History Earning your license,how was your drivers test?

I vividly remember the man with the cigar waving me over a asking me my name and what car would I be taking the test in,I remember him asking me turn on the lights,turn signals,blow the horn and ask me if the car was equipped with seat belts?



The car was a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500 and it did have seat belts and I put mine on,he didn't and thought to myself he is a brave man.

I had to give a turn signal and a hand signal to pull away from the curb and he directed ne to the place in the highway departments parking lot to parallel park and I was afraid that would be my pitfall but surprisingly enough I passed that part with flying colors.

Everything went well until I had to do a 3 point turn on a narrow side street and as I backed up I ran over a pile of leaves that had been raked to the side of the road and the home owners had been doing some work around the yard and threw some rotten wooden fence post in the pile but several of them were attached to what I call chicken wire.

As I pulled away we heard a huge racket and I was dragging about 20 feet of wire fence,fence post,leaves and limbs that caught on the edge of the bumper the instructor said pull over,stop the engine and turn on your emergency lights.

I did as instructed and he preceded to untangle my newly acquired addition,he told me to get out and help drag the trash back across the street and when we got back in the car he said go back to the highway department ,my test was over,I cranked the car and gave a signal as I was attaching my seat belt and returned to the DMV.

All the way back seemed like a hour but in reality it probably wasn't 5 minutes and he never said another word,he didn't have too I knew my dreams were shattered and I was going to have to take the test again.

I pulled up to the parking place and he handed me the piece of paper he had been scoring me on and right across the top it said PASSED,I was shocked but didn't say anything I went inside to get my permit and overheard him and another officer laughing about what had happened and that was the first time something like that had happened.

It's ironic as to how one of the most important days in a teenage boys life is getting that drivers license and how much I remember about that day. HRP

 

Remember mine very well. Humiliation was painful.
Just turned 16 so I drove by dads' Buick down to the testing place. Looked forward to this for months. Many friends had already done this rite of passage. And it was my turn now. Time to become a full citizen.............
Hell, I can drive I told myself. No need to study the little book.
Slogged through the written exam and I FLUNKED!
Should have studied the book.
Learned an important lesson that day.
Waiting another week to take the test was torture as I remember...........

 

And you been dragging home junk ever since......
I took mine in Pop's truck, 1972 Ford Ranger,because it was auto and had power steering. I was scared of the parallel parking too, because I had never tried it. I did OK, but the lady asked me why I drove with only my left hand. I thought she was going to fail me because of that. I told her I was used to driving a forklift and I needed that other hand to work the controls for the boom. She said, " Well, this is not a forklift, I want you to keep both hands on that wheel. I'm going to pass you." "Yes ma'am" I said.

 

Didn't realize it at the time but you are absolutely right! HRP

 

'62 Chevy 3 on the tree, I had my left arm out the window signalling a right turn and I took my right hand off the wheel to shift down into second. As soon as I did I realized I had f***ed up bad. Apparently the tester hadn't noticed though, as I received my license.

 

I can't remember that far back. LOL

 

Took it twice. Once in school and passed, nearly rolling a stop sign and with a couple guys from high school in the back seat bugging me the whole time. The second time at the dmv i ran over the same curb going out of the parking lot twice and forgot a turn signal, but passed both times. I drove my s10 during the dmv test and the school drivers ed car at school.


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Odds are you never took the test and don't have a drivers license. HRP

 

took the written test at 15.5 yrs age, missed one question about how many days do you have before you have to... something.

Driving test...16th birthday...61 chevy ragtop, with the top down...I passed fine, but my twin brother flunked the parallel parking part of it. In a convertible. With the top down.

 

This ones a classic I think.I took my son for his test at the local State Exam location.We had made an appointment and waited until exam day.He drove there with me by his side.After completing his inside exam we were told to drive around to the course.I asked if I should wait there but was told I could ride along with my son ,just pull around back to the course.I got in the back seat so the officer could get in front when we got back there,which he did.He asked my son for his permit and then said,"son Im going to have to fail you today because your father sat in the back seat when you proceeded to the course".My most humiliating day.But really,He was a dick.

 

First time I was stopped by a cop. He asked me for my license. I was 14 and my reply was don't got one as good a driver as I am I don't need any. Amazinly I didn't get a ticket just escorted to the city limits. Took the test at 16 and scored a 100 on the written. The cop giving the driving test knew me. He just gave me the paper and said go get your license. When we had to get CDL' license same thing I scored perfect on the written test. and since I had been driving for years and didn't have any tickets or accidents I didnt have to take the driving part. Im 66 now and feel that when we reach the age of 60 we should have to retake both the written and driving test every time we renew our license

 

Jim,I was unaware you had a twin brother,is he a hot rodder too? HRP

 

17 1/2 years old, been in the USN for 4 months & was home on boot leave. Passed in the family '51 Chev fastback. Had been driving since old enough to drive spud trucks & tractors, but that was Idaho in the early '60s - fine for no license was $5, but I don't think I ever got a ticket for that.

 

It was so long ago but I think I took it on a long haired elephant with super long tusks and the examiner wore a weird animal skin and had a bone in his nose.

 

GEEZ maybe that's why. LOL

 

Took mine in '57 in our '55 Ford. Flunked because I didn't come to a COMPLETE stop at stop signs.

 

1958, Santa Clara, CA.
Went to take my test with my Mom riding shotgun in my channeled 'A' Coupe. Mom got out, the 'officer' came out, looked at the fenderless black coupe with flathead V8..."I refuse to get in that...Go get another car, one that's 'complete'."
We went home and got Mom's '48 Cad...lowered, WWWs, and '56 Olds Starfire caps. The 'officer' frowned at the snazzy Caddy, but got in. First thing he asked about were the louvers. I said, "Some Cadillacs had them, I don't know..."
He also asked if the exhaust was 'legal', I said, "Oh, can you hear something?"
'Mellotones' weren't as 'mello' as they were said to be. That flathead Cad 'spoke' with authority.

