Like many, I got my driver’s license when I was sixteen. Nothing especially remarkable about that, except I took my road test in the middle of a blizzard. Which, for me, growing up in a small Alberta town, seemed to happen to a good number of the kids who were made to learn to drive in the winter (a requirement in my home growing up). My father deemed it important as it is winter a good majority of the time here, he felt you should learn how to drive for the conditions. All my driver training was done in October and November (though my birthday is in the summer, I had to wait until fall to take my driving lessons and road test) however, the road conditions were generally pretty good. Dry, bare roads. I don’t recall any snow, come to think about it.

However, come test day, Mother Nature had other plans. Serious plans. I remember waiting at the courthouse (that is where all road tests were administered, it was still all run and controlled by the province). I remember getting off the school bus at my old elementary school and walking the five blocks back to the courthouse, as our bus driver wouldn’t drop me off, even though we stopped at the courthouse for a set of lights (the only set in town at the time). There had been a pretty close to equal number of boys and girls in my class. Exact numbers evade me but probably eight of us total? No more than ten, each test was 15 to 20 minutes long, so they wouldn’t have scheduled us all in the same day, if there had been more of us than that, as there was only one person doing the tests.

Testing started at nine am sharp! Except it did not, as the driver training teachers with the cars we were to use were not there. Fifteen minutes go by, twenty. They were coming from Edmonton and the weather was bad. Visibility was low, the snow was blowing, travel was not advised on area highways. An administrative person comes out to talk to the room of anxious teens. We all looked at one another, figuring our tests were being cancelled.

There would be a slight delay. There had been an accident. Everyone was okay, however, they needed to find two new cars! The driver training teachers had both been involved in a minor fender bender with the cars on their way out. With each other. Yes, they had collided with one another and neither car could be used for our tests! So, we would be driving new-to-us cars on our road tests in the middle of a blizzard.

Soon, we were under way, and too soon, it seemed, it was my turn. This was during the time I was trying to break myself of two habits.

Chewing my nails and pulling my hair out. In true weirdo fashion, I was wearing crimson dollar store mittens. Stranger still, I can’t always tell my left from my right, especially when I’m under pressure. I have fashioned a way of holding the steering wheel, so my hands make the letter “L” when I hold it. However, this monster of a car (a giant Ford sedan) had a massively thick wheel, so this didn’t work so well. I had to remove the mittens and shove them in my pocket as the testing guy got in the car. He explained what we’d be doing and off we set.

But the car wasn’t driving right. It didn’t have any pickup as I crossed the parking lot. Perplexed, I looked around the dash and made a comment that something didn’t seem right to me. When I noticed the “E” (parking/emergency” brake was still on. Sheepishly, I popped it, and off we went. “Works much better with that off, doesn’t it?” He said, making a note on his paper.

Certain I failed, my heart sank as I followed his instructions out of the lot and into town. The roads were slippery, but I felt prepared, not worried now as I was certain the “E” brake had done me in before we had even left the lot. We approached the town’s only light, and he told me to go straight through. I was disappointed as I’d practiced left turns at this light a lot. We drove around a bit, never doing any parallel parking, which I was dreading in this gargantuan car, so I was pleased about that. I parked downtown and backed out with ease. “Let’s head back. Make a right at the stop sign.” he instructed.

I stopped with ease. Looked, no cars, and stepped softly on the gas. The car turned but ICE! I swung wide and the backend kicked out, I went left, right, into oncoming traffic (of which there was none) before regaining control. My training had kicked in. No gas, don’t over correct my steering, let the car decelerate itself, brake gently. I got the car under control and back into its own lane in less than half a block. Seemingly with minimal effort but my heart was in my throat.

Could you fail a road test twice in one sitting, I wonder? He wrote something down.

“Great work. You did swing that a little wide though. I’m going to have to deduct five marks for that. Otherwise, you handled it perfectly! Great work. You passed your road test! Exceptional driving.” he remarked.

That’s it? I hadn’t failed. My smile could have lit the night sky!

Much love, chickens!