Almost all driving examiners are professional!!
How to pass despite nasty DMV examiners?
Closed Caption
Introduction
Hi there Smart Drivers! We’re talking tonight about driving examiners, the gatekeepers that determine whether you pass or fail your driver’s test, your job, their job, stick around, we’ll give you that information.
Crusty old driving examiners and they can be a little bit mean sometimes and they can look like this, but most of them, 90% of them are doing a great, awesome job.
I’d probably say that’s even higher.
It’s probably 96% of driving examiners are doing an awesome job and these people are the gatekeepers.
If you are unfortunate enough that you do get an ogre, they’re in a bad mood, they’re yelling at you, we’re snapping at you or those types of things, you simply have to say to yourself, I’m going to pass my driver’s test.
I’m going to do what I need to do to take away your right to fail me.
Nothing less, nothing more.
Alright.
Who is Rick August, PhD
My name is Rick August.
If you’re new to Smart Drive Test, I was a truck driver in the 1990s and hauled freight between Ontario, Canada and the United States.
In the lower 48, I was in every state in the U.S.
Most of my routes were east of the Mississippi River.
Did make it to the west a few times.
The only three states that I wasn’t in was Utah, New Mexico, New Mexico and Nevada.
Those were the only four US states that didn’t make it into, I’ve been in every Canadian province except Prince Edward Island.
That’s the only one I haven’t been in.
Alright.
I became a licensed commercial driving instructor in 1997.
Did a doctorate in legal history with a specialty in policing and traffic.
For those of you may or may not know, legal histories in study policing, courts and prisons.
And my expertise is in policing as it relates to traffic.
Oddly enough, while I was going to university in Australia, I drove for Greyhound to one of the regional bus lines there as well.
And in 2015, crazy to think that 2015 is nine years ago now. In 2015 I started the online YouTube channel, the business, andit has been wildly more successful than I could have ever imagined.
And if you want to know more about me that you can read the autobiography over at the Smart Drive Test website.
You can check out rickaugustphd.com
That’s my professional site for expert witness testimony.
Good stuff to have a look at.
The Skills You Need to Pass Your Driver’s Test First Time
Top four must have skills and we’re going to talk about those.
Top four must have skills, which are speed and space management, observation and communication.
You must have those skills and techniques in place to be successful on your driver’s test as well.
There is the podcast on driving examiners.
Have a listen to that as well.
Alright.
Driving examiners, their job is to assess your ability to have due care and control of the vehicle in changing traffic conditions.
That’s what you need to do.
So there’s going to be different types of driving.
You’re going to be driving in a parking lot, you’re going to be doing some slow speed maneuvers.
You’re going to be driving in residential areas, multi-lane roadways, stopping at stop signs, stop lights, yield signs, those types of things.
They’re trying to, to assess your ability in a very short period of time
– Is what driving examiners are doing.
Your job is to take away their right to fail you.
Nothing less, nothing more.
And of course this is a winter picture and we are very quickly coming into spring, at least here in the interior of British Columbia where I live.
And hopefully you are too.
What are you First Impressions to the Examiner When Showing Up for Your Test
So when you show up for your driver’s test, think about first impressions.
Alright? Show up 20 minutes to 15 minutes early for your driver’s test.
Check in if there is a DMV office.
If not, simply park your vehicle in the assigned area and wait for the examiner to come out.
Alright? Some of these places might have high tech, you know, systems where you have to text to say that you’re at the location where the test is going to happen the night before.
Do an Inspection on Your Vehicle Before Your Driver’s Test
Do a pre-trip inspection on your vehicle.
Make sure that the brake lights work.
Make sure that the headlights work, the windshield wipers because it may rain on the day of your test or snow or those types of things.
Inclement weather.
Know how to turn on the defrost.
If it’s the middle of summer.
Know how to turn on the air conditioning to keep the driving examiner comfortable while you’re doing your test.
Okay? Make sure that you have the registration and insurance in your vehicle.
Make sure that the horn work, the brakes work.
Make sure that you check the seat belts and check the seat belts on the passenger side of the vehicle.
Make sure that the doors open and closed from the inside and the outside.
And all of that seems kind of obvious, but if the driving examiner gets into your car but can’t get, can’t get out of your car, well that may cost you more money ’cause you might have to take them for lunch or something while the mechanic works to get the door open on your car.
So make sure that everything works on your vehicle, okay? When you show up, make sure you bring cash.
’cause taking your driver’s test does cost money and they do charge an administration fee to issue your license to you.
So know that you have cash.
Make sure you have your driver’s license with you and make sure that you have other forms of id.
First impressions, have a shower, comb your hair, put on decent clothes.
Those types of things because they do judge you as we do judge everybody.
Driving Test Myths
In terms of first impressions, there are some myths around driving examiners and unfortunately driving instructors, those people who are in my profession are these people that perpetuate these myths that you can’t wear sunglasses when you’re driving.
You can’t engage in conversation.
I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t encourage you to engage in conversation.
But if it’s halfway through the test and the test is going well and the examiner starts to talk to you, then yes you can speak to them.
Examiners work to fail you.
