A little off tangent but vividly remember going in for the final Va test/driving session. Kid ahead of me was firing up his brother's cammed up 4 on the floor Dodge that he'd obviously not driven before. It was parallel parked with a rig behind and pickup ahead. Kid started letting the clutch out and the Dodge literally leaped into the rear end of the pickup ahead. Without a word, the DVM guy calmly stepped out of the car, ripped the test/performance sheet in half, and left it on the passenger's seat. Big brother was none too happy, as I think he had at least 4 headlights and maybe a grill and bumper to replace.
Had no troubles with mine as I'd schooled up on a 3 on the tree 58 Ford, but the old man acquired a huge 63 wide track automatic Pontiac station wagon the week before I went in. The parallel parking exercise was the most feared portion of the exam. As I recall, I don't think we even had to buckle in back then.
Thank God gas was cheap then. If one floored that Pontiac to get around the rig ahead, the gas gage made an obvious advance toward empty by the time one was pulling back into the right lane.
Here in this small Oregon town, the now retired lady that administered the driving test never ever passed a kid on their initial try, as she could always find some fault in the driving exercises. I don't recall a single parent voicing a complaint either.
Last edited by 1minute; 07/08/21.
