Getting your permit (any tips?)

Hiya.

I'm currently a junior in high school, and this means that I should have my permit right about now.

 

But I don't. ; w ; )

 

I have taken my state's permit test 3 times already, if I take it once more and fail, I will have to wait 6 months before taking it again. ;-;

I've asked friends to help but they're busy with school and my parents work. :/

I'm so frustrated by this, I should be driving but I'm not.

I want to learn how to drive so I don't have to constantly ask any of my parents or friends for rides.

The online tests don't really have the questions that are on the test, plus they're the same questions if you take it more than once. It doesn't seem like it's helping, more like remembering the answers.

I'm currently taking notes over the handbook, it's tedious but it's honestly the best way for me to learn.

My family does not have the money to spare for driver's Ed either.

 

I'm losing hope in myself. I feel like the dumbest person on the earth because of this, does anyone have any recommendations/tips?

Sorry that if it seems like I'm typing weird, all of this nonsense about school and permit studying and everything else hurts my brain. ( ；´Д｀)

I didn't even take the permit tests until I was 18 because I was a huge coward about driving, just a giant anxiety blob.

 

I actually failed my first permit test too--by just two frankly esoteric questions. >.< You know how they offer you that booklet? Take it. In many cases, the test questions are pulled *directly* from that booklet. Stare at it while you wait at the DMV, in case it helps any of it stick. Also, it's usually the weird little things specific to your state that are most likely to trip you up, like whether or not you can turn right on red.

 

In my state, the driving-based test is specifically for the license, not the permit; don't know for sure about yours. But regardless, for the driving part, some basic tips: A lot of the fiddlier bits like 3-point reversing or parallel parking (if your DMV even makes you do that) are usually done on a "course" at the DMV itself, sometimes even in part of the parking lot. I highly recommend going to the DMV the weekend before you do your driving portion and practicing that specific course. Also, the old trick of "show up late afternoon on a Friday so your test proctor wants to go home and cuts you slack"? TOTALLY WORKS. My proctor only made me do right-hand turns once we got past the 3-point turn, and overlooked a rolling stop.

 

Do you maybe have a neighbor who would be willing to help you practice, or an extended family member like a grandparent, aunt/uncle, second cousin twice removed? I realize that may not be entirely viable, but sometimes thinking outside the box a little bit can help. (In my case, my dad tried to teach me, but his very aggressive driving and teaching style pretty much gave me panic attacks. I learned from my much more sanguine grandfather instead, even though he lived an hour and a half away and I could only get lessons sporadically. Still loads better than either no lessons or panic lessons, that's for sure!)

 

As for "should be driving". . . cut yourself a bit of slack. That sounds a lot like that stupid "life script" that society likes everyone to follow, where there's a bunch of milestones you're "supposed" to hit at a certain point just because reasons. The timing of that script? It's actually pretty damn arbitrary, especially in the modern age. That whole "driving at age 16" thing originally stemmed from agricultural communities so kids could "contribute" to their parents' farm! And that's not even getting into the whole argument about the marriage-house-kids progression. . .

 

Truth is, I didn't get my license until I was 21. Also, I didn't really start driving regularly until I was 25--after I graduated college and had to job hunt. It is completely and utterly okay to do this stuff in your own time, and even mostly in your own order. If anyone gives you crap about it, roll your eyes, put on your best fake British accent, and say, "They're more like guidelines anyway!"

Didn't get my license until I was 18 either. Does your high school have drivers ed as a regular class course? Maybe mine was one of the lucky few, but we had old (From the 70's, and the films matched.) driving simulators, so the class was half in the classroom and half in the simulator room. It was a semester long and the other semester was health (Driving and sex ed all in the same year, what a hoot!).

 

Anywho, driving is a common sense thing, mostly. Always err on the side of caution. Get your state's free driving book from the DMV and read and reread it. I think very few pass it their first time. Just remember, just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean you need to. I never went to prom, and it's had zero impact on my life (Well, actually, it saved me a ton of money.).

I didn't get my driver's license until well into adulthood. When I did finally go through the procedure to get my learner's permit upgraded to a full license, I was scared to death of the written test more than the driving. As luck would have it, I didn't have to take the written over again. That doesn't help you right now, but just keep in mind that this is just one hurdle and once you're over it, you're over it for good.

 

When I was learning the book portion all those years ago, I was in the same situation as you. I didn't have anyone but myself. In fact, my parents actively wanted me to fail driver's ed.

 

I studied the hell out of the handbook. I focused on road symbols/shapes/colors, turning rules, and speed stuff. Get a real book, not just a PDF. Print it out if you have to. Then read through and use a highlighter. Since you've already taken the test a few times, use that. Highlight anything you recall seeing on a previous test. Get some index cards and make flashcards. Also, write down stuff you need to learn. Don't type. Write. Actually writing something out tends to burn it into your mind.

