I failed my driving test... Comfort me.

[Donegeal]

I think its 100 questions in Wisconsin, and you need to get 90% or better I believe. If it makes you feel any better, I failed the first time also (the driving part, not the written). OTOH, almost everyone fails the first time in Wisconsin (we are also usually 16 at the time as well).

[Timexwatch]

~20 to 30 questions in New York, and I passed the road test the first time at 16

[Stuie]

I failed the first time, too. Hit the brakes in the serpentine (in which you were not allowed to use your brakes). Got some stupid sign wrong on the written part.

Passed the second time with no problem

[Pekka]

if you fail in this, you fail in life. Period. It's too trivial. IT's like taking pooing test. If you fail, you poo on yourself. People who fail the poo test are rare and very special.

[Cort Haus]

There's nothing wrong with failing a first driving test - as long as you didn't have to wait 48 weeks for it and perhaps again for the second. Does no-one in Ireland want to be an examiner?

I failed my first test because I waited for a car to pass during my three-point-turn. I passed my second, but the examiner said he was tempted to fail me for 'hesitation' on a left turn where two very old people were teetering on the kerb looking as if they were about to step in front of the car. So it was clear to me that taking care is not part of passing a driving test - according to the two examiners I had.

Good luck in getting the 2nd test in quickly.

[Pekka]

People who say it's ok to fail the first driving test are the same people who prolly passed the acid test, twice or more times.

Nothing wrong in that either.

[Cort Haus]

The funny thing is, that I nearly ran a cyclist over two nights ago on a three-point turn, who appeared out of nowhere from the cars queing to let me complete the maneuvre. I have sympathy for cyclists, but not when they do things like that - or ignore red lights as so many of them feel entitled to.

[Dinner]

In California it is a 100 point test with 50 questions for the written part and 50 points for the behind the wheel. You have to pass the written before you can get your learners permit then you needed X number of hours (don't remember how many) of driver's training and driving with a parent before they will let you take the driving test.

Or anyway that was the way it was back in 1992. I passed with 99 points on the day of my 16th birthday. The bastard took one point off at the last second for being more then 2 inches from the curb when I pulled up to the back of the DMV. He said it was mainly because he didn't want me to get a perfect score as he thought that goes to people's heads.

I understand now they have limited drivers licences for people under 18 which sounds daft to me. They can't drive after dark and they can't have anyone under 25 in the car with them. That's just plain ****** as when I was 16 I was using my VW to get most of my friends and I to and from school plus a co-worker and I would carpool to the crappy ass job at K-mart I had when I was 16.

[Wezil]

Originally posted by Oerdin
In California it is a 100 point test with 50 questions for the written part and 50 points for the behind the wheel.
...
The bastard took one point off at the last second for being more then 2 inches from the curb when I pulled up to the back of the DMV.

Weren't you supposed to park on the lawn?

[Dinner]

That would be how it is done in the south.

[Wezil]

Where? Texas?

[Lorizael]

I have to admit that, while I am generally a very good test taker, I did incredibly poorly on my driving tests. In Maryland, in order to get your permit (which comes before your license - I have no idea how this stuff works in other countries and states), you have to pass a twenty question test. You need to get an 80% or 85%, iirc.

The first time I took the test I failed by one question and did not get my permit. The second time I took the test (several days later) I was most of the way through the test when the computers - all the computers in the room - fried themselves and turned off for no reason. But just before the computers went kaplooey I answered a question, and I answered it incorrectly.

Several minutes later the computers came back online and we retook the tests. This time I answered that question correctly, and passed the test. By one question. One more wrong, and I would have failed it again. I can believe only that it was divine intervention.

[duke o' york]

If you haven't already then you need to apply for another test now! It just gets ridiculously expensive if you have to wait for ages and take more lessons to keep you at the standard you were when you took the first one.

[our_man]

Originally posted by Zopperoni Do you focus on the inside of the curve as well if you turn left? If that's the case, it's possible that you misjudge it because you're on right-hand side drive. You could try focusing on the outside of curve when choosing your steering moment.

No, the reason I failed in my left turn is because my progress wasn't good enough i.e. I waited too long to pull out. I disagree; I waited until I felt it was safe to pull out. I thought that was what the test was about: driving safely.

Originally posted by molly bloom Sean O'Gaunt, in 'King Seamus II' by Billy O'Shakespeare & James Joyce & Sir Bob Geldof

Personally I prefer Yeat's description from 'The Fisherman'.

And no knave brought to book
Who has won a drunken cheer,
The witty man and his joke
Aimed at the commonest ear,
The clever man who cries
The catch-cries of the clown,
The beating down of the wise
And great Art beaten down.

Originally posted by Cort Haus I failed my first test because I waited for a car to pass during my three-point-turn. I passed my second, but the examiner said he was tempted to fail me for 'hesitation' on a left turn where two very old people were teetering on the kerb looking as if they were about to step in front of the car. So it was clear to me that taking care is not part of passing a driving test - according to the two examiners I had.

I agree with you. The most important thing is the safety of other road users, and I really don't think there's such a thing as being overly cautious, unless you're just being absurd. I think the Irish test encourages you to pull out if you think you've a good chance, rather than waiting until it's a certainty.

The weird thing is both of my instructors felt my left turns were fine. I think the tester just decided to fail me on the day for some reason.

[Lonestar]

It takes how long for a driving test? Jesus! In VA you just show up at the DMV (assuming you aren't taking lessons from someone certified to give you a pass.) and take a test.