Leominster RMV road test

[robjax]

We didn’t have her do driving school - the cost of the school is about the same as the savings on the insurance

see if you can contact a school that has the DMV come there for the test. maybe she can do it there and then you could practice the route. Of course the school will charge you for the use of the vehicle. Just not sure if they will let her since she didn't have driver's ed. But you can ask...

 

[radioman]

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.

I had no idea FD drivers were trained to that extent.
Keep up the good work.

 

[Asaltweapon]

I had no idea FD drivers were trained to that extent.
Keep up the good work.

Most are not. I left in 07 and my focus was on skills. I was the "bad" guy and the other trainer was the "good" guy.
I had one guy who got all pissed off and said to me that I couldn't do what I was asking him to do. I told him get out of the effing truck, got in and stuffed the throttle and backed it in to the slot. Set the brakes, got out and told him I don't ask people to do things I can't do myself.

 

[Mountain]

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!

My older kid took his driving test there but it has been a few years. Leominster has a reputation for having at least one examiner cop that is a complete @sshole and will go out of his way to try and trip up and fail kids. You really need to find some folks who have tested there in the last couple years to make sure that's not the case now. Not to scare your daughter, but that was a serious concern there.

My oldest had already been driving on a permit from out of state but took driving school after moving here anyway since it was offered at his school. He was (and is) a very good driver with a perfect record. This particular examiner took him to turn left at one of those weird green lights that turns green before the other side gets a green. Of course there's no arrow so you don't know what the opposing cars are going to do until you wait a moment, which my kid did. Almost immediately this guy started screaming at my kid for this, before it really was even long enough to know it was OK to go left. Lots of insults like "What, are you sleeping?" "Are you even paying attention at all?" "I don't think I'm safe in the car with you!" etc. I think some cursing as well. I've heard almost identical horror stories from other parents and accounts of the same tricks but not the yelling from adults who have tested there.

My younger son took the test in Worcester and had zero issues, though he likes driving in the city so that probably helped.

 

[Fixxah]

I took the test drive in a 73 Lincoln Mark IV. Had been driving an LTD wagon at work with my buddy who had his license. Made the Lincoln seem a bit smaller.

I remember my Mom saying good morning to the cop and he said nothing. Attleboro RMV.

 

[smokey-seven]

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.

Did the same. The first lesson was classroom. LISTEN UP PEOPLE! Every one on the road is drunk, on drugs and attempting to commit suicide! You drive defensively and think 3 steps ahead of the a**h***s.

Loved teaching a newbie how to back up an articulating ladder truck. First lesson was to back it up in a straight line for 1/8 mile. Second lesson was to back it up in an "S" curve and then do it twice again.

I had no idea FD drivers were trained to that extent.

Most are not. Liberty Mutual had a great skid course. My best driver was a WWII marine. He took the 16 wheeler out on the course and did a 360, then set it up on one side and back down. The instructor was pale and said he had never seen a truck driven like that. I drove 5 speed standard transmission trucks and never used the clutch unless we were stopped.

I had one guy who got all pissed off and said to me that I couldn't do what I was asking him to do. I told him get out of the effing truck, got in and stuffed the throttle and backed it in to the slot. Set the brakes, got out and told him I don't ask people to do things I can't do myself.

There you go! I did the same with anyone that said that it could not be done and did it rapidly, safely and using only mirrors. I had a district chief ask me at a fire if I could get the truck into the rear of two buildings, both had bay windows in that driveway. I looked, said yes, but he would have to buy 2 mirrors since it was that close. 3 family fully involved next door and he said put in the the back. I clipped both mirrors but only bent them back, no damage.

30 years on the line. NO accidents. Blind intersections will kill you. Yellow lights will kill you. Green lights will kill you dead and fast. Look both ways and Then proceed.

0330, week night, blind intersection, green light, reds and siren running, I pulled to 2nd gear almost stopping looking for traffic and a gasoline tanker blew the red at 30 MPH!

Keep it safe out there gang!

