Leominster RMV road test

skiro98

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hi
Daughters going for her license at the Leominster RMV soon.
Anyone familiar with the route they use for the test? Would be good to have her check it out in advance.

Thanks!
 
If she knows how to drive there shouldn’t be an issue.
Not sorry for being direct but I’m sick and f***ing tired of drivers with zero skills on the road.

Teach her proper and she will do great.

Skid pad training is a blast. I did it in a Class 7 truck on wet slush. Should have brought a 12 pack it was so much fun. Obtained an Advanced Driver Certificate doing it and the town paid for it.
 
RMV tests are SOOO much different than when I was a boy.

Back when I was 16, the RMV Police did the tests. And they were d-wads in a lot of cases. But you knew the routes most of them took most of the time. Hell, just drive around the RMV office for a while and get a sense of the neighborhood.

Then when the RMV Police (Registry Police? What was their official title?) was rolled into the MSP, they had to get "regular" people to do testing.

I wanna say now it's some sort of hired gun or something. The local driving school for us in SE Mass has a day - possibly weekly - where the examiners come to the parking lot of the local HS and they test 20-30 people in the course of about 3 hours. It's really strange.

So know where they'll be testing and drive around the area. You BETTER know a parallel park or you're toast. Because this is Massachusetts. Where you parallel park once every 3 years - six if you work hard. But a panic stop or evasive anything - which happens regularly - should NEVER be tested or taught. [rolleyes]
 
I'm sure that every DMV person that runs the tests are different.

I had to ride with my son when he took his test. He literally went around the block. Done in 3 minutes. The woman told me after that generally she can tell if a kid is good to go on the first 30 seconds. If a kid seems "squirrelly" she takes them out for a bit to be sure......but if they are confident from the beginning she just does a quick trip around the block.



Your results may be different.

My advice based on what I went through with my son.....just spend alot of time letting your kid drive. Everywhere we went for 2 months before the test I let him drive. Built his confidence up. If I were you I'd just get your daughter alot of wheel time before the test and don't worry about the route
 
When I took mine in Beverly with a statie in 2007 they had me parallel park as the last part of the test , I was doing fine but my mom in the back yelled “look out!” The statie pulled the emergency brake, turned around and told her if she said another word he was going to fail me. He released the brake and then told me to pull out and do exactly what i was doing before she interrupted.
 
As stated she should know what she is doing before she goes up for the test.If she went to a good driving school she should have no problems,but you can always go
to the RMV, and watch the other people take thieir test. They will ask her to do the hand signals then to pull out into traffic making sure she is using her signals and looking all around
especially behind her by turning her head to look .The will go for a little ride around the block having her do a parallel park.three point turn,and back up in a straight line. They might
also ask her to secure the vehicle up hill with curb,or no curb,and down hill. Good luck
 
A friend of mine moved here from Ireland. He bought a car and drove himself to the RMV for the test. He asked me to meet him there. He got stopped by an RMV cop pulling into the parking lot. Apparently, he crossed the double yellow lines pulling into the lot. Cop went ape-shit on him, screaming, etc. I asked if he could still take the road test and he said "He's a dangerous driver, but it's not up to me".

Went for the test and he did fine until he turned left at an intersection and ended up on the left side of the road. When we pulled into the parking lot the cop said "You're not in Galway anymore - keep to the right" and gave him his license.

And then there's my wife who was so scared she forgot to start the car. Put it in drive and pressed the gas, but the car rolled backwards towards the parked cruiser. She failed that one.
 
Failed my first driving test at 16. Had a State Trooper who claims I didn't turn my head far enough to look behind me before a signaled lane change. This was after a grueling drive through downtown and parallel parking in the smallest space. Totally subjective, as I did turn my head enough to see, but there was no use in arguing my point.

Second test was with an RMV civilian. He asked me to take one right turn and then reverse in a straight line. That was all. It all depends on who you get as far as complexity is concerned. Might as well prep for the worst case scenario, as it will also make her a better driver anyway.
 
My advice based on what I went through with my son.....just spend alot of time letting your kid drive. Everywhere we went for 2 months before the test I let him drive. Built his confidence up. If I were you I'd just get your daughter alot of wheel time before the test and don't worry about the route

This. From my own experience when I was getting my license 18 years ago, just having the experience behind the wheel is important. The street that you've got to backup in a straight line, parallel park, 3 point turn, or whatever else doesn't matter so much as the driver's ability to perform said maneuvers in general. Everywhere you go, whether it's to the store down the street or visiting friends across the country, let her drive and get the experience behind the wheel. Spending all that time instructing and observing her will also have another benefit...when she has her license and is going off on her own, you'll be far more confident in her ability to safely operate a vehicle.
 
Got a kid that will be getting their license?

Buy a beater car and schedule 8-10 hours of driving lessons per week for 4-6 months.

Practice parallel parking, merging, etc. over and over and over.

By the time the driving test comes, there will be no question on readiness.

