[justhavingfun]

Boy this thread reminds me when I took my daughter for her driving test. My family was living in California at that time and this particular DMV tester from that particular DMV was some Asian guy. Just about every high schooler from her class have told her that you should avoid this guy but she didn't have any choice at that time. She failed the first driving test and her driving instructor and myself went over every little details that we can think of for her second time (guess who she got for the DMV tester, yeah HIM again). So she failed again and when I realized why he failed her again contradictory to what he told her to do last time, I decided to take her to another DMV far away from this one. For my daughter, third time was the charm, she passed her driving test at another DMV with different tester. I am glad to see my daughter went through her entire four years of college at Texas A&M without getting involve with any car accident. Thank GOD for that!

Sometimes, it is just better to avoid such a person like Sherman but I am glad that you and your dad did the right thing and complaint about him properly. I did the same thing about this inconsistent DMV tester but he had that proud smirk?? like smile on his face instead of properly explaining why a candidate failed when faced with a complaint. I am sure you will pass your next driving test with another tester. Good luck.

 

[xnothingpoetic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justhavingfun /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank GOD for that!

No. How about we thank your daughter for being a safe driver?

 

[buddha911]

Maybe you should try taking the test in another nearby city, but I guess that would be kind of hard in San Diego.

 

[plainsong]

I hope you don't take the advice to just not report the guy. I don't understand the logic that you shouldn't fight something because you'll be screwed other times in your life. What you and your dad are doing helps in a roundabout way to improve the standard of drivers in that area, and just plain pwns someone who apparently enjoys pwning a bit too much.

The story was, when I was in HS, that there was one examiner that would fail all teens the first time, then test them properly the second time. I don't really know how true that was, but I didn't get her, and I passed the first time.

I had to take the test again last year when we went home, because at the time I got my license they expired every 3 years. I could have mailed in the renewal before it expired, but they want an eye exam from a doctor certified in the state, impossible to find here.

I can imagine what a damper that would put on the vacation to just have had a de-facto fail. Funny thing is I could have had a real fail. Locally, you don't ever have to do much in the way of parallel parking, so the only time I ever had to do it was for the test back when I was 15. I had built this up in my mind to be such a difficult thing to do, but when we got to the police station's practice barriers (seemingly 5 miles away from each other), it was so simple.

When we got to th DMV my husband and I had a chuckle at the DMV's parallel parking barriers. The back one was bent and skewed to an odd angle, as if it had taken many a hit. So I took the test, but during that parallel parking bit, you know how distorted a perspective you get when you're backing up to something that's really skewed? You loose a bit of feeling for how to get it in there.

And in reality, you wouldn't park in front of or behind that car. No way, that idiot can't drive.

But I played it safe and parked that sucker, as you would, it's just a problem there that needs fixing, because that angle will breed more hits, and it's not a fair situation because you'd never park in such a space.

 

[Trippytiger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnoldsoccer4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone here ever heard of a 16 year old failing a driving test for driving too slow?

Yup! Happened to me!

Well, okay, there were some differences. I was 17 at the time, and it wasn't just driving too slow that failed me; my tester was absolutely anal and dinged me for every last little mistake I made. But I did lose points for driving "too slow for conditions" because I was doing 35-40 km/h in an unfamiliar residential zone on a lovely afternoon, when it was very reasonable to expect children to be playing. Ridiculous.

Sadly, there's nothing to be done for it besides coming back again and hoping that you get a different tester. Worked for me!

Of course, now I apparently drive too fast in residential zones and people come and bitch at me for "driving like a jackass" when I'm barely doing the speed limit around the end of a cul-de-sac. You just can't win.

 

[[zero]]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ice Max /img/forum/go_quote.gif man i got lucky on my driving test, i hit the curb parallel parking and still passed

Ah, same here. The curb was kinda high, plus, I had to immediately parallel park after turning left. Thankfully, my tester completely went by the point system, and I passed with 25 points. Nice man, although he didn't speak much. Apparently, I went a bit slow after pulling out and taking a left and I also made a turn to sharply? Oh, I also made an extra maneuver when parallel parking. But, I attribute all my mistakes to having to wait more than 2 hours even though the test site was exclusive to the driving school and I was one of the first to arrive.

 

[arnoldsoccer4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know about you guys, but I agree with the instructor here. If the speed limit is 35mph, drive 35mph, it is a test after all and they had every right to fail you for excessively slow driving. Perhaps it would be a bit different if the street was really a 1-lane in each direction with lots of parked cars on at least one side so that there isn't much room to navigate, especially with uncontrolled crossings (I have one of those around, kinda scary), in which case, definitely some caution is necessary, but if we're talking about a 2-lane street or simply one which is not busy (or cluttered with parked cars), with controlled crosswalks, there should be no reason to drive at half the speed limit.

Cars parked on both sides of the street, all the way down, with traffic going both ways, uncontrolled pedestrian crossings.

 

[arnoldsoccer4]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sometimes, when someone in power is being a jerk, it's worth it to go out of your way to give them a hard time. If the OP lives in a state with a law on the books implying that speed limits differ when driving conditions demand it, then he was illegally failed.

