Tips for nervous student drivers

We are in that age where responsibilities are starting to become very progressive in our lives. With having a job, managing high school, and applying for colleges, having to take a driver’s test just adds to all the stress. If you have an upcoming driver’s test or are just too scared to take it, I am about to ease your mind on the big question, “What do I expect during my driver’s test,” while also telling you a little about my experience.

Let me start off by saying, not everyone’s experience is the same. Some people have chill instructors, others have strict ones, and some have instructors who do not pay attention at all. My instructor, on the other hand, was a trainee, and let’s just say, we both were a little clueless. The beginning of the test was all good; I started off in one of the MVA courses. This is the stage where you are normally expected to use your blinkers accordingly, stop at stop signs, and see if you are capable of doing a 2-point turn, or in other words, “backing in.” Which I did by the way, and did perfectly. From there, we moved on to the actual road test and that was where things started to get complicated.

As I mentioned before, all the poor road encounters I faced happened to me on the one day I needed them not to. As soon as I drove out of the MVA, a man decided to drive in the wrong lane and come towards me in the opposite direction, almost causing a collision. He then quickly swerved into the correct lane. I stayed calm and collected because I’m just nice like that. You may not know what will occur during your driver’s test, so just remind yourself to remain calm and alert on the road because driver instructors focus on your body language and how you react to certain situations. 

Now, you see how I was “not so humble” in the paragraphs before, all that goes downhill from here. I just had to boost myself up a little before I tell you how badly I messed up, and things you need to make sure to pay attention to during your test. 

As we were driving through the intersection, my instructor decided to ask me a question: “What is the speed limit?” Do you want to know how I responded? “Uh, I don’t know.” Turns out it was 25, and I only figured that out because the car I was driving tells you the speed limit in the area you’re in. After that, we were driving in a neighborhood where I received another question I could not answer: “What were those two yellow signs we just passed?” They were crosswalks. I was embarrassed, and from there on I made sure to pay attention to every sign, even the street signs. 

After that, I was cut off while trying to switch lanes by not one, but two, emergency vehicles. Let’s also not forget my instructor was a trainee, so she forgot to direct me back to the MVA and I almost missed my turn. I did my last part of the test, “pulling in,” which I did terribly because at that point I just knew I had already failed and gave up. In the end, she told me everything I did wrong and that I passed, so it all worked out. 

Your test may not be the same, but just remember to be confident and alert when your time comes then passing should be a breeze. It also doesn’t hurt if your instructor is a trainee. You got this!