And then there were four (drivers)

Abby got her driver's license this week! It was kind of a big deal...  a confluence of factors led to getting her license very close to her 18th birthday- mainly, she didn't want to drive and second, Covid halted driving instructions at driving schools and driving tests at BMV offices in Ohio. It was a long road (pun intended) to get her to be able to take the driving test and to have the skills necessary to pass the driving test. 

Covid impacted how the driving test was performed. Her driving test experience was nothing short of bizarre. I´ll detail it below because I do not want to forget it.

Due to Covid, the state of Ohio has made changes to the driving test. One is that you have to make an appointment to take your driver´s test rather than just show up at a BMV at a time of your choosing. It makes sense to me to have appointments (not because of Covid but because having appointments lessons the chance that you´ll have to wait a long time at a BMV). 

I tried to make an appointment at two of the BMV testing sites that are closest to our house but the test dates were filled up for weeks in advance. I was able to get her an appointment to take the test without too much delay at a BMV in Middletown. I didn't realize that Middletown even had a BMV (though I guess I should have-  it´s a decent sized town). As it turns out the BMV testing site in Middletown is in the northern part of the town and as such, it was less than a twenty minute drive from our house.

When Abby and I arrived at the BMV building and went inside, I was confused by the lack of seating area and only one attendant/ employee. Normally, BMV offices have chairs, multiple windows where employees help patrons, etc. I wondered where I would sit when Abby was taking her driving test. I guessed that I'd have to stand. I was wrong but I wouldn't find that out until later.  We handed the BMV employee the information she asked for and then she told us to get back into the car and for Abby to drive to a specific location on the grounds of BMV facility. 

Abby drove to where she was supposed to drive and then was waved forward by another employee, one who looked like he would be administering the driving test. Abby rolled down her window to talk to him and he gave her instructions for the driving part of the test. (There are two parts to the exam- a driving skills test and a maneuverability skills test.) When Jacob took his driving test in Xenia, he drove with a BMV employee for a mile or two in town for the driving skills portion of the exam. That's what I thought Abby would be doing but I was wrong. The driving part of the test would all take place in this giant parking lot looking structure that was not a parking lot but rather a paved testing area. There were random stop signs and yield signs to sort of mimic that which you´d see on a road and the BMV employee basically gave her instructions on where to drive in the paved testing area. When he was done talking to her, I opened the passenger door to get out so that the employee could get in the car with Abby to observe her driving.

Imagine my shock when he told me to stay in the car. The BMV employee was not going to be in the car with Abby- I was going to be in the car with her. Oh my! The employee was going to observe/ grade Abby on her driving skills and then on maneuverability from observing her while he was outside of the car. All with me in the car. Oh, and me in the car not talking. The employee told me that if I said anything to Abby, she would automatically fail. Um, OK! How about I not be in the car with her? That would ensure my silence!! I guess the BMV stopped having employees in the car with the test takers because of Covid?? And I guess because test takers only have permits to drive and have to have a licensed driver with them to drive, now parents (or adults who came with the test takers to the exam site) have to sit in the car with the test taker during the test? 

Well, during the test, I remained silent (I´m not garrulous by nature so it wasn't too hard) and Abby drove so incredibly legally during the driving part and so incredibly inside the cones during the maneuverability test so she PASSED!!

Come to find out (naturally as the day was progressing), this particular location was only a driving test BMV location and we would have to go to another BMV office that actually gives drivers their licenses. I had no idea there were BMV offices that were just driving testing sites and not full fledged BMV offices (that explains why there were no chairs in the lobby area of the building and only one person working inside the building helping patrons). So, we had to drive to another BMV office for Abby to get her actual license- sort of. I mean, she only sort of got her license. I mean, she received her license but she only received a piece of paper and not the traditional plastic rectangular license card. The piece of paper she received conveys that she has her license so she needs to drive with it in the car with her until her actual license arrives in the mail. When Jacob passed his driving test, he received his actual license card on the day that he passed. There was no 8 1/2 by 11 paper intermediary. Not sure what accounts for the change. Covid? I guess. But who knows really. 

In spite of the strangeness of the test and the day in general, we are pleased beyond belief that Abby passed the driving test. Not because she isn't a good driver but because the maneuverability part of the exam is nerve wracking and there's very little margin for error. Proud of Abby for maintaining calm in the face of pressure and oddness (she later told me she was glad that I was in the car with her and not the BMV testing guy so perhaps the Covid-oddity changes to the testing was beneficial to her).

Here are just a few pictures from the day:

Austere- When we pulled up to this building, the BMV office in Middletown, I thought for sure it was abandoned and that my GPS had taken us to the wrong location. Nope. From a taxpayer's perspective, I appreciate the building's lack of style and aesthetic ;).

 After Abby passed the test, we wanted to get a celebratory drink at Starbucks. Alas, a positive Covid case of a Starbucks employee has temporarily shuttered our local Starbucks. We settled for pop from Speedway.

Abby's license paper until she gets her license card...