Within 500 feet of a school while children are outside or crossing the street, the speed limit is 25 mph, unless otherwise posted. Also, if the school ground has no fence and children are outside, never drive faster than 25 mph. Always drive more carefully near schools, playgrounds, parks, and residential areas because children may suddenly dart into the street.

QFT

Also kids were not outrunning or running headfirst into traffic, they would peek their heads around cars and then cross the street by running. I drove slow because I can barely see these kids and I don't know when they will run across.

Yes I live in California, but I forgot to mention the 25 mph child rule to his supervisor and Sherman himself, so in reality going 20 was really only 5 under the legal limit, and you are allowed 10.

And by the way the next kid in line heard my story and got Sherman after me, so to get out of it he told Sherman that he would not reduce his speed for kids, he would only drive the speed limit. Sherman than said, "I'm not taking this kid" and the kid got the other tester.

 

[plainsong]

Quote:

Originally Posted by arnoldsoccer4 /img/forum/go_quote.gif And by the way the next kid in line heard my story and got Sherman after me, so to get out of it he told Sherman that he would not reduce his speed for kids, he would only drive the speed limit. Sherman than said, "I'm not taking this kid" and the kid got the other tester.

Myth Confirmed then. He dinged you for one mistake only, not using any kind of point system, for driving too slow for conditions, and somehow changing the term Speed Limit to Slow Limit.

Then he turned around and refused to take someone out who stated he would meet the requirement of driving exactly the speed limit.

He wanted to fail you because you were the wrong income bracket/age/race/creed/gender/height/weight/went to wrong school/drove wrong car/wrong facial expression/wrong clothes/hairstyle/shoes...

Any other criteria than driving.

 

[raymondlin]

I remember when i turned up for my first driving test, waited in the waiting room when the examiner came out of the office.

Him - Morning, how are you doing today?
Me - Well, I am sober. (joke)

Well I failed that one, funny enough I failed for going 10mph under the speed limit too. lol

 

[Davesrose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by plainsong /img/forum/go_quote.gif I hope you don't take the advice to just not report the guy. I don't understand the logic that you shouldn't fight something because you'll be screwed other times in your life. What you and your dad are doing helps in a roundabout way to improve the standard of drivers in that area, and just plain pwns someone who apparently enjoys pwning a bit too much.

If you try to fight everything that's wrong in the world, you'll only be spending your time fighting

You'd also get lots of ulcers if you try to clean all the crap that floats these days

Unless it's easy to prove that Sherman couldn't have been right due to the technicality he grabbed onto, my point was that it's just easier to retake the test with someone else. Sherman's supervisor already knows what's going on in this case. There are much worst things that happen in life. My dad had a professor in med school who flunked him, even though he was getting good grades. He later learned that he flunked anyone who had a Jewish name. This true scum was somehow still teaching after so many years of doing this

The administration certainly knew of his tactics.

I've mainly been saying that you need to chose your battles....I'll fight for my rights if I know I'm being taken advantage of and being charged too much money, if an employer is not fulfilling their their end of the contract, or if it's something that I know won't eat up my time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by plainsong /img/forum/go_quote.gif He wanted to fail you because you were the wrong income bracket/age/race/creed/gender/height/weight/went to wrong school/drove wrong car/wrong facial expression/wrong clothes/hairstyle/shoes...

How's stereotyping helping to "confirm" your "myth"? American traffic laws, and especially DMVs, can be very regional and can be quite random and dumb. Every DMV office I've ever stepped in has been completely different from one another. The people always seem the same no matter what the service, though. You have some that enjoy their job and like talking with people. You have some who just view the job as a job and feel OK talking with people. Then you have some who don't like their jobs and don't like talking with people. They do get complaints on their evaluations, but since it's a burden for the employer, it would take a lot for them to be admonished or fired.

 

[iceyo]

it might be good for ur future.

 

[mrarroyo]

Arnold (OP), think about this: The individual who gave you the driving test must have a miserable life and he takes it out on what he believes is a captive audience. The fact you and your dad decided to file a complaint is the right thing to do and you may help others if this guy gets fired or suspended. Good luck on your next test.

BTW, just in case you get the same guy to test you carry a digital recorder and have it on the whole time.

 

[beerguy0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FallenAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't know about you guys, but I agree with the instructor here. If the speed limit is 35mph, drive 35mph, it is a test after all and they had every right to fail you for excessively slow driving. Perhaps it would be a bit different if the street was really a 1-lane in each direction with lots of parked cars on at least one side so that there isn't much room to navigate, especially with uncontrolled crossings (I have one of those around, kinda scary), in which case, definitely some caution is necessary, but if we're talking about a 2-lane street or simply one which is not busy (or cluttered with parked cars), with controlled crosswalks, there should be no reason to drive at half the speed limit.

Baloney. The speed limit is just that, a limit, meaning MAXIMUM speed. you need to adjust your speed to the conditions around you. If the street is full of 5 year olds running around, you slow down. It's very simple.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beerguy0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Baloney. The speed limit is just that, a limit, meaning MAXIMUM speed. you need to adjust your speed to the conditions around you. If the street is full of 5 year olds running around, you slow down. It's very simple.

I agree, it just makes sense. Oh hold it! since when does a tyrannical person like the one giving the test here care about making sense.