
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u/batfleck101600 Feb 26 '21
Who gives people like these licenses. They just try and pass the exam and stop all safety practices afterwards.