 

[namedpipes]

A few years ago my boy took the road test at Leominster. (they moved since then) The only curve ball was the not guilty examiner had him parallel park. Into a space that had no cars nor curbs. He did it, but had practiced (and mastered) p-parking along a curb with cars ahead and behind.

If your car is not near new, consider borrowing one. Some examiners are prissy little biatches. (My cars, historically, are old enough that Fred Flintstone would be comfortable with the controls)

After a year of the insane insurance rates, he joined the Marines (not for that reason). He won't touch a steering wheel for ~ 5 years but will emerge an experienced driver (due to having 5 + the 1 or 2 accident free years as a driver).

 

[Asaltweapon]

Did the same. The first lesson was classroom. LISTEN UP PEOPLE! Every one on the road is drunk, on drugs and attempting to commit suicide! You drive defensively and think 3 steps ahead of the a**h***s.

Loved teaching a newbie how to back up an articulating ladder truck. First lesson was to back it up in a straight line for 1/8 mile. Second lesson was to back it up in an "S" curve and then do it twice again.



Most are not. Liberty Mutual had a great skid course. My best driver was a WWII marine. He took the 16 wheeler out on the course and did a 360, then set it up on one side and back down. The instructor was pale and said he had never seen a truck driven like that. I drove 5 speed standard transmission trucks and never used the clutch unless we were stopped.



There you go! I did the same with anyone that said that it could not be done and did it rapidly, safely and using only mirrors. I had a district chief ask me at a fire if I could get the truck into the rear of two buildings, both had bay windows in that driveway. I looked, said yes, but he would have to buy 2 mirrors since it was that close. 3 family fully involved next door and he said put in the the back. I clipped both mirrors but only bent them back, no damage.

30 years on the line. NO accidents. Blind intersections will kill you. Yellow lights will kill you. Green lights will kill you dead and fast. Look both ways and Then proceed.

0330, week night, blind intersection, green light, reds and siren running, I pulled to 2nd gear almost stopping looking for traffic and a gasoline tanker blew the red at 30 MPH!

Keep it safe out there gang!

I always said most any a**h*** can drive forward. Not everyone can backup. It’s a skill to know where your nose is swinging while watching your ass.
Had my Capt help get me thru a really tough spot backing the ladder into a MA call. Totally manicured landscape with a paved driveway with pillars and all. Got thru the tight stuff and he says on the air “do what you do best”. Even the Engine drivers came up to me and said “nice job”.

 

[AHM]

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.

I could swear that it was illegal to drive on a learner's permit
in a Registry test area in the early 80's.

(What they did if you lived on that street, I have no idea).

But while that may still be true in NY,
I can't find evidence it remains true in Mass.
I would be sure not to run my mouth about it to the road test examiner.

This particular examiner took him to turn left at one of those weird green lights that turns green before the other side gets a green. Of course there's no arrow so you don't know what the opposing cars are going to do until you wait a moment, which my kid did. Almost immediately this guy started screaming at my kid for this, before it really was even long enough to know it was OK to go left. Lots of insults like "What, are you sleeping?" "Are you even paying attention at all?" "I don't think I'm safe in the car with you!" etc. I think some cursing as well.

Do the instructors not tell you that you failed until you get back to the Registry
because they hate having to walk back to the office after getting kicked to the curb?

 

[BaldAssCat]

My daughter took her test in Leominster last year. She didn't have drivers ed and we don't have a car with a hand break so we called an instructor to use their car. For $150 he took her out for a hour before the test on the route they drive and told her what they'll be looking for along the way. They went right over to the test after that and she passed with no problems. Money well spent in my opinion.

 

[smokey-seven]

I taught both my boys to drive, I used the local cemetery. It's a large one and the roads are narrow. All the corners have the granite wagon wheel kickers. After they got a handle on how to feel and drive the vehicle, I took them to a hill that has a steep enough incline tahat they built the road with switch backs.

I took them up the hill and they went very slow since it was only one vehicle wide. At the top there was a turn around. I toll them to stop, we got out and took in the view of the Boston skyline and then climbed back in. I asked him if the was ready and he said sure. When he put it in gear, I said no. Back it down.