That is what worked for me. YRMV
 
We passed on driving school. She’s been driving plenty since she first got her learners at 16 (or was it 15 1/2?) and is now 18. I taught her all the rules as well as things a driving school wouldn’t teach (ie: we drove to a huge abandoned parking lot in a blizzard and had her try several maneuvers to get the feel of winter driving)
She drives excellent - my only concern is if nerves get the better of her when there’s a statie sitting next to her.
That’s why I was just wondering if anyone is familiar with the route there. Do they go into the city or stay in that industrial area the Rmv is in.
 
If she knows how to drive there shouldn’t be an issue.
Not sorry for being direct but I’m sick and f***ing tired of drivers with zero skills on the road.

Teach her proper and she will do great.

Skid pad training is a blast. I did it in a Class 7 truck on wet slush. Should have brought a 12 pack it was so much fun. Obtained an Advanced Driver Certificate doing it and the town paid for it.

Just out of curiosity what is an "Advanced Drivers Certificate"?
 
Agree on Parallel parking . That’s where most people fail.

Google “In Control Crash Prevention” for an advanced “skid school”. Both kids went through it ( I got to do it as well as part of the deal - it was a blast). Some insurance companies pay for some/most of it. Reduced premiums as well upon completion. Suggest you wait a year after they get their licenses for the advanced training.
 
YA know, I gotta go back. . . .

On Monday I took my son to that little go-cart place in. . . .Seekonk, I think. Between Lowe's and @Home off of Rt 6 and 114A.

We did go-carts a couple of times. He wanted to try the drift track. In the end, we skipped it. Shoulda sent him. He's 11. I told him it was like when we'd go to school on a snowy day in the truck (old truck - new one is 4WD - BOOO!!!). It would be good for him to learn how to turn the wheel during a slide.

Next time. It'll give us something to do. LOL
 
Agree on Parallel parking . That’s where most people fail.

Google “In Control Crash Prevention” for an advanced “skid school”. Both kids went through it ( I got to do it as well as part of the deal - it was a blast). Some insurance companies pay for some/most of it. Reduced premiums as well upon completion. Suggest you wait a year after they get their licenses for the advanced training.

Me and Middle-Child-Totaled-Her-Car-30-Days-After-Lic (and 90 days after IC) went a couple of years ago. I kinda got in trouble. I was the last to slalom. My "instructor" was a racer. We ran that thing about 8 times (you were supposed to do 2.) "Do you know you ACCELERATE through the slalom???" "Well, you'll lose speed if you don't punch it." "Run it again. Stop hitting that 3rd cone." ROFL!! I had fun. Beat the hell out of a late-model Accord. Nice car.

But it's good for a lot of young drivers. Just to know what a panic stop feels like and how the car might feel if you jerk the wheel and/or slam the brakes is important.
 
this brought back memories. i did my test in malden in the 60's. thankfully my dad beat it into me to use blinkers when turning cause that seemed all the registry cop seemed interested in. he took me on a turn every block, right or left run, absolutely no traffic. the area behind the malden registry building had a bunch of industrial buildings behind it at the time so we went cruising around there. after a few turns the inspector wanted me to use hand signals for a while. easy! we did a parallel park last, in a spot i think was set up for the purpose, you could have put a cruise ship in there. for some reason i was really good at the art of parallel parking. in high school when we started to acquire cars, we'd hang out in harvard square and park on mass ave. the drivers usually got out and i put the car in the spot. 2 moves and we were in, snug as a bug in the proverbial rug. lol

op, i'm sure your daughter will do fine. just don't get her wound up on the way there with the "remember this, remember that" parental lecture. let her drive to the appointment. my dad let me take the wheel on the way to the test and it was like taking batting practice, really helped with my nerves.

when i got my license, my dad had to get back to work. he dove back but instead of dropping me home he went right to work. he got out, left the engine going and said "go on, get it out of your system." he let me take the car for the rest of the afternoon until i came back to get him at 6. i drove for hours...everywhere, in his '64 ford falcon. i thought it was the coolest, who cared if it wasn't a mustang! first time i ever went solo, legally, lol. that was 50 years ago.

sorry op, i sometimes ramble on...a lot, forgive me, please.
 
A friend of mine moved here from Ireland. He bought a car and drove himself to the RMV for the test. He asked me to meet him there. He got stopped by an RMV cop pulling into the parking lot. Apparently, he crossed the double yellow lines pulling into the lot. Cop went ape-shit on him, screaming, etc. I asked if he could still take the road test and he said "He's a dangerous driver, but it's not up to me".

Went for the test and he did fine until he turned left at an intersection and ended up on the left side of the road. When we pulled into the parking lot the cop said "You're not in Galway anymore - keep to the right" and gave him his license.

And then there's my wife who was so scared she forgot to start the car. Put it in drive and pressed the gas, but the car rolled backwards towards the parked cruiser. She failed that one.

Funny stuff right there.
 