The guy was like...annoyed by something, but I parked perfect. Rest of it was changing lanes, 'proper speed' approaching lights...I recall near panic when approaching signal lights...and praying: "Oh, don't change...What? Stop hard, or speed thru???"
When we got back, my Mom was waiting, and she smiled at the guy. (Mom was a blonde, and real good looking)
The guy said "He passed, very good at parking..." She said, "We worked real hard at that one!"

 

First time, in my Dad's 1968 Sport Satellite.
I sucked at parallel parking, so I parked WAY far away from the DMV office where there were no cars.
Come out with the DMV guy, cars everywhere, in front and behind me!
Uh oh!
I back up an touch the car behind me.
Uh oh!
The DMV guy goes absolutely APESHIT, yells at me I have failed and I need to SEARCH THE AREA for the owner of the other car.He acts as if I ran over a child and dragged the body for blocks!
I do, it belongs to a woman waiting in a doctor's office ( the DMV guy is watching all this, ANGRY as hell), she comes out,looks, says
"Uh....no harm done, big deal" gives the nutcase inspector a look and returns to the doctors office!
All this takes about 40 minutes!
He STILL is irate, yells at me and leaves.
Two weeks later, different DMV office.
Second time I do everything perfect, get 100 on the test.This time with an NOT INSANE inspector!
I don't think he liked my long hair! It was 1969! I HAD hair then!
I'll bet he voted NIXON! LOL!

 

he likes old stuff too (drives a 58 Brookwood), but he's more into electronics. And other really strange things.

 

I think I took my test in my mom's van, tried to convince them I should take the test in the Shelby...the only thing I really remember is him asking to a bunch of stupid little things while I was driving I'm guessing to see how distracted I would get.

 

A friend told me the story of his driver test...he showed up behind the wheel of his dad's dump truck, he didn't even have to take the test.

 

Failed the first test as I messed up the parallel parking and passed the second.

Gary

 

My first Motorcycle endorsement was in Oregon as a teen, I remember having to follow a figure 8 painted on the parking lot at the DMV on 57th and Glisan, then he told me to ride out of the lot, follow a course he described and return. When I got back I had passed. I guess if I hadn't returned or was unable to do so I would not have.

 

It was June 1972, I had just turned 18 and I had just come from a island where only the Officers and work crews had vehicles. Midway Island the place of bicycles for my Junior and Senior years of High School.
Between duty stations we were in South Dakota staying at Family. My cousin Linda was four years older and actually had her own car, a hand-me-down Nova, auto six cylinder. I had taken drivers ed as a sophomore in So Cal. So with some coaching and time around town (Del Rapids) I got the hang of it again.
The tester was only in town on Wednesday, so Wednesday morning my cousin drove me over and handed me her keys. The best part, I was told that they NEVER ask to parallel park. So I went in, passed the written and was assigned the old tester, he must have been 50. We get into the car and I pull away from the curb, small town there were no cars front or back. We head around the block and when we come to the DMV, the curb is full of cars and where he wants me to park,,, its parallel time,,,, and I nailed it. So we are sitting in the car, 'You passed son' and as he is signing the form, I was still in reverse with my foot on the brake and I bump into the car behind me, a touch. He looked at me and said,, 'Be a little more careful son.'. He handed me the form and I went inside and handed it to the clerk, the crazy part was I had to supply my own photo.
Oh and my Dad's next duty station was Nevada and because he claimed South Dakota as his home state I got my South Dakota license with a Nevada address, and our car had California plates. Which was OK until I was stopped, but that is another story.

 

Took the test in my g/f's dad's '70 Impala. Known grumpy old SOB was the examiner, liked swinging the hatchet. Tried to get me to make an illegal left turn, I didn't bite. Passed me with an 80%. Prick.

 

Is this David? HRP

 

February 1973 Rochester,MN.
Had a ice storm the night before the test. Wan't stopping me from my test.
Crept the 14 miles up to Rochester from home never going over 20 mph.It was dang slickery on the highway.
Eased the 1973 Caprice into the parking lot and slooooowly came to rest in front of the test station.
Went in and only one person had made it to work there. He looked at my Mom and I like we were nuts.
I still get that look...maybe it's true.
Anyway,the guy comes over and asks where we came from and why we bothered to make the drive.
He remarked that I really must want my drivers license . I said I do but thinking it may be cancelled as there wasn't any sand or salt on the course .
He said let's go give it a try. YESSSS! Had already aced the written so this was the last test.
He had me put it into reverse and we inched back a car length the told me to drive forward a car length.
He then wrote PASSED on the top and we went back inside.
He told my Mom the course was impossible to drive on and anyone driving up that day must want that license bad so he passed me.The ride home was still awful but for some reason I didn't seem to mind.

 

57 Chevy 2 door wagon, E 60s on the front, no power steering, v-8, standard, arms like toothpicks, got about 4 feet from the curb in the parallel parking

 

My oldest just took (and passed) his test on the 15th.........memories came rushing back of how I felt when I got mine....the feeling of absolute freedom and independence - still one of the most memorable days of my life (don't tell my wife that)....

 

my mom told me I was not going to drive her car, EVER and had no interest in helping me get a license. my pop was nowhere to be found. I got a job, bought my own car and had my buddy drive it home because I hadn't gotten my license yet. I don't remember how or why, but I drove the same buddies Mom's 65 Impala when I did the test. I did not realize at the time how cool that was for them to help me like that. now that I am all growed up I sure do.