Failed my driving 9 times

I once took a driving test in Puerto Rico. My stateside license was about to expire, so i had to take the written test as well as the driving test. The written test was administered in Spanish. My Spanish is terrible. When i order something in a restaurant, sometimes i get something else [waitress misunderstood me]. Nonetheless, i got a "95" (out of 100). The 'driving inspector' spoke not a word of English (or Yank). Somehow, i managed to figure out what he wanted, and avoided killing both of us, as i jinked around the 'course' in a very high traffic area in San Juan.

When taking the written test, the proctor graded my exam, then asked how many times i had taken the test. I told her 'just this once'. She said "momento" - then stepped outside the room for a moment, and came back with her assistant. She had the assistant ask me in English. I gave the same answer. She then told me (in Spanish): "Do you realize that people take this exam 15 and 20 times before they finally pass"?? "Someone passing the first time is almost unheard of"!! I said that i didn't. She told me to wait on the side. Two young ladies were behind me (a line had formed). The younger of the two apprehensively offered her answer sheet. It was quickly graded and she failed. She burst into tears & said "Oh Maria, i've failed AGAIN!!!" Maria said: "Oh don't worry, i failed it 18 times before today. Maria's paper was graded and she passed by one question. If she had gotten one more wrong, she would have failed again. The questions on these tests consisted of things like a picture of a traffic light. Everything but the bright red part was 'greyed out'. The caption said: "What should you do here"??

Armed with that knowledge, i was VERY careful going back to my hotel, knowing that i was sharing the streets & intersections with people who could fail such a test 15 or 20 times. Hang in there, look over your past exams, and see what you were downgraded on, and work on improving in those areas. Good Luck!!!

What to do.

I had a similar experience taking my test in California, having got my license in the UK many years ago. I believe that the UK process has become more difficult since I passed. The most difficult part of the California test is reversing in a straight line ..

At what speed did you have to reverse? I once took a US State Dept driving course [for the people that drive the ambassadors around]. There was a lot of emphasis on breaking roadblocks & avoiding being blocked by two hostile vehicles. We had to reverse away from a vehicle that was across the road, and turn around [180 degrees] without stopping, and race off. The technique was to go backwards at full speed in as straight a line as you could, then quickly turn the wheel at least 90 degrees to spin the car around to the left or right. You then popped it in drive (while still moving), and floored it [this is presuming you are driving a rear wheel drive automatic. I'm not sure how to do it for front wheel drive]. They used confiscated drug cars for the course. It was lots of fun!! Cheers.

That's a lot more interesting. I didn't go above 3k rpm, but got a comment that I'd "raced" the engine!