We entrust driving instructors with a rather hefty responsibility: We ask them to use their best judgment and their skills to choose who will get to be the next driver on a road already clogged with cars. That's a big deal and largely because people are terrifying and most shouldn't be trusted behind the wheel of rolling metal death machines.
But I digress.
Redditor 2139jacob got us really reconsidering whether some of these people should be locked away from the rest of society after asking the online community: "Driver's License testers- what's the worst thing a kid has done without batting an eye while taking the driving test?"
Students and instructors alike chimed in.
"Not a tester..."
GiphyNot a tester but there was a license center next to the sporting goods store I worked at. A LOT of people would come there and practice before their test out front in the straight on parking spots. A young lady (who only had her permit) managed to mix up the gas and brake and drove right through the front of the license center.
I was told later that she was even more upset when they wouldn't let her reschedule her test for the following day since they cancelled her test she was pulling in to take when she wrecked the whole front of the building.
It wasn't long after that they installed a bunch of bollards in front to protect the building. I was amazed at how marked up they had gotten in the first few months.
"My driver's ed. teacher..."
My driver's ed teacher said that one kid reclined his seat all the way back, put one foot on the gas and the other on the brake, and grabbed the top of the wheel with one hand and said "Let's go."
"While I was waiting..."
GiphyWhile I was waiting for my turn to do my CDL test I watched a guy in a semi back into a light pole and instead of seeing what he gently backed into gassed it and knocked it over. Needless to say I didn't get to take my test for an hour or so while they cleaned it up.
I went forward instead of in reverse when the tester was standing in front of me on the curb. I failed.
"When I went to take mine..."
When I went to take mine the tester waited till I was AT an intersection and then yelled TURN LEFT! She scared me so I did and failed lol. When I went back to try again she was just ripping into this girl and her mom in the parking lot, I was like at least I'll get a different tester cause she's clearly busy.
"The kids make minor mistakes..."
The kids make minor mistakes, and yes, some do make scary mistakes. However, it's the adults that scare me most. especially the seniors who are up for re-exam. Probably the worst test I've ever been on was this man in his 90s. I instructed him to turn onto a street "when it is safe to do so", and he turned, narrowly missing a pedestrian. Not only that, but he was driving on the wrong side of the road, he came head to head with another car who pulled over to let him go. He was laughing about it, because he was under the impression that it was a one-way road. When I got back to the office with him (I cut the test short and got him back in the quickest and safest way possible), he was astounded when I told him it was NOT a one way street.
Me: did you see any one way signs?
him: No but I assumed you were going to take me on one.
huh???
"Last year..."
GiphyLast year I was making a left turn at a light, and a car swerved into my lane and hit me. Turns out is was someone taking their drivers test. I'm not exactly sure how drivers test car insurance works, but the instructor told me we had to wait for the police and take details of everything. I am guessing the driver did not pass.
"When I was taking..."
Opposite kind of story here. When I was taking drivers ed I was in a car that had the brake on the passenger side for the instructor to use just in case. Going 35 down fairly busy street my car all of a sudden comes to a complete stop. In horror I look over at my instructor who is sound asleep with his foot on the brake. I just sat there dumbfounded. After a couple people honked real quick he shook himself awake, mumbled a quick, "accelerate" and sat up adjusting his glasses. So that was fun.
"One of my classmates..."
One of my classmates in HS failed his driver's test 6 times. During one test, he hit a pedestrian.
"In my local area..."
GiphyIn my local area a guy in his mid twenties failed the test for some reason. At this point in time the results of the test were shared in the car. After being told he failed, he proceeded to get out of the car and grab an axe out of the trunk.
I don't know any more details beyond that but apparently it is why the results are shared inside the licensing building rather than in the car.
u/alison_bee/Reddit
u/Trowj/Reddit
@newstalkfm/Instagram
@newstalkfm/Instagram
@newstalkfm/Instagram
@elonmusk/X
@Ryanair/X
@capopp/Bluesky
@Farah_web3/X
@headdoc39/Bluesky
@danielsugarman/Bluesky
@ThoJuanita/X
@shea_jordan/X