Commercial Driver's Learning Ctr. of Sacramento letting me fall thru the cracks?

My "source" is seeing the SAME group of students day after day, coming back to attempt the pre trip and skills tests and talking to the students and the instructors that were tasked with getting their batches of students through their slot of appointments. Flat out I was told it took an average of three visits to the DMV for them to pass 80% of their students. Much of the time I was under the impression that some of the schools had very limited time for getting their students behind the wheel experience on the skills, lot's of lost souls out there trying to get the angle dock or parallel parking.

My own failures with the DMV:

1. Failed the brake tests (my bad I left the emergency brakes on when they should have been off on one of the tests).

2. Failed the pre trip. I said "air pressure" instead of "inflation" so they deducted 18 points, one for each tire.

3. Failed the angle dock. That morning in San Bernardino, in the DMV dirt lot, it was very cold with a 50 mph wind ripping down from Cajon Pass that was knocking over the cones and at times I couldn't' see 20 feet in front of me. By the time I could see the "dock" cones I was already screwed and had too many pull ups to correct it.

Three times failing on one permit meant I retook the written test and went back a week later and nailed the pre trip, skills, and road test on the fourth try.

One comment I'd make is that the DMV testers are totally tuned in to processing the students from the schools. When I came in and said I was doing it on my own a couple of them seemed to have a hard on for me at that point, likely the reason why I was failed the pre trip for saying "tire pressure" instead of "inflation".

On a funny side note I remember watching one of the students trying to park his CAR in the lot to check in. Several of us witnessed a guy that took a good 10 minutes to back his car into a slot. We turned to each other and said, "He ain't going to make it"...

 

What were you doing there "day after day"...? Someone have a spare truck in legal operating condition and a spare CDL holder for you to use to sit there and wait for a standby slot?

So... you mean to tell me a majority of students can't even pass the pre-trip in the first go-round?!

It's funny the OP did not report the vast majority of his fellow students also failed in his attempt to blame the DMV for his failure... but he did report "it's taken about 4 weeks to get retested each time...".

Oh... you were flat-out TOLD... by strangers. If it were me my gross and obvious incompetence would be my greatest secret...

Somehow... I have the feeling that if I called the OP's school they would flat-out tell me different.

That's nonsensical. If you have that much time, to just waste for testing, you have at least that much time for training and/or practice.

 

I went on standby, without an appointment, numerous times in order to get in for one of my test attempts. Basically waiting and hoping for someone to not show up for their appointment. Each time waiting with my O/O brother, in his truck, when we were home. Probably burned through an entire tank of fuel when you add up all the trips back and forth to the DMV in the truck.

My overall impression is that the schools have limited access to truck time for their students (not enough trucks and instructors to go around) to train for the test. They "make up for it" with extra class time. This was a common complaint from the students waiting to be tested.

 

I wouldn't do it quite like that, since it is undoubtedly and unarguably your fault. Had you not failed (and done so twice) you would not currently feel so punished... well, at least not by your current imagined antagonist.

 

Well keep us posted on how you did. Keep trying you will get it.

 

In my experience nothing good ever happens at a California DMV office. They all have the deposition of Judge Judy (IMO) and they do whatever they can to make the experience painful. I always have better luck at small town DMV's, their usually more lenient.