True Tales From The DMV

Teenagers.

Is there anyone more complex, has more mood swings, more adept at cellphone texting than any other creature on God’s blue planet? The California State Law (as of 2015) states that a teenager at 15 ½ can apply for a provisional driver’s license (aka “the permit”) and get a license at age 16.

The written test given to teenagers and the written tests given to adults is two completely different tests. If you read the questions on both tests you’ll instantly realize that the phraseology is skewed toward the teenager. The questions are more difficult, more complex, and designed for the sole purpose of making it more difficult than the adult test.

Teenagers coming into the DMV are usually accompanied by their parents or just their mom or dad. Only scant few teenagers come in by themselves and have all the necessary documents with them along with the driver’s license fee.

Now…a few words about teenagers and their parents.

I don’t know what happened to the parental structure in California (and I’m going to guess the rest of the U.S.), but for some inexplicable reason, teenagers have suddenly developed dominance over their parents. That is to say, teenagers have gotten the upper hand when it comes to letting mommy or daddy have them take the written test.

Case & point: nearly every teenager that I have serviced for decades has, at one time or another, yelled at, ridiculed, or spoken harshly to their mother or father standing next to them.

True story: “Tommy” came in with his mother and wanted to get a permit to drive. Simple. Upon examination of the documentation that Tommy has presented to me, I found that he was lacking certain documents, (whether it’s a birth certificate, passport, or some other documentation that proves he was enrolled or passed a driver’s education class). More often than not, a parent will bring in a copy of the birth certificate and not the original.

Copies aren’t acceptable. Neither are faxes, computer scans, or an artist’s rendition.

Period.

When Tommy found out that his mother had screwed up and brought in the wrong papers…he had a cow! He screamed at her, “Mom! How could you be so stupid? I can’t believe you DID that!!”

And this is NOT an isolated case! This sort of scenario happens all the time, even on daily basis! Kids yelling at their parents when it was the KIDS’ responsibility to have the papers in the first place! But, nearly all parents take it upon themselves to kowtow to their “precious little ones” and do everything for them. Who is getting a permit or license here?

Are the parents embarrassed at what their child says to them? Do they get upset? Perturbed? Humiliated? No! They actually apologize to their child for messing up, giving the teen the upper hand, and making them feel superior over their parents!

Explain something to me: At what point did parents of this world allow their teenagers to yell at them in a public place and get away with it? My God! If it had been MY parents when I was teenager and pulled that stunt, I would have been murdered on the spot to the delight and cheers of the other parents standing around. I have been amazed time and time again at teenagers who are allowed to do this and doubly amazed at the parents who allow them to do it!