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I just had my driver's test today at the Arden Hills location, and I failed because I was told that I did not yield at the uncontrolled intersection. Now I have never heard of an uncontrolled intersection, but I have read up on it and now I think I get it. However, I was having some trouble on when to come to complete stop and when to yield, simply because there were no stop signs. I came to a complete stop and my tester told me that there wasn't a stop sign, yet I couldn't help but think "there aren't stop signs anywhere!" So if there is no stop sign, should I come to a complete stop, or just yield?
Where the hell did you take your driver's ed, then? Have you even read the driver's manual? This is basic, basic, stuff. Then again, I live in a 'hood of only uncontrolled intersections, and every single person going through my area has no idea how to handle them except my wife and me. Let me know when you are driving so I can stay home that day.
My driver's ed training told us everything. When I took my test at Arden Hills years ago, I got 100 on my first try and nothing was a surprise. Nothing.
It's been 20 some years, but I took my test at Arden Hills as well, and I failed the first time because of some borderline reason. I think there was another car on the course about three blocks away, and I didn't yield to it, as if you wouldn't go through an intersection with a car three whole blocks away. I passed with a 98 the next day.
The way to handle an uncontrolled intersection (meaning there are no signals or stop/yield signs) is to pay full attention to all directions, and slow down to the point where you could stop if you have to if there is another car from right that you must yield to, or (equally important) to avoid the clown coming from your left, not paying attention, going too fast to yield to you. How slow that is just depends on visibility at that intersection. The whole point is to pay attention, let anyone coming from the right go ahead of you, and don't have an accident.
There aren't very many uncontrolled intersections in Minneapolis and St. Paul, but they're plentiful in just about every suburban residential neighborhood.
I just took my test at arden hills,and i passed on the first try. one thing i would suggest is be really nice to your driving instructor, and read signs, read signs, read signs, read signs. guys, i honestly messed up so horribly on the test, i hit the curb 7 times when parallel parking, i turned my wheels the wrong way when parking on a hill. also, be REALLY observant, over exaggerate when coming to a stop or a four way uncontrolled intersection.. make sure they know youre looking both ways, and keep an eye out for one ways, remember if turning from a left lane on to a one way, turn into left most lane, same goes for right turns, if turning right go into the right most lane.
I just took my test at arden hills,and i passed on the first try. one thing i would suggest is be really nice to your driving instructor, and read signs, read signs, read signs, read signs. guys, i honestly messed up so horribly on the test, i hit the curb 7 times when parallel parking, i turned my wheels the wrong way when parking on a hill. also, be REALLY observant, over exaggerate when coming to a stop or a four way uncontrolled intersection.. make sure they know youre looking both ways, and keep an eye out for one ways, remember if turning from a left lane on to a one way, turn into left most lane, same goes for right turns, if turning right go into the right most lane.
true about being nice to the instructor, my examiner was blind and instead of copping an attitude, like... "oh great, blind lady", I cut her some slack and read the signs off as I went by them, I think she really appreciated that. She failed me for hitting something but I already had a license anyway.
Here are my impressions of AH (plus free driving tips!):
I had my driving test today in Arden Hills and it went very well actually. It's a closed course, which I like, since you get to go as slow as you'd like. The first you're required to do is identify how to do certain things -- e.g., put on your seatbelt, adjust your seat, adjust your mirrors (very important for parking, do ahead of time), turn on your signal light, hazard lights (double-blinkers), headlights (dim and high-beam), windshield wipers, and emergency brakes.
Then you make a right out of your designated lane (signal every turn!) and perform the 90-degree back-up between two flags spaced nine feet apart. Drive up perpendicular to the flags and then turn left a little bit until you can see the flags in your rearview mirrors; then put the car in reverse. But be sure to stay on your side of the road. The key on that maneuver is to guide the right side of the car into the spot first by using the passenger-side mirror. As soon as the right rear wheel clears the first right flag, turn the wheel as sharp as you can to the right so you pivot the back-end in straight. Look out the left window to make sure you're okay on the other side and to also show the instructor that you're alert, aware, and observant. But the left side should take care of itself since you're basically pivoting around the right flag. As your car straightens out, adjust the wheel accordingly so you go in straight. As soon as the front-end is completely in the designated area put the car in park.
