Our organization is licensed by the State of Michigan to conduct driver testing for automobiles, trucks, buses and motorcycles. I am appointed by this organization but am trained and licensed directly by the state. Because trucks have the capacity to carry goods across state lines (interstate commerce) the whole driver testing division for Michigan is overseen by the Feds. This complicates the heck out of everything, makes it a lot more costly for our state to oversee test organizations (in vehicle and undercover surveillance requirements, etc.) but does result in limiting the number of testers (me) which is a good thing (for me). If I follow the rules and don't upset my employer there will be a demand for my services.
The demand for what I do is not as great as it is in a place like Nepal though. Jackie found out last week from a Nepalese that there are 3 driver testers for the whole country. They come together to a certain place, stay a month and then move on to another part of the country. A person buys a book of tickets for 900 (he didn't tell Jackie 900 what). Each book has 30 tickets. You sign up for your test, give the tester a ticket and drive him around for 15 minutes in a Volkswagen that Nepal provides. If you pass you get your license. If you fail you can give him another ticket and go for 15 minutes more. Since almost no one in Nepal owns a car the Volkswagen trip is both training and testing. Once they leave a person has a least a 6 month wait before the group of 3 returns with their Volkswagens.
There are 6 churches in the Grand Rapids area that sponsor refugees from Nepal. When I remarked to a sponsor one time that it didn't seem that his guy had too much time behind a wheel he told me; "Well, the first time he ever rode in a car was in the trunk with 5 other guys as they were leaving the country."
The business that I work for is also the state's largest for conducting driver's training. Driver's training is regulated by the same division of the Secretary of State that is in charge of driver testing and Michigan takes this quite seriously. Extensive training is required to qualify as a driver trainer here, individuals that teach youths must be licensed and follow established rules but there are no limits on the number of people that can get licensed to teach.
Many people who teach driver's ed are or have been school teachers. At one time driver's ed was taught either during the school year as a class or during the summer by teachers who had the time and the incentive to take the education requirements to get licensed and to conduct training during the summer. This service was provided free to the student but the teachers were getting compensated. Those funds came from the state. When the state came under budget stress the funds were first reduced and then eliminated, resulting in the explosive growth of private driver training business. Most hired the teachers who were already licensed and found ways to use school classrooms and facilities for free.
There are some people who have their license to teach and to test but not the majority. It actually can be quite difficult for people who teach to change mindsets and test because as testers we are just observing how a person does. We can and do offer advice after the test but to do so during would not provide an accurate assessment of a person's knowledge or abilities. I should not be invested in seeing a person perform well during a test. That would invalidate the results. This is not easy. I like people and wish them the best but I am a skeptic at heart. To pass they have to demonstrate to me that they can perform to standards set by the state that provide safety for both driver and others. I understand people get nervous while being tested but after going through thousands of red lights and stop signs, failures to yield while turning or changing lanes and too many STUPID things to recount, I am not their buddy.
Let me tell you briefly about my first 6 tests from yesterday. I start out with 16 year old Jeremy. While doing the Basic Skills test in the parking lot he hits a cone coming into the first backup maneuver, goes forward to change his angle for a second point, hits the same cone again backing in and goes past the back line and cone. On the parallel park he knocks over a cone on both the back and side lines, gets a point for going forward and ends with another point. I explain the failure to both Jeremy and his dad and assure them that if Jeremy takes it half speed next time he will do well and pass. Both understand.
Twenty-four year old self taught Kim is my second client. She is doing average but then enters the expressway at 35 mph. Slow expressway entry's are about the scariest thing for me as a tester and Kim fails. Third is a guy by the name of Haopeng. He is 19 and has taken driver's training but blows right through a 4 way stop in the residential area at the beginning of the test route. He looked both ways but did not see the stop sign. I bring him back early. Thankfully the fourth guy passes.
While checking the permit of my next guy, 16 year old Kelvin, I see that it says "corrective lens" so I ask him if he is wearing his contacts. When he tells me no I ask if he brought his glasses with him. Kelvin tells me no again and says that he only needs his glasses for reading. I reply that while that might be true he must have worn glasses when taking his eye test and that the State of Michigan requires that he be wearing said glasses when driving and while taking this test. He tells me his glasses are broken. Kelvin and his mom had arrived for the test early so I give them 20 minutes to drive home to obtain his glasses. When they get back I notice that these glasses are not broken and that the side plastic frames extend about two inches past his ears. I figure chances were good that he either borrowed someone's or stopped at a drug store and picked out a cheap pair so I needed to be a little extra cautious. We get to the first stop in the early residential area, Kelvin looks both ways, and then starts to pull out into the path of an oncoming vehicle. I've been pretty successful in the past with "Stop - STOP - STOP!!!" and it worked again. Back to base early.
This is now 4 failures out of my first 5 tests and I'm praying for someone normal. The next guy, self taught 25 year old John, is taking his second test with me. The first time he said he failed the parking lot portion because he was very nervous. Today he does very well on that and we get to take our drive. We make it through the residential area, take a right turn, and I give him instructions to turn left at the next traffic signal, about 4 blocks away. This intersection has a left turn lane with it's own light but John stops in the through lane, puts his turn signal on and when the light turns green I tell him (because it is illegal to turn from where we are) that we now need to continue straight. We head back to go and in the process need two left turns where John does not realize that even though the light is green he still needs to yield to oncoming traffic before he turns. I'm actually getting kinda excited now because this has been a record day for me.
There is a driver trainer by the name of Bob who teaches classes at our office in Wyoming. He is a wonderful guy, ex teacher, very smart but also very literal. The first couple of times I made puns when he was around he remarked after some thought; "Oh, that was a joke. Funny." I've seen him in front of the driver's ed students a few times and he is great. Very passionate, remembers their names, calm, knowledgeable and concerned. He has the heart of a teacher. When I see him taking a break he is either reading or eating his healthy food and we have a nice conversation until he has to abruptly leave because he always seems to be in a hurry. After he found out we had the same name I started calling him "Good Bob" and referring to me as "Bad Bob". Each time I great him as "Good Bob" he sincerely assures me that he is a normal guy just like anyone else.
This week I am taking a break sitting in Good Bob's chair in the back of the classroom and I see two little orange safety cones in the area where Bob keeps his materials. These are about 3 inches high with a wide rubberized base and each has a feel good saying printed on it. While I love quotes or sayings from scripture I have never been moved by a lot of the other bumper sticker wisdom you can buy in all those vacation town gift shops, unless I happen to find it funny for some reason.
On one of the cones was the following: "Failure is an event, not a person." What a perfect sentiment for a caring teacher. I thought if I had it I would add the following sentence and then place it on the dash board during my tests. Failure is an event, not a person. Got that ass h.... But that would be Bad Bob. No more tickets for me.
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