Is it really that hard to pass the driver's license test in the Bryan DPS office or are the rumors true? Should I drive my kid to Brenham? He is a good driver as far as 16 year olds go.

The rumors are true.

Son had to take it three times and would get dinged for totally different things each time.

Rode along the 2nd and 3rd time and challenged several of the writeups to no avail. The tester became insulted and very upset at my son when he asked to speak to a supervisor. Went to Waco Dps and passed easily. A good example would be parallel parking. Son did a great job, but was failed because his tires were closer than 6" to the curb.. "WTF" He parked 4-5 inches away from the curb and was told you must be a minimum of 6" and no more than 18" from the curb. When I asked for the Texas driving regulation stating so she went ballistic and disappeared. I wanted to know at what time did she get put and measure the distance?

The front counter and tester's seem to be the areas with problems. The main counter folks are professional and courteous.

[This message has been edited by Hammerheadjim (edited 3/16/2014 10:48a).]

True....Spend some time with kids at the local high schools and ask them why they failed their 1st or 2nd tests. The list of unwritten rules is long.

I know plenty of kids who passed on the first try at the Bryan office, no problem. Including our kids.

Figure out why they failed and correct the problems, rather than whining about it.

[This message has been edited by halibut sinclair (edited 3/14/2014 6:41p).]

Parallel parking 17" from the curb is a great way to get a mirror ripped off by a passing truck. If that is truly the regulation, it is foolish...

EDIT: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/internetforms/Forms/DL-7.pdf, page 46:

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You should be about six inches from the curb. Don’t park more than 18 inches from the curb or edge of the road.

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[This message has been edited by DrQuincy (edited 3/14/2014 3:13p).]

My kid passed her second time. She was heartbroken on her first try, but everything marked wrong was what I told her she needed to pay attention to. She practiced more, passed, and has been an excellent driver since.

Our second kid will be taking hers in Bryan too.

We have an appointment in Brenham in 2 weeks - drove over today to schedule it - after the hassles we had with Bryan with paperwork I am done with them.

You can also make an appt on line with Conroe - we did that.

Wow I didn't know they were that sticky on passing a driving test. I know its a new era but when I got my license, I didn't even take a "driving test" at the DPS...I took drivers ed through the high school and our "last test" counted as our driving test, the high school just gave us a slip to give to the folks at the DPS.

I took my CDL test in Amarillo, also a long time ago, and even though I blew the air brake test, I made up a good excuse and she passed me anyways.

I feel much safer now knowing our youth are held to such high standards. Surely this level of proficiency allows them to text and drive at the same time, right?

When I got my license, I didn't take a test. Then, you could either take the test without taking the course or take the course with 15 hours of drive time with an instructor and get your license at the end.

The folks in Hempstead were wonderful. The test administrator could see how nervous my son was & told him "Don't worry, honey. Just don't kill me and I'll pass you." Son smiled & replied, "that's a deal!" :-) Gave him several passes at parallel parking, even warning him once that she'd have to fail him if he hit the pole. He asked if he could pull back around & she told him could do anything as long as he didn't hit the pole. It put him at ease again & he did great.

son passed first try in Bryan.

maybe they on;y fail bad drivers there?????

Good to see the folks in Hempstead could careless about the type of driver they are putting on the road and make such irresponsible promises.

Much like a school test, the test administrator is not to guide or provide feedback during the examination. Also, they are not there to be your friend. Their priority is to make sure sound drivers are on the road.

Kind of ironic that parents are more concerned about the passing of a test and rather than what those results mean. A young teen deiver that is well prepared for the responsibility of having a driver license and sharing the road with others is a good thing.

My oldest son, now 22 did not have to take the driving test. They gave us the option. Two years later, by the time my daughter was due to take hers, it was not an option. She passed on the first try at the local Bryan office. They were very nice. We did the parent taught class, and while trying at times, that program worked out great for us. My last child took his in Waco summer before last. Not that we didn't want to do it Bryan, but the appointments were booked out to far for his liking and he was able to get in at Waco very quickly. He too passed on the first try. He did mention that parallel parking there was harder because the slot was so small compared to the one he practiced at here. Over all, we had a great experience at the Bryan office.

Son failed here in Bryan and passed in Waco. Wife said the people in Waco were very organized and polite.

nm

[This message has been edited by double b (edited 3/14/2014 10:55p).]

rough crowd tonight..

We scheduled my daughter in Bryan. Took over 4 weeks. She failed the initial exam by one point because she stopped over the white line at the intersection twice, got gigged for "observation" four times, and didn't hit the turn signal coming out of the parallel park. I don't think I have ever signaled coming out of a parallel park! Two DPS workers rode with her. It would have taken another 4 weeks to schedule her back in Bryan. I drove to Brenham (you have to schedule in person) and scheduled her in two days. She passed with no problem there. I appreciate DPS wanting to make sure safe drivers are on the road, but my older daughter passed in another state by literally driving around the block and parking in the lot face in. I see drivers on the streets every day who are far worse than my daughter and would NEVER pass the test in Bryan (not signaling a lane change, over the line on a stop, following too close, speeding, etc.).

Self taught my son, went in first time and scored an 88.My son Drove me home even.

maybe he/she didn't deserve to pass.

