Driver Evaluation Road Test: Fill & Download for Free

I had a patient who wanted a disabled parking placard. When I asked why, she stated it was for carpal tunnel syndrome. I asked how that prevented her from walking and she said that she wasn’t able to drive well enough to maneuver into a standard width parking space. I told her that if her driving was that impaired, then she was not fit to drive. I pointed out that her condition was not one of the many options listed on the form and suggested that if she insisted on a handicapped placard, I would be forced to report her driving problem to the DMV and she could get a formal road test evaluation for impaired drivers to see if she needed any accommodations or adaptive equipment. Somehow, she miraculously regained her ability to park.

In NY, you fail if you accumulate 35 points. But if you look at the evaluation form, there’s no single item that’s 35 points. It’s all subjective. And the instructor could very easily tick off several items on one error. And there are a couple of items that is completely up to the discretion of the instructor.Fails to observe when leaving curb(10 points)Poor judgement approaching intersections (10)Fails to observe/use caution when parking/backing/u-turn (10)Poor judgement in traffic (10)Fails to use caution when changing lanes (10)Fails to anticipate potential hazards (10)Basically, if the instructor doesn’t like what you’re doing, he could easily fail you by giving you a combination of those items.People always say that a rolling stop at a stop sign will fail you. But if you look at the evaluation form, “Fails to stop fully at stop sign” is not on there. What you’re getting hit with is:Poor judgement (10), Inattentive to traffic signs (10), Fail to yield right of way (15). That’s 35 points right there.Bottom line is, you have to make the instructor feel comfortable and safe with you behind the wheel.I recently took the road test (about a 18 months ago). I’m in my 30s and I know how to drive. I just had to retake the test because I let my license expire for several years when I was out of the country. During the test, the instructor could easily tell that I knew what I was doing. He didn’t even notice I did a rolling stop because I was doing everything so smoothly*. Or if he did, he certainly didn’t give me any points on it. And my road test was actually shorter than normal; I wasn’t tested on traffic signals or lane changing. I can only guess that he had seen enough.*The most tell-tale sign of a rookie driver is lack of smoothness. Everything is herky jerky. When practicing, be smoooth. Stop smoothly. Accelerate smoothly. Turn smoothly. Do everything with deliberate purpose smoothly.

I can state that, in Rhode Island, only the prospective licensed driver and the instructor are allowed in the vehicle during the road test.I believe that this is the rule in most (if not all) states here in the US. The intent is to eliminate distractions for the driver and evaluator.