On the day of the test we took the car out for one last quick spin .. and I goofed up the parallel parking. Was I a complete imbecile?
Nonetheless we went to the Massachusetts RMV and after all the formalities waited in the car for the officer. To ease my tension I tried imagining him as he would be with his family :) I was easing up when he slid into the seat next to mine with a comforting smile. We exchanged hellos and the conversation was:
"So, are you ready to go?", he asked.
"Yes, I am", I replied meekly with a tinge of confidence.
"Today we will test you for 2 things", the officer said, "your ability to control the car and your ability to drive safely within the rules of the road. Is that OK?", he added.
"Yes, that's fine", was my meek reply.
"Have you been driving before", the officer asked looking at some papers in his hand.
"Yes, I have", I answered with a shade more confidence.
"Hmmm, then you should not have problem with the car", he said with a tiny sigh. "But I see a problem here", he continued, "If you have been driving you have also picked up some bad driving habits", he explained. He then proceeded to cite me an example of how a young man lost his license due to speeding.
"So, when you are ready..." ... and the rest is too cumbersome to write as a conversation.
He pointed to 2 signs on the other side of the parking lot and asked me exit the parking lot through an alley between the signs. How I navigated through the parking lot was up to me. I waited awhile to let an approaching car pass before pulling out. He didn't mind it; I was driving and the car would move under my decision. As soon as I started entering the parking lot three more cars emerged; a car started pulling out, a car that had pulled out came rather wide in the opposite direction, and a small truck sped into the parking lot from the other end of the aisle! It seemed like I was stranded amid this chaos. I let them settle before I moved and we emerged from the huddle without any obvious errors on my side.
In a way I thank my luck for that situation; it allowed me to demonstrate my cool to the officer. Maybe that's the reason he shortly commented that not me, but the others should be tested :-)
I realized soon enough that his remarks were intentionally made to lull me into a sense of complacence to see if I erred when caught unawares. More than once he asked me to go straight through, or take a turn just as we were approaching an intersection. I don't know if any one has fallen into the trap, but I can imagine it could be easy to blindly follow the officer's instruction and not halt on a STOP sign.
After we had correctly passed through our 1st intersection with a 2-way STOP sign he remarked I obviously knew what I was doing; it was a waste of time taking me on a road test and he would rather end it right away. While I visibly relaxed at this comment he continued navigating me back towards the RMV. After some lefts and rights we were approaching a junction and the officer told me to keep going straight ahead. Once again presence of mind prevailed and I was quick to notice the 4-way STOP sign, which I flawlessly passed through.
I think that pleased the officer even more and without trying to drag me through any further traps he navigated me back to the RMV where he asked me to demonstrate hand signals.
His parting words to me were "You can obviously control the car well and know what to do on the road. Drive safe and always follow the rules. All the best". He scrawled a large PASS on my learner's permit, stamped it and stepped out.
Boy, was I delirious!!
I was also thankful for the way circumstances turned out. I'm sure my control of the confusion in the parking lot at the start impressed him. Luck was in my favor when she created that huddle. And oh yes, there were 36 drivers waiting to be tested, so obviously he did not want to waste more time then necessary with a driver who "obviously knew what she was doing" ;-)
Moral of the story : During the road test even when the officer calls the shots, you are the one driving; keep your cool, stay alert and drive well.
___end
Nonetheless we went to the Massachusetts RMV and after all the formalities waited in the car for the officer. To ease my tension I tried imagining him as he would be with his family :) I was easing up when he slid into the seat next to mine with a comforting smile. We exchanged hellos and the conversation was:
"So, are you ready to go?", he asked.
"Yes, I am", I replied meekly with a tinge of confidence.
"Today we will test you for 2 things", the officer said, "your ability to control the car and your ability to drive safely within the rules of the road. Is that OK?", he added.
"Yes, that's fine", was my meek reply.
"Have you been driving before", the officer asked looking at some papers in his hand.
"Yes, I have", I answered with a shade more confidence.
"Hmmm, then you should not have problem with the car", he said with a tiny sigh. "But I see a problem here", he continued, "If you have been driving you have also picked up some bad driving habits", he explained. He then proceeded to cite me an example of how a young man lost his license due to speeding.
"So, when you are ready..." ... and the rest is too cumbersome to write as a conversation.
He pointed to 2 signs on the other side of the parking lot and asked me exit the parking lot through an alley between the signs. How I navigated through the parking lot was up to me. I waited awhile to let an approaching car pass before pulling out. He didn't mind it; I was driving and the car would move under my decision. As soon as I started entering the parking lot three more cars emerged; a car started pulling out, a car that had pulled out came rather wide in the opposite direction, and a small truck sped into the parking lot from the other end of the aisle! It seemed like I was stranded amid this chaos. I let them settle before I moved and we emerged from the huddle without any obvious errors on my side.
In a way I thank my luck for that situation; it allowed me to demonstrate my cool to the officer. Maybe that's the reason he shortly commented that not me, but the others should be tested :-)
I realized soon enough that his remarks were intentionally made to lull me into a sense of complacence to see if I erred when caught unawares. More than once he asked me to go straight through, or take a turn just as we were approaching an intersection. I don't know if any one has fallen into the trap, but I can imagine it could be easy to blindly follow the officer's instruction and not halt on a STOP sign.
After we had correctly passed through our 1st intersection with a 2-way STOP sign he remarked I obviously knew what I was doing; it was a waste of time taking me on a road test and he would rather end it right away. While I visibly relaxed at this comment he continued navigating me back towards the RMV. After some lefts and rights we were approaching a junction and the officer told me to keep going straight ahead. Once again presence of mind prevailed and I was quick to notice the 4-way STOP sign, which I flawlessly passed through.
I think that pleased the officer even more and without trying to drag me through any further traps he navigated me back to the RMV where he asked me to demonstrate hand signals.
His parting words to me were "You can obviously control the car well and know what to do on the road. Drive safe and always follow the rules. All the best". He scrawled a large PASS on my learner's permit, stamped it and stepped out.
Boy, was I delirious!!
I was also thankful for the way circumstances turned out. I'm sure my control of the confusion in the parking lot at the start impressed him. Luck was in my favor when she created that huddle. And oh yes, there were 36 drivers waiting to be tested, so obviously he did not want to waste more time then necessary with a driver who "obviously knew what she was doing" ;-)
Moral of the story : During the road test even when the officer calls the shots, you are the one driving; keep your cool, stay alert and drive well.
___end
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