Then you'll be asked to make a right out of that spot onto the rest of the course and at the end of the block you'll come to a stop sign. Stop BEHIND the white line and stop completely. ZERO movement. Don't roll through the stop sign even if that's what you, your friends, and parents do in real life. Then you'll take another right toward the stoplight intersection. Before you do that, make sure you look in both directions at least once -- toward the flow of traffic (although there is little to none on your road test) going your way once, then the other way, and then again the other way. Exaggerate your head motions even if you feel weird doing so. Make sure your eye motion is genuine and in each of those directions, as well. The instructor will be checking for that. Also, when you do make your turn, ensure that you ALWAYS go in the lane closest to you. For instance, if you're turning right, go into the right-most lane; if you're turning left, go into the left-most lane. Take it slow down that stretch. My instructor then told me to take a left at the stoplight. Since the road had lanes on it, it's important to signal, use your mirror, look over your shoulder, and then go (the "SMOG" -- signal, mirror, over the shoulder, go -- routine) for each lane you cross. When I came to the light, it was red; I was in the left-most lane and I had my left signal on.
When the light turned green I looked right, then left, and then right again before turning left and then was instructed to take a right (right signal) and then another right (ditto) and then I came to an "uncontrolled intersection" -- i.e., intersection with no light, stop-sign, or other traffic control directions. Gently apply light, constant pressure to the brake to show that you know that you're supposed to yield; look in each direction at least once. Coming to a complete stop isn't necessary. Again, exaggerate your head motions. Even turning your shoulders a little can't be a bad thing.
After that, I don't accurately recall the rest of the route, but I was required to parallel park about midway through. Signal to the right before you do your parallel park, give yourself 1-2 feet between your car and the edge of the space, align your back bumper along the front flag, look behind your left shoulder before initiating the turn to check for oncoming traffic, and then turn your steering wheel nearly all the way to the right. Guide yourself back slowly and adjusting the wheel as you see fit. As soon as your front tire completely passes the front flag and your back end is as near to the curb as you can get, then turn your wheel as sharply as you can to the left and slowly continue to back into the space straightening out as you go. Adjust the wheel as you see fit. Getting close to the curb (without hitting it) while being straight is the goal. Go forward one time if necessary in order to get closer to the curb. You should be roughly centered in the spot.
When coming out of the parallel park, back up a little bit if you need to. Trust your mirrors and never ever hit the flags, as that represents hitting another car. Then signal left, put the car in drive (or first gear if it's a manual transmission), look into your left mirror for traffic, then over your shoulder and then gradually pull out and listen for your driving instructors next directions while moving.
Later on, I had to park down "a hill" (a slight down-sloping incline). I signaled right, pulled up slowly to the curb while slowly putting pressure on the brake, stopped, turned my wheels toward the curb, put the car in park, and applied the emergency brake. After the driving instructor assesses that, do your SMOG. If you get an instructor whose routine entails parking uphill, do the same, but point your wheels out toward the road. (Should your wheels ever give way while parked, the curb will stop them.)
The last "obstacle" that can really hurt your chances of passing is when you turn right onto a one-way street with four lanes. You instructor will ask you ahead of time to take a left at the end. Of course, when turning right, you signal, exaggeratedly look both ways, and then pull into the right-most lane. From there what gets a lot of people into trouble is that they move over three lanes in one motion. However, it's imperative to resist that temptation even though that's what nearly everyone does at some point in their driving careers on the freeway. You actually need to SMOG for every single lane change. Also, the stretch of road is only about a block long or less, so you need to go slow enough (10 mph or less) in order to get all your SMOG-ing in. Signal, mirror, over the shoulder, go (lane change). Signal, mirror, over the shoulder, go. Signal, mirror, over the shoulder, go. Then signal left again and then make your left-hand turn.
After the test is over, you'll be asked to park on a curb by your instructor, who will tell you how you did (pass or fail) and what you need to improve on. If you pass, you go through the side door to fill out the form for your drivers license and get a new ID picture. Your new state-issued ID should come in maybe 3-4 days.
