People Describe Their Most Disastrous Driving Test Experiences

Posted by u/RobBobLoblaw:

The driving instructor said, "So we're on a one-way now."

I said, "Alright."

"Going the wrong way. Go ahead and pull over."

Posted by u/PoopNoodle:

I drove my ditsy blonde girlfriend to the DMV for her driving test in high school. He started the exam, stood in front of her car to check the blinkers, then left. I drove her there in her mom's old Volvo and watched from the waiting room.

He told her to turn on the blinkers. She tried flipping the lever up and down, but they did not work. He then said, "Honey, you have to turn the key to turn on the lights to use the blinkers."

She turned the key too far without touching the clutch. The car jumped forward, hit him hard in the knees, and knocked him down.

He got up, shook his head, and walked back inside. He did not even pick up his clipboard. I drove her home.

Posted by u/Pattonxbody:

My sister hit a squirrel that ran into the middle of the road during her driver's test.middle of the road, in what I assume is a last minute [self destruction]. She failed because she hit an object. When she asked what she could have done, they told her there was nothing she could have done; it was just the way it was.

Posted by u/stubear1983:

I took my driving test twice because I failed the first time. The second time, a girl was there, clearly worried about her test. She would have looked more relaxed if she was going to the electric chair.

I took my test with the examiner, went back to the center, and while he said, "Well done, you passed," we saw this girl come back in.

The car is wrecked. It has the spare tire on, the driver's door is in the back seat, and it looks like it came from a war zone. She pulled out in front of a bus, crashed, which burst the tire. When she tried opening the door, it fell off or would not close right, so they had to rip off the rest to limp back.

It was not her day.

...Hope she eventually got over her nerves and passed.

Posted by u/Mitochandrea:

I was pulled over during my driving test. The examiner said that was a first.

In case you were wondering, that is an automatic failure!

Posted by u/affogatohoe:

I failed six UK driving tests. My worst fail was driving through a front garden, completely destroying a flower bed and a raspberry bush. My instructor nearly threw up from fear, but no one was hurt, and the car was fine. We stopped half a meter from the house. This was my second or third test. I also sped through a red light and failed for driving too slow. I take the train to work.

Posted by u/Vagabondsean:

I used the car from the Driver's Training company that gave me the required six hours behind the wheel for my license test. The company bought this car two weeks before, so they had temporary paperwork. The lady checking the paperwork before the test decides the DMV's temporary paperwork is not enough, stopping me from using the car. I panic. My instructor explains he used it three hours before for someone else's test. She claims it's not her fault the other DMV office let him break the law, but she won't let him.

A ten-minute shouting match happens. A manager then approaches and asks the issue. He checks the papers, says annoyed, "I see no issue with the paperwork. Let him take his test... NOW." The DMV paperwork lady is furious. I smile, tell her to have a nice day, move outside, and pull the car to the line at the test start.

Five minutes later, my passenger door opens, and the test giver gets in. I look over. The paperwork lady has the biggest, most evil grin I have ever seen.

I passed with one point left over.

Posted by u/CREATIVELY_IMPARED:

When I took my driving test, they did two tests at once. I finished mine and sat in the back seat while this girl took hers.

We were in the right lane on a busy two-way street near an intersection. The instructor told her, "Turn here." For some reason, she turned left through three lanes of traffic, making people slam on their brakes.

Then the instructor just said, "Oh, I meant for you to turn right," ignoring the fact she cut three lanes of traffic with an illegal left turn. She passed.

Posted by u/Mysicality:

I hit a car while parallel parking in Wisconsin winter during my driver's test.

He made me get out of the car. I checked the other car for damage—there was none. Then he screamed, "You know you didn't pass, right?" I think I lost about 26 points on my test. I got a perfect score the second time. (I also went to a different DMV.)

Posted by u/InsaneVanity:

I took a coworker to the DMV for his test. He failed before leaving the parking lot. He turned his wheel all the way left while pulling out of the spot, almost hitting the car beside him. The instructor let him finish the test even though he failed. He would have failed twice more. He reached a stop light; his light was green, but he was turning right. He stopped on a green light to turn right. The other time, he was at a stop sign and stopped long enough for the person behind him to honk.

Posted by u/acidus1:

My dad's friend ran over his examiner during his test...

Back in the '60s, my dad’s friend took his motorbike license exam. The instructor told him to drive up and down the street so he could step out in front of the bike for an emergency stop. He failed to stop in time.

Posted by u/Loveforeveryours08:

I took my first road test with my driving instructor, who taught me to drive, and a man who worked for the DMV. That day was his first day, and I was his first student.

The test begins badly. Thirty seconds in, I backed out of my parking spot. I almost hit a car not paying attention speeding through the lot. I thought the new guy gave up on me. This incident was not my fault. I parallel parked the way I was taught. That was not good enough for him. I stopped at the stop sign for three seconds, not five, losing points. I pulled back into a parking spot. I was not parked straight enough for him. He got out of the car and failed me. My driving instructor got out and fought with this guy. They had a screaming match in the parking lot. After the fight, the DMV driving instructor walked to the office and quit right there.

Posted by Anonymous:

The driver's test guy made me cry and feel bad that my family could not afford a new car for me.

Posted by u/CheckeredFedora:

I failed the permit test, but they still gave me the permit. Years of seeing bad drivers through my parents were explained right then.

Posted by u/Eagrbeavr:

I grew up in a small town; there was no parallel parking. So, with no traffic, the guy made me pull onto the other side of the road and pretend to parallel park back onto my side. That move was not legal.

Posted by u/jackaloper92:

During my preliminary driving test, I drove with the instructor in the passenger seat and another student in the back. We approached a red light, and the instructor told me, "Keep going through this red light, and you'll turn left after that." So, I ran the red light. I still got my permit somehow.

Posted by u/hokieberg:

My instructor came inside my house to get my parents to sign papers and locked his keys in his car. He waited awkwardly outside for about an hour while waiting for his wife to help.

Posted by u/Galethog:

I could have hit anyone, wrecked the car, and still passed the test. My father supervised the DMV where I took the test.