My wife failed the driving portion of the test 3 times. Went to Brenham and passed the 1st time with a perfect score.

Its been a couple years, so I do not remember the specifics in particular - but on one of the tries, she did exactly what they told her to do, an failed because of it. My wife argued that the instructor/tester told her to do it.

I really think they go out of their way to fail people there.

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I know plenty of kids who passed on the first try at the Bryan office, no problem. Including our kids.

Figure out why they failed and correct the problems, rather than whining about it.

[This message has been edited by halibut sinclair (edited 3/14/2014 6:41p).]

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This times a squadpillion.

I have no systematic evidence of this, but most of the people that I know whose kids failed at Bryan did the "parent method" of driver education. The people who had their kids take driver ed from a company had no trouble.

So, OP, did your kid take actual driver ed, or did you do the parent-taught method?

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son passed first try in Bryan.

maybe they on;y fail bad drivers there?????

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That's a reasonable conclusion, given the anecdotal data. Maybe not right, but it's plausible, and that's what I think is true.

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My wife failed the driving portion of the test 3 times. Its been a couple years, so I do not remember the specifics in particular

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Your wife only got her drivers license a couple years ago?

Tip: Take your student driver to the Bryan DPS to actually practice in the parallel parking spot. It is not like the practicing they have likely done in parking lots - there is a dumpster on one end and a pole on the other and that makes the curb seem really difficult to sense because there is not another car to judge by. There is actually plenty of room, but in some ways that seems to make it even harder. We spent half an hour out there at night getting used to how odd it was. Time well spent - child passed with no problems first try at Bryan DPS. We did parent taught with online. And then went over and beyond what the state requires because I think Texas is very lax in the required hours. I would prefer closer to 100 hours like many other states. Texas is either 40 or 50 - not enough time behind the wheel to encounter problems with an experienced driver to guide them, and not enough night or highway driving. Sp far, parent taught child has not had any problems - is a safe driver for the past two years and has thanked us several times for the extra training in rain, overcorrecting, etc.

Do you know how many times I have parallel parked in my entire lifetime? ZERO!

I could see having that as a part of the test in the NE or somewhere but in Texas? C'mon. Do something useful and make merging into oncoming traffic a requirement.

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[My daughter] was heartbroken on her first try...She practiced more, passed, and has been an excellent driver since.

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Good parenting agrab! I appreciate that you chose to teach her hard work overcomes obstacles rather than being a helicopter parent and attacking DPS or finding fault with the test.

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Good parenting agrab! I appreciate that you chose to teach her hard work overcomes obstacles rather than being a helicopter parent and attacking DPS or finding fault with the test.

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Never had beef with the test. Had a beef with the tester. Reading comprehension. There is too much inconsistency in the way they treat new drivers. If you take the same test at a different location, hit the same bullet points at both places,and score 25-40 points differently between the two then something is wrong at the one facility. Simple logic.

Never in a million years would I be considered a helicopter parent. My son earns his own way in life and is better for it.

It seems that a few posters just like to play devil's advocate on every post they see here.

for something as serious as driving, I prefer to have testers that aren't giving out DL like candy. I have never heard of anyone failing in brenham or hempstead. That is NOT good.

are you doing your child any service by taking them to the easiest test???

I had a neighbor who did parent taught and was told at Bryan that they don't accept that method. He forced the issue and finally got a test which his son failed. Went to Brenham and passed fine. know a kid who, after having a permit for about 90 days, was given his car and drove himself as if he had a license. He drove to school for six months before failing the test in Bryan. Went to Round Rock and passed fine.

We won't be testing there. Every single driver in the world has bad habits and it seems as if Bryan is seeking perfection which is pretty damned absurd. By time my kids test I will know they're ready or they won't test. If you're relying on the tester to decide if you're kid is ready then you're doing it wrong. When mine test they will be ready or they won't test.

Too many negative anecdotes about the Bryan DPS office. Take your kids to another office, if only for the peace of mind.

Terrible advice.

Both our daughters took the driver's test at the Bryan location. Both passed on the first try. To be fair, though, we sent both of them through Austin Driving School, so they knew what kind of nitpicky stuff they needed to know.

I parallel park all the time when I'm in Austin. Done so in Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and even here in College Station (Northgate). It isn't hard to do. Of course, we could not teach teens how to parallel park and then they can be like my old coworker and smash into a parked law enforcement vehicle trying to do so in Austin.

It might just be me, but I don't think a 16 year old has had enough driving time to pick up "bad habits." I'm also not a fan of parent-taught drivers education.

[This message has been edited by justalocal (edited 3/16/2014 3:15p).]

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Your wife only got her drivers license a couple years ago?

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She is from another country. She had a learners permit for like 8 years - she wasn't enthusiastic about driving.

When did they bring back parallel parking to the drivers test? When I took my test, it was required, but people I knew who were a couple years younger didn't have to do it.

Parallel parking is why I had to try three times to take the test. At our local office (where I grew up, not here), they did the parallel parking section of the test first, so if they didn't like how you parked, they wouldn't let you take the rest of the test.

Several of my friends who got their licenses on the first try said that the troopers were nicer, test was easier, than if you got one of the women (not troopers) to give you the test. There wasn't any choice of who you got, but I wound up with the same woman testing me all three times.