It took this woman 33 years!

I passed on my second attempt and have been driving for around 20 years now.

Woman's first car after 40 tests

Venida Crabtree says she is delighted with her new car
A woman who took 33 years to pass her driving test and spent tens of thousands of pounds in the process has bought her first set of wheels.
Venida Crabtree, of Cowley, Oxford, qualified in July at the age of 50 after starting lessons in 1972 aged 17.

The former publican believes it took her at least 40 attempts, at a cost of £27,000 with seven instructors.

Mrs Crabtree took to her second-hand 980cc Suzuki on Wednesday, freeing her husband of a life as her "chauffeur".

"She's driving for the first time today and I'm no longer the chauffeur," said Ralph Crabtree, 53, who drives for a living as part of a delivery service.

Mrs Crabtree said: "It's fantastic. I'm very pleased."

It might take me the same. I had to give up learning because I was going to university. I used to find it really frustrating because my teacher wouldn't let me go onto another manouvere until I'd mastered the one I working on.

First time. I was sooo Nervous but I ACED it!

I passed with flying colors on my first test when I was 16. I've been driving for 14 years.
I'm old.

I got it on my second try. The first try was a nightmare! It was in december and the day before the test the conditions were fantastic; dry roads, a thin layer of clouds. Then on the actual day it snowed like crazy all morning. The snow plows couldn't keep up so every white line on the road was covered with snow and ice. The street signs were covered with sticky snow too and the very minute I was supposed to start the test, the sun came out really low above the horizon and lit everything up like one big blinding lightbulb.

Not very long. In Miami they have "driving schools" where you show up at 7am, pay 'em $100 , they give you the answers to an assortment of test questions over a few hours, then they ship you out to a redneck driving liscence center about 2hrs away so you can cut the lines and get your liscence the same day. On the the actual physical driving parts the blue haired lady instructors like to TERRORIZE you though, and have been known to reduce a person to tears in the middle of testing ....Gawd, ya gotta love good ole back-handed Florida!!! So friggin' corrupt, but, I can't imagine it any other way...!

I still don't have it

To get it scares me more than the thought of bird-flu, terrorist attacks, tsunamis or invading Americans.

First time.

PANDURITO said:

You should try driving in snow. It's that cold white stuff you see in Christmas movies.

retina said:

It's true! I have never driven under bad weather!

Sorry!

Hey! Today it's raining over here! Does that count?

The very first time I took my road test - I passed!!!!

I passed 1st time, but my instructor and the examiner (who was being examined herself on her examining skills- I had 3 people in the car with me) had a big argument and I nearly did not get my licence because she was so incensed.

I passed on my first try with 99%. That was when I was newly 17 - I'm newly 22 now. Five years and I haven't gotten one ticket and have only been in one accident (rear ended - not my fault). My boyfriend and his whole family are all license-less. Good thing they live in Wales!

also, I gotta say, it frightens me that it took that woman 33 years and £27,000 to pass her driving test. maybe she never passed for a reason; maybe she was never meant to drive.


~edit shmedit~
[Edited 11/11/05 2:05am]

Natsume said:

whoa....that's a pretty good record. I was 17 when I got mine too.....it took me three tries to get it though The first two times I tried in my brother's jeep....I hate driving SUVs, so you know how that went.....distastrous. I just didn't have much practice before the test and I knew deep down that I wasn't ready, but I was just so depserate to get my license that I didn't care.....I went for it anyway. I almost pulled out into oncoming traffic and this was at the beginning of the test I was suprised the woman just didn't say "alright, that's it you failed", but we went on anyway and when I bombed the parallel parking....I knew it was over for me then Second try, not only did I fuck up the parallel parking again, but you know how you're supposed to back up in a straight line on the right side of the road.....I couldn't even do that! I ended up in the middle of the road. And I was sooo nervous that I kept hitting the reflectors in the middle of the road while I was driving The woman who took me out that day was pregnant....I'm thinking to myself "you sure you wanna take me out.....driving. You couldn't pay me to ride with drivers trying out for their license while I'm pregnant By the time I took it the third time.....I had a Corolla to drive and that was waaay better than driving that jeep. I've only had one speeding ticket, but that was in this little country ass town who's only offense is speeding, so I should've known that I was gonna get caught eventually. I've been pretty lucky with the patrol men though....I've had about 5 warnings. I just bat my eyes at them and flash them my million dollar smile and they let me off the hook no, really I think they know that since I'm in school....I'm obviously broke. Most of the time I'm speeding I'm normally driving to school....running late as usual and they know that, so they're a little more forgiving in that sense. I need to calm down with the accidents though....I've been in four, one of which wasn't my fault though. Still considering that I've been driving for five years...that's not looking too good with the insurance company.

How long was the damn driving test? Mine was only around the block and on the freeway - that only took like 20 minutes!

ReturnOfDOOK said:

AnckSuNamun said: