Did you go with your child on the driving test when they got their driver's license?

I have a question for you… do they need to have a permit first before the license ?

Don’t put the kid under more pressure than he or she is already under. They’ll do better.

My mother didn’t sit in the backseat, I don’t even think they would have allowed that. I drove with only the instructor.
I’ve been driving for over six years, and having my parents in the car still makes me nervous.

My gramma went with me, since her car was the one I used for the test. (My car didn’t have power steering; I was NOT going to be tested on three-point turns and parallel parking without power steering.) They made most other people get out and stand at the start site to wait for the person being tested to get back, but… dude, you don’t make fat old ladies stand on the side of the road waiting. She was allowed to sit in the back seat. A couple of times, she made comments and the instructor had to ask her to please be quiet. She did it when I was parallel parking and it made me laugh and bump the curb, which should’ve meant an automatic fail, but the instructor told me to pull out and we’d go somewhere else and I could try it again. Awesome.

I would suggest not going. The teenager will already be stressed and/or worried without you there. I would think having you there would add to it, especially if you are worried.

I didn’t know parents were allowed to go. I know mine weren’t when I took my test..

My son got his license a year ago in New Jersey. They did not allow the parent (or whomever accompanied them) to stay in the car.

I don’t think they are allowed to (parents) sit in the car, here – NC. Good gravy, my daughter has her permit now…I can’t imagine her with the real thing!

That is shocking that they would allow a parent to sit in the back of the car. When I got my license, my mom came with me but waited in the seating area until I was done with the test. It was nice to have her there to say I got it.

I don’t have a choice. I have to go.

I wouldn’t go if I didn’t have to, trust me. I’m her “sponsor”.

But do you have to be in the car? I understand having to be there for the exam, it’s the same for us. However, we aren’t allowed in the car. Yes, I know, I’m slow. Everyone else might understand what you are saying – but it’s been a very long day!

My goodness, no. I can’t imagine the examiner’s wanting to put up with a back-seat parent, either.

Well, I had to be in the car with my son when they had state trooper’s doing the road test. Now they have civilian testers, but I don’t think the law has changed.

I just checked the DMV site for MA (as I was questioning myself because all of you are lucky and won’t have to do this! I was getting excited that I wouldn’t either!) and sure enough, the sponsor has to be over 21, licensed and driving for at least a year. So, I’m going. and bringing a roll of duct tape…

@autumn43 Sponsor? I really think that means you just have to go and be there. You don’t have to be in the car. Of course a minor taking the test needs someone over 21 to take them. But a minor with a permit needs only one adult in the car, over the age of 21, to drive.

i believe most states will not allow anyone other than the applicant in the car…safety or liabiity issues.

I asked. It’s confirmed. If I was in the car, or had to be…my daughter would just walk everywhere for the rest of her life. Something to consider! :)

I was hoping…but we looked it up in the MA Driver’s Manual:

Sec 29 Passenger Vehicle Requirements In general, the vehicle you use for your Class D road test should be safe, in good working order, and have a valid registration certificate and inspection sticker. Your test will be canceled if the examiner believes your vehicle is unsafe. In addition to being safe, your vehicle must have these features:
• Adequate seating so that the examiner may sit next to you and your sponsor may sit in the rear. You may not use a vehicle that does not have a seat for your sponsor. Sponsors may not sit in the bed of a two passenger pickup truck.’

Wow! How strange that the sponsor is required to be in the car!

I guess the best advice to help you keep quiet is to sit behind her so she is less aware of your presence. Bring along a distraction—a mobile game, iPod, book… something for you to focus on so you are not paying attention to the test in progress. If all else fails, bite your tongue – literally!

Good luck to you AND your daughter!!

ok, so the notion of a sponsor is what? the person who trained the newbie? and what states are we talking about here? thanks!

@autumn43: How did it go?

@avalmez: In the post above mine, it says MA – Massachusettes (my iPhone spell check isn’t correcting me, but I think I spelled that incorrectly… sorry!)

In Texas, it was just me and the examiner in the car back in the Dark Ages when I got my license. Then when my daughter got hers this past December it was just her and the instructor. At least in Texas, the DMV is air conditioned and has plenty of chairs, so the parents or older siblings wait inside in the cool, while the examiner earns his gray hair out in the heat.

Well….it didn’t go so well. We never made it out of the parking space because the emergency brake didn’t work!!! It was my husband’s car and we had to take his because the e-brake is in the middle (which is required). So, they check that first. It didn’t work! I guess I’m lucky I didn’t get a big ‘REJECT’ sticker for the car! My daughter started crying and basically I felt like the biggest dope. So, now she is rescheduled to go with the driving school, with the instructor that taught her, without me (FINE!!!) and with a car that works. UGH.

Oh no! When I went to take my test, my father had an expired insurance card, so I couldn’t take it. I was mad!

It sounds as though it will all work out in the end, though.

@autumn43….That is sad news. But, I suspect your daughter will fare better with the driving instructor with whom she trained. Wish her luck. See you around.
PS: Make certain your husband gets that emergency brake repaired!

In Ohio, the parent stays out of the car. Of Course, if you allow the temporary driver to drive to the testing site, you must go along also.

When my oldest took his test 3 years ago, the tester advised me to stay in the building as not to distract him in the manover and turning portions of the test.
I did – I kept wanting to scream something to him, but for once, kept my big mouth shut!!!!

Got another ready to take the written temp test in 2 weeks. He’ll drive test in Jan or Feb