 

If you want to do this, make it your free time priority until you take the test.

 

Also, don't stress this. So what if you have to wait 6 months? Take it from me, 6 months is nothing in the scheme of things. Be calm. Being nervous only makes you mess up.

*raises hand* will u feel better to know I didn't get a license 'till was in my 20s? 'cause... *shrug* it just rolled this way

 

You should start saving money for Driver's Ed immediately, because a permit is just a piece of paper. Actual learning to drive in a car on a road needs to happen!! And for that you need to be with an adult who has a driver's license (and driving schools have a nifty special car w/ other person having their own brakes if you mess up)

 

...anyway, I'm sorry, there's no "life hack" new advice to tell you - this is a written test, and you gotta study & memorize those road rules!

You mention trying it multiple times - do you know which parts you get wrong? Was it the same type of question you kept messing up? Like maybe about right of way from certain intersections, or correct signaling.

Reread those bits in the handbook again and again, drill them into your head!

When I was learning the book portion all those years ago, I was in the same situation as you. I didn't have anyone but myself. In fact, my parents actively wanted me to fail driver's ed.

 

Whoa, DUDE. That is seriously messed up! Why would they *want* you to *fail* at something? D:

I've gotten my permit multiple times because I was too lazy to go get my driving test done over several years so here's my bad student tip for you: There's a lot of smartphone apps out there that train you specifically for the written test. They have questions on those mock tests that are exactly the same as the ones you will get when you go into the DMV. You can study those apps for a few hours and ace the written test.

When I was learning the book portion all those years ago, I was in the same situation as you. I didn't have anyone but myself. In fact, my parents actively wanted me to fail driver's ed.

 

Whoa, DUDE. That is seriously messed up! Why would they *want* you to *fail* at something? D:

 

As a parent of a son that will be able to take the test in 4 years, I'd want him to fail it too, because it costs less and no worries about what damage he could cause on the road. Being a parent of flesh and blood babies does that to you...

When I was learning the book portion all those years ago, I was in the same situation as you. I didn't have anyone but myself. In fact, my parents actively wanted me to fail driver's ed.

 

Whoa, DUDE. That is seriously messed up! Why would they *want* you to *fail* at something? D:

 

As a parent of a son that will be able to take the test in 4 years, I'd want him to fail it too, because it costs less and no worries about what damage he could cause on the road. Being a parent of flesh and blood babies does that to you...

 

I was totally convinced you were 14 or something! The first time I read this, I was like, "Whoooooa how is that even possible?!?"

 

I was a terrible driver when I first started, but I'm so glad I had a dad would was willing to put in endless hours with me, driving round and round in empty parking lots, then along quiet country roads, then through sleepy resident neighborhoods. Not only was it a great way to learn driving skills, but it was some amazing bonding time with my dad too. He never once doubted me, even though I often doubted myself. With his help, I passed both the written test and the driving test on the first try, too!

 

Now I have a perfect driving record, not a single ticket or traffic stop, even thought I'm constantly driving strange rental cars up and down the crazy New Jersey turnpike!

 

I think the big thing is to focus learning the logic behind the rules of the road, and it's less about rote memorization and more about a deeper understanding of *why* things are they way they are. The goal is not to pass the test -- the goal is to truly & deeply understand the rules so you can be safe on the road!

I actually had to do the "written" test again just a couple of weeks ago, so I could replace my CA license with a OH one.

 

Nekopon pretty much said what I was, but literally most places offer mock exams with legit questions you'll face. Simply Google "-Insert state here- Drivers test" and usually a mock one will pop up. They also have apps, but I just find it easier to Google one. Just a personal preference over downloading a physical app.

Whoa, DUDE. That is seriously messed up! Why would they *want* you to *fail* at something? D:

 

As a parent of a son that will be able to take the test in 4 years, I'd want him to fail it too, because it costs less and no worries about what damage he could cause on the road. Being a parent of flesh and blood babies does that to you...

 

I was totally convinced you were 14 or something! The first time I read this, I was like, "Whoooooa how is that even possible?!?"

 

Guess you have missed some of my posts in other threads, I have a wife and she's mostly supportive of my new doll hobby. But funny side story, my 12 year old's mother looked really young, so when she was pregnant with him, some neighbors thought she was 14, and I was 17 (She was mid 20's and I was late 20's). They were a little weird, but I still wonder why they never called the cops because a 14 year old was living and having a baby with a 17 year old...

Whoa, DUDE. That is seriously messed up! Why would they *want* you to *fail* at something? D:

 

In the interest of not going into unnecessary detail, suffice it to say that outside my great grandmother, I did not have a particularly loving and nurturing family. Imagine Married With Children. Something like that only less functional.