Driver's Test

"She wants to know what happens if she answers wrong," I told the man behind the counter.

He eyed my daughter. "A red light flashes and a siren blares, so everyone knows!"

He and I looked at her and laughed as her mouth dropped open.

"He's joking! No one knows if you answer wrong. You'll do fine!" I reassured her.

She finished the written driving test quickly and signed up for the behind-the-wheel test. The man smiled and said, "I've got good news and bad news. What do you want first?" Katie chose the good news. "You can test in one hour. The bad news? You get the dragon lady." Seeing her worried frown, he finished with, "Just kidding."

We went home to get the old clunker we bought for her to drive and hurried back.  Nervous, she turned left into the Department of Licensing parking lot in front of an oncoming vehicle with barely enough room. Breath sucked in and heart pounding, I told her to calm down. 

The examiner and driver were the only people allowed in the car. I went back to the building and peered out of the plate-glass window, watching her maneuver the vehicle between the orange cones.

"Good!  She passed the parallel parking perfectly!" I congratulated myself. 

Exiting the licensing office, I walked discreetly toward Safeway Grocery, my eyes on the green car she was driving. 

Signaling, she pulled out of the improvised parking space, turned, and waited to enter traffic. Stepping into the store, I stopped and watched as she passed and swung onto another street. 

A few minutes later, with my purchases, I returned to the DOL site to sit, read, and wait.

"Are you Katie's mom?"  I looked up into a man's inquiring eyes and nodded yes.

"There's a problem.  She's been in an accident, and I need to drive you there."

"WHAT?  You're kidding, right?  Is this a joke?"

Shaking his head, he assured me he was not joking and that we needed to go to the accident site. He led me to his official vehicle.  Stunned, I continued mumbling under my breath.  Buckling into the seat belt, I turned to him.

"I can't believe this! I KNEW I should have had my husband bring her for the test!"

We drove a few blocks, and he pulled into a parking lot. There, we saw the female Examiner and my daughter. I turned to the dragon lady examiner and asked what had happened.

"We were turning the corner. There is a yield sign, but Katie wasn't yielding to the oncoming traffic. I told her to stop, and we were rear-ended."

I saw no damage to either vehicle, and the other driver had left. The driving license examiners huddled together, discussing the situation as I talked to Katie. 

"So, she failed?" I asked.

Nodding her head, she replied, "She failed.  I had to tell her to stop. We would have been hit by the oncoming traffic if I hadn't. You can go home now."

Katie started the car. "Take us where the accident happened,"  I said.

She drove past the three-way corner, and I realized it was difficult for a new driver to determine what would transpire at that intersection. It is known to be a confusing intersection. Two lanes of traffic could come onto the street she was on from her left; two lanes could go straight through on an angled path, and there was an angular turn-right-only lane at the intersection to a third street. The intersection had a stoplight, and the right turn lane veered sharply to the right before the stoplight. The Examiner had told her to turn, so she moved into the turn-only lane. We practiced there several times so she wouldn't err again and went home. Pulling into our driveway, she burst into tears. 

"What's wrong? You're okay, the car's okay, why are you crying?  This is something you'll laugh about with your friends when you're older."

"I'm not telling him! You do it!" she shouted at me and ran to her bedroom.

My husband, startled, just looked at me as I chuckled while explaining the situation.

"I'll go talk to her," he said.

One month later, we were once again at the same licensing bureau. Nervously, we waited for the Examiner to come to our car, and when he arrived, I got out and stood on the sidewalk to watch the parallel parking. At least it wasn't that woman. Oops! Too sharp a turn, the car won't make that spot. Okay, out they went. About ten minutes later, they pulled the green car in. Holding my breath, I watched as she entered the office.

"Well?" I asked.

"I passed," she grinned. They took her picture, handed her a brand new plasticized driver's license, and went out.

"So how was it?" nosy mom (me) asked.

"Well, I failed parallel parking, but everything else was fine. But guess what?"

"What?" I inquired suspiciously.

"Remember the dragon lady examiner?" I nodded.  "I told the new one what happened on that ride. He said, 'Oh, you're the one!' Turns out she burst into tears afterward and went home for the day. "

We chuckled together on our way home.

You know what, though? The woman who rear-ended her was at fault, right? Following too closely....all's well that ends well. My daughter is a great driver (of course, because I did most of the teaching - wink, wink)!

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