My kiddo did her test in Leominster, the only "gotcha" when she did her test is that one of the intersections was a 6 lane cluster-fluff of offset turning lanes and continuing traffic due to construction, and had no lane markings to complicate things.

This was 2 years ago, so I am sure they are done with the mess now.
 
Can get interesting. Many years ago, I took the motorcycle test in Worcester. Back then they would jam a receiver into my ear under the helmet. The plan was to have me drive around and my wife would follow me in her car with the examiner giving me instructions via radio. We did the "stop on a hill" thing. I took off but the wife stalled the car and tried to get it going again. Then my great dane who had been sleeping in the back seat woke up and put his big head next to the examiner. He panicked and told the wife to go to the starting point where I was already there waiting. He gave me the license and couldn't get me out of there fast enough. Jack.
 
I had my son take an advanced driving course that was taught by a friend who was an SCCA champion. He (the kid) learned how to control a skid, panic braking, etc. Well worth it.
Years ago when I took my test I forgot one time to use a hand signal. That was the last time I've used a hand signal (except for the finger).
 
Oh gosh. I forgot hand signals. They were still randomly testing for them in 85. Really? "Well, what if your blinkers fail?" "How will I know, genius???"
 
Agree on Parallel parking . That’s where most people fail.

It sounds retarded but the car makes a huge difference on this. I was never asked to parallel park but at the time the driving school I went to had dodge neons, and those things were stupid easy to drive, I was not afraid if the trooper had asked me to do it.

-Mike
 
We passed on driving school. She’s been driving plenty since she first got her learners at 16 (or was it 15 1/2?) and is now 18. I taught her all the rules as well as things a driving school wouldn’t teach (ie: we drove to a huge abandoned parking lot in a blizzard and had her try several maneuvers to get the feel of winter driving)
She drives excellent - my only concern is if nerves get the better of her when there’s a statie sitting next to her.
That’s why I was just wondering if anyone is familiar with the route there. Do they go into the city or stay in that industrial area the Rmv is in.
Driver's Ed will give the new license holder a good break on car insurance. I don't recall how much, but a phone call to your agent can help. My 3 kids all took driver's ed through HS and it was a good decision even though they were great drivers.
 
I remember my driving test at the registry in southbridge before they moved it out of the strip mall with the big bunny store. Had to turn out of the parking lot and out onto one side street then turn on another side street. Back up about 50 feet, three point turn on a basically empty street and drive back to the registry. Took maybe 5 minutes. I think the cop took longer to adjust the seat in my grandmother's subaru sedan along with checking his paperwork than I spent driving.
 
Didn't get my first DL until I was about 19-20 or so.

Never had any real interest earlier on, and me/my family couldn't afford a second car
even if we had a second parking space.

When I went into the Army, my MOS/job duties required a military DL, but things being what they were
we drove without an official license until there were enough of us to warrant having a class and drivers test.

I failed miserably, but still drove anyways.

When word came down that anyone that didn't have a DL had to have one, I retested again but this time the road test
was with some SP4 that was one of the mechanics that I knew, and the test consisted of driving around the
motor pool a couple of times.

The SP4 signed me off and I had my Mil DL just like that.

Still never had a civvie DL for about a year, but later when I was home on leave, I found out that
all I had to do was go down to the RMV with my Mil DL, and I could use it to get my MA DL (no
road or written test).

One thing that made it even more amusing, is that when I went to the RMV (the one that used to be in Watertown Sq),
was that the people there treated me like royalty when I told them what I was there for, and took me right to the front of the line. [banana]
 
Just out of curiosity what is an "Advanced Drivers Certificate"?

I was a driver training instructor for the FD and it was a course that went deeper into signs, shapes, colors and the classroom part of it was rather boring but both the Lt and I passed it easily. As there was only two of us we got to spend a lot of time on the skid pad. We would be be driving the wheels off this truck with bald tires and the instructor would put you into a skid by locking up the rear brakes on one side or the other. As the driver you had to regain control of the truck and then the brakes would be released. Had to skid the truck thru the cones and make emergency moves to avoid stuff. Of course being on slush we were trying to spin 360's in the truck but just couldn't get enough speed out of it. We were laughing so hard our stomachs hurt and the instructor was having just as much fun as we were. We really wanted to get some beers and do it again.

We were issued a certificate that went into our personal files.

A few years later the insurance company for the town sent a trailer that had 3D flat screens and a moving chair. Think of a flight simulator but your driving either a police car or a fire truck. Sirens going and squealing tires plus radio communications and all sorts of shit going on all around you. Cool but not anywhere near as fun. Crashed the cruiser and T boned a car that ran a stop sign in the truck.
 
can she do the test through the driving school? Some of them do it on the weekends and have a DMV person come there to do the tests. if so then the school will know the route they use in that area.
 
can she do the test through the driving school? Some of them do it on the weekends and have a DMV person come there to do the tests. if so then the school will know the route they use in that area.
We didn’t have her do driving school - the cost of the school is about the same as the savings on the insurance
 
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