That is not true.
They have supervisors and managers to whom they have to answer to, to who they have to answer to rather.
So examiners have a quota.
They do not have a quota, they want to see you pass.
Because trust me, it’s, it’s not fun telling somebody that they did not pass their test.
– Because they’ve had issues of violence against driving examiners.
So now after you take your driver’s test that evening, you have to go on to their website, the DMV website and check in and find out whether you passed or not.
I have to speak English perfectly.
No you do not.
And examiners are unfair.
None of this is true for driving examiners.
They’re all myths.
Alright, so most common mistakes in automatic fails on driver’s test.
Have a look at these two videos and as well chance events that could happen on your road test and Corey will put up those videos for you to have a look at.
But make sure that you do the pre-trip inspection, as I mentioned already, horn lights, visors seats, seat belts.
Check all the fluids under the, in the engine compartment, make sure that you have enough fuel.
Okay? ’cause it would be rather embarrassing if you ran out of fuel during your driver’s test.
I haven’t heard of that happening too much.
But I have heard of students being denied their driver’s test because their insurance was not valid or they borrowed their uncle’s car and the uncle was from another state that didn’t require a license plate on the front of the vehicle.
So there are reasons that you will be denied your driver’s test.
So make sure that you do your pre-trip inspection to make your vehicle.
Sure your vehicle is up to snuff.
One of the most common reasons, oh, let me back up.
Two Ways You Can Fail Your Driver’s Test
Two reasons that you will fail a driver’s test.
You will be assigned demerit points for making mistakes is the first way.
If you accumulate too many demerits, you will not be successful on your test.
Most tests are 35 points.
Minor errors.
Say for example you failed to signal, that’s five points.
Major errors are going to be 10 points.
For example, you make a right turn and you drift over into the left lane.
That is going to be 10 to 15 points.
Once you accumulate 35 points, that’s a fail on your driver’s test.
The other way that you can fail your driver’s test is an outright fail, which is blocking an intersection.
You can’t clear the traffic.
Light turns red.
And I’m not talking about left turns, I’m talking about proceeding straight through an intersection as an automatic fail, if you’re doing the Ohio maneuverability test, you strike a cone.
That is an automatic fail on a driver’s test.
So two ways you can fail.
Too many demerit points or an outright fail you strike an a fixed object will cause you to fail in your driver’s test.
So shoulder checking.
Shoulder checking, shoulder checking.
Remember as I say, okay, space in front.
What You Can & Can’t Do On a Test
You cannot adjust your mirrors to see into your blind areas when you’re parallel parking and technology is just a backup.
You can use blind spot detectors, you can use backup cameras and those types of things, but you can’t rely on them as your primary line of sight.
You can use a backup camera, but you still have to be looking out through the back window when you’re reversing road signs.
Failing to adjust speed according to sign lane ends and you don’t merge stop signs.
You must know the difference between two-way stop signs and four-way stop signs
– And school zone signs.
Okay, speeding in a school zone speed zone is an automatic fail on a driver’s test.
So know if school is in session, know where the school speed zone areas are, okay? Road markings.
And despite what people think that it’s illegal, it’s not illegal to cross over a solid white line.
If you do it consistently on a driver’s test, you will not be successful on your driver’s test.
We had one driving school inspector who was in, sitting in on a course that I was teaching about instructing, driving instructors, and that was his pet peeve was people making lane changes across solid white lines at intersections and at crosswalks.
So don’t do that.
Driving Test Maneuvers
Alright, slow speed maneuvers, parallel parking backing into a parking space.
Two-point reverse turn.
These only make up about one eighth of the test.
However, despite the fact that they make up only a very small portion of the test, it’s this one eighth of the test that gives students the most grief.
Practice these slow speed maneuvers, parking three point turns, okay? It will improve your overall driving.
You will be a better driver overall because not only will you figure out where your vehicle is in relation to other things on the roadway, you will also get mastery of the primary controls, the accelerator, the brake, and the steering wheel.
And those three things often work in combination.
You need to figure out how they work in combination.
And it’s supposed speed maneuvers will teach you that lane positioning move to the right lane after turning left.
And no, the examiner will not tell you this information.
When you’re turning left on multi-lane roads, move left lane to left lane and right lane to right lane, merging lane changes and moving the vehicle laterally.
These are all skills and abilities and techniques that you need to demonstrate to the examiner and you must communicate effectively.
Position of your vehicle, lights and signals, hi, eye contact, hand gestures, and finally using the horn to communicate with other road users of your intent on the roadway.
The driving examiner’s job is to assess competency.
The score on demerit points, it’s pass fail.
Most Driving Examiners Will Provide a Debrief
They some, in most places, they will give you a debrief and a feedback.
However, in places like New York City and other large metropolitan areas, they will not give you a debrief.
You will simply have to log into the DMV website after your test that evening, and they will tell you digitally via the internet whether you passed or failed your driver’s test.
And that’s unfortunate because we’ve lost some ability to give drivers some feedback on things that they may or may not need to work on.
So good luck in your driver’s test.
And remember, pick the best answer, not necessarily the right answer.