They each may have stopped once or twice and pulled forward a bit to get back on track, but they did it well.

 

[BaldAssCat]

Follow up on my last post.

It was Dragonfly Driving School in Leominster that my daughter used. A husband and wife team that does full classes and what you're looking for. Joe was the one who helped my daughter but his wife has good reviews too.

 

[Dennis in MA]

Back in the good old days of pre-divestiture, Ma Bell did driver training for its workers. IIRC, in 1980, on miles driven, they were safer drivers than police officers.

 

[Pete85]

Leominster has a reputation for having at least one examiner cop that is a complete @sshole and will go out of his way to try and trip up and fail kids.

Taunton had one of those guys about 15 years ago. When my sister was taking her test, the registry cop told her to backup using only her mirrors, and not turning around to look behind you. When she pointed out that's not the proper way to do it he threatened to fail her if she didn't do it, so she did it. He then proceeded to fail her for backing up using only her mirrors, and not turning around to see what was behind her. The cop failed her for doing the exact thing that he threatened to fail her if she didn't do. The driving school instructor corroborated every word of her story.

 

[Mountain]

Taunton had one of those guys about 15 years ago. When my sister was taking her test, the registry cop told her to backup using only her mirrors, and not turning around to look behind you. When she pointed out that's not the proper way to do it he threatened to fail her if she didn't do it, so she did it. He then proceeded to fail her for backing up using only her mirrors, and not turning around to see what was behind her. The cop failed her for doing the exact thing that he threatened to fail her if she didn't do. The driving school instructor corroborated every word of her story.

Maybe that same guy ended up at Leominster- very similar M-O. Reasonable assumption that someone that awful might get bounced to another location rather than get canned.

I have a mental game regarding what would I do if I were ever diagnosed with a fast acting terminal disease. My general premise is along the lines of Mark Twain's "The Facts Concerning a Recent Carnival of Crime". This guy is on that to-do list, LOL.

 

[garandman]

My son goes this afternoon. He's had plenty of road time as we started driving in NH at 15-1/2. But like most teen boys he's overconfident, and like most drivers his visual skills are lazy. Why turn your head for a lane change when the mirror doesn't show anyone there? Um - because there might be someone there you can't see in the mirror! But I have the perfect threat: "If you don't practice these skills, bring me home and you can go with your mother to take the test."

There are several pretty good videos on YouTube that show what to expect. I made him practice all of it. Also inspected the car: good thing as the high brake light wasn't working. Just a loose connection but might have Bolo'd us on the test.

When I took my motorcycle test in 1980 in Beverly, the inspector took me and another rider out to the side street next door. We had to do a figure 8 - if you didn't dab your foot, you passed.

 

[garandman]

//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.//

At AOBC at Fort Knox we all had to get military driver's licenses to drive the tanks and APC's. The MP's parked an M151A1 Mutt next to the building, and we each literally drove 50 feet - maybe 25 feet! If you could find first and get it moving - good to go! M60's had a two speed automatic and handlebars, M113 had dual track bars, so completely different animals.

Then I got to Germany and the policy was officers weren't allowed to drive. So I was sent on a two week exercise as an umpire in an M151A1 with a trailer, and an E5 who could not back up that trailer to save his life. So for two weeks, 2-10 times a day, I had to get out, switch sides, back up the trailer, get out, go back to the passenger seat. I was ready to strangle him after day two....

 

[SKumar]

I failed 2 times with these f***ers:
1st time = my sponsor in the back didn't have his seatbelt on. The second I start driving, cop immediately tells me to pull over. Fail.
2nd time = there's an old stop sign by the old railroad near the entrance that I completely did not see. Fail.

Went to some small town and passed. f*** leominster and all you rt 2 douchbags

 

[kalash]

Hopefully they teach new drivers real life skills, like how to dodge a neck tattoo face pierced douche nozzle taking a snapchat selfie while going 70 on 128.

No one should ever to that slow on 128.