Some final notes:
-Definitely keep your speed on the slow side. Even 15+ mph seems too fast for the course even though the speed limit is technically 30 mph. I think I averaged maybe 12 mph throughout. Whatever you do, don't vary your speed too excessively and don't accelerate or stop at a light or stop sign too suddenly. Keeping things relatively constant shows that you have good control over your car.
-Of course, when in doubt, use the SMOG routine (learned about it on the Internet and maybe it comes up in drivers ed but I never took it). Signal the direction you're going to turn or make a lane change in, look into the relevant Mirror, then Over the shoulder, and then Go.
-And if you think the course is this crazy thing with weird obstacles and traps scattered throughout, it isn't. It's like a little over 2 blocks wide by 2 block long with wide streets. This goes for pretty much all closed course DMV's. The entire test takes maybe 10-15 minutes. (Or 1 minute if you hit a flag on your 90-degree back-up right off the bat.)
-The best thing you can do to prepare is to practice your 90-degree back-up parking (using a nine-feet wide parking space) and parallel parking (using cones or dividers 25 feet apart). Practice it frequently leading up to the test until you're dead bored with it. It'll also soothe your nerves considerably on the day of the test since you'll be far more confident. Lack of parking preparation and nervousness are often far more responsible for failed driving tests than ignorance of road laws.
-Using the smallest car in your family is best for maneuverability's sake.
-Always keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times, unless you're stopped and changing gears (drive to reverse, for instance). Keeping them at roughly the 9'oclock and 3'oclock positions is good. One-handed driving at any time will be an automatic fail to many instructors.
-Don't crank up the tunes, put your arm out the window, or do anything to act cool. You have the rest of your driving career to do that. Getting the right to that in the first place is your goal.
-Be polite and cordial toward your instructor. Don't be afraid to ask questions if you need to.
My experience with Arden Hills was great. I had a really nice lady for an instructor the course was really simple. I passed easily on my first try. I had only two points deducted and that was because I parked a little bit too far from the curb on my downhill park, which I realized, but it was a little too late to correct the last few inches. Good luck to all future takers!
Last edited by Fortyniners; 06-15-2012 at 05:01 PM..
Reason: Grammar
Reminds me of taking a test in South Minneapolis in the 60's. I came from the west coast where the driving culture was different. So I was driving on a north-south street, had a green light, and drove through. I don't think I got failed, but I did get docked for not reducing my speed as I went through on the green. I later learned why. People in Minnesota run red lights OUTRAGEOUSLY. Where I came from, they didn't. So the test proctors didn't dock in that place. But here, having the green your way is not a guarantee you won't get t-boned. That was my first lesson in survival on the streets of Minnesota. The second test I had to take, years later, that exam station was closed, so I had to go to Arden Hills. Sailed right through there because it is such an artificial situation. When I was on the west coast, I took a test in a tiny seaside town. It was a laugh it was so easy. One lesson from all this: Driving tests pass some pretty bad drivers! Should make everyone more cautious knowing how bad you can be and get a passing grade.
My wife (lifelong driver, but in her native country) failed the driving test 3 times at Arden Hills. The wait list for another exam was over a month last we checked & walking in for a road test took us 3 hours + all 3 times my wife tried.
My wife was losing confidence in herself so I switched it up & took her to Eagan last week. In Eagan it took us less than 2 hours to get tested & she passed her 1st time. In Eagan she was only tested on the parts she'd failed previously so the exam only took 10 minutes & we were good to go.
My ex failed many times at Arden Hills before going to Stillwater (which isn't a closed-course) and she passed immediately at Stillwater.
I was licensed at Arden Hills, but failed my first time due to the the uncontrolled intersection where I had to turn left and then get over all the way.
I really dislike Arden Hills... people seem to wait FOREVER there, the staff isn't friendly, and driving at 10 MPH on a closed-course doesn't demonstrate that you actually know how to drive -- just that you know how to go through the motions.
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Let me know when you are driving so I can stay home that day.
