Covid Changes to How We Take The Drivers Test
As a student intending on taking the driver's test within the year, I don’t completely know how I feel about the changes. The actual changes to the test almost seem easier than what they used to be, but I can also see how it could be more difficult. At least for me it creates a stronger sense of unsureness, because I no longer have the tips or assurances that my brother and family provided me. Due to social distancing, drivers' tests have changed quite a lot. Because of the quarantine, the driving instructor cannot even be in the same car as the driver. So they had to change the test drastically, to what it has become in the current day. Now the driving test is taken in a closed off course with cones while the driving instructor watches from the side or walks alongside the car. And this is how driving tests will be done for who knows how long, and that’s how our generation will have to do them.
In my mother’s time the tests would be taken like they are now, with cones and a cut off blacktop. In a conversation with my Aunt and mother I learned that this method has its pluses and minuses. Some being that you can’t see the surrounding cones that form the barrier during the test. But on the better side you aren’t putting anyone at risk and that brings a form of reassurance. They felt this made the test easier and harder at the same time, but in total it is a completely different experience. In the past the driving instructor would correct you if you made a mistake during the test but now if you don’t realize it you just keep making the same mistakes. As well, it seems a bit easier since the test is now taken in a controlled environment with no other cars around. This inevitability is something that we all as students face in the coming future, as we simply can’t function in modern society without a vehicle of some kind. Whether this is a new challenge, or an easier time we will have to face it sooner or later.