Taking your driving test can be a hassle under regular circumstances, you’re nervous that you’ll fail, and you don’t want to have to take it again. You’re scared of the walk of shame back to your family if you don’t pass. But taking it during a pandemic is worse, you have to deal with the stress of the test, but you have to deal with the stress of trying to not get COVID-19. It’s quite a hassle to deal with it all.

Taking my driver’s test during the Pandemic was mostly the same as taking it when there wasn’t one, but there are usually more precautions, the instructor and I both wore masks, the instructor wore two, a cloth one and an N-95. The instructor also put down a bag on the seat to cover it, and he had a paper mat to put his feet on the floor.

When he was checking the car, to see if it was fit and safe to drive he stood at least six feet away while wearing his double mask, and he had to speak pretty loud so I could hear him through the mask and over the noise.

Jack recently took his driving test, which he passed. “I had to make sure my glasses didn’t fog up because of the mask. I wanted to make sure I could see.”

He also explained that he felt safe when taking his test. “Even with COVID-19 going on, I feel like the right procedures were in place to ensure people’s safety.”

Mark took his driving test in August and he also passed. He thought the test would be different because of all the extra precautions that are being taken.

As he reflected, he said, “It’s not really worth stressing out about because it’s worse in your head than it actually is.” Mark also felt safe in his testing environment. “It was really nerve-racking, but once I started driving I got more comfortable.”

Julie took her driving test this past month. “My test administrator took a lot of precautions. He wore a cloth mask, a medical-grade mask, and a face shield. He also wore gloves and plastic slippers over his shoes.” She continued, “I appreciate the work he’s doing to give kids like me a chance to take the driving test.”

Most people thought that the precautions that the DMV and the instructor took were enough, they felt safe and didn’t think about it too much.

But Jessica’s instructor didn’t take the virus seriously and didn’t take the precautions necessary to make Jess feel safe. Despite this fact, she still passed her test.

She thought that “more precautions should have been taken, in my specific case.”

Her instructor was very relaxed when it came to safety protocols and it made her uncomfortable at times. “I understand not everybody takes this virus seriously, but it should be handled with precaution. I wish I would’ve had a test administer that handled the situation with more caution.”

Taking the test can be stressful in and of itself, but when you have an instructor that isn’t worried about the virus, that can make you feel less safe and very nervous and even not want to take the test.

When taking tests it’s important to study and be ready for any situation, so that if you get flustered you can rely on your muscle memory to get you through. Over-all taking the test during the Pandemic isn’t that much different from taking the test regularly, although there is a small air of danger, you just need to be properly prepared for the dangers of the road and you’ll do fine.