General

[quote=Economy]How long do they spend on each part of the exam? (Like different roads subdivisions, regular streets, and highway).
And how long is the overall exam?[/quote]

They just do a fair amount of each. For mine, subdivision was quick, highway was quick, most of it was normal 45mph or so roads.

The test took around an hour I think. For parking, you first pull forward in front of a line. Then reverse park 90 degrees to your left in a spot, then pull out and parallel park to another spot 90 degrees to the right. The cones have poles in them so you'll see 'em.

Good luck Neil

I highly recommend driving an automatic.

With standard, you have to return your hand to the wheel after every gear, and you can't shift through an intersection. I drive a ou don't for my everyday car, but I took an automatic for the test, just to be sure. Also, if you stall once (due to nervousness or something), it's an automatic fail.

Just my tips for driving a standard.

[quote=xRagequitX]Don't drive like Spongebob.[/quote]
This man speaks the truth.

Thanks for all the advice everyone

[quote=Economy]How strict are they when it comes to parallel parking (Like, if you're in the parking spot but the car isn't completely straight)? And how many points can you get knocked off before you fail?[/quote]

I don't know about michigan, but I live in Canada so here we can still pass as long as we don't have -30points. And for me, when I didn't make my wheels straight I got took off 2pts, which isn't alot. So as long as you do it right the examiner will not fail you. But you will get failed if you try to do a parallel parking and there is a car coming from behind or infront, then you will have to stop and let them go before you do the parking. Just be cautious.

Also, it's not considered a "park" if you did not go to the 'park gear' (default). That will also tell the examiner that you are done with the parking, and he/she can mark you on it.

How strict are they when it comes to parallel parking (Like, if you're in the parking spot but the car isn't completely straight)? And how many points can you get knocked off before you fail?

Besides the obvious, such as changing lanes, signals.. etc.
Here are some tips that might be helpful.

1. complete stop not passing the pedestrian crossing line.
2. Do not roll stop, do a complete stop. Which is about 3 seconds.
3. Check blind spots, mirrors when you're needed to (And make it obvious that you are)
4. When backing up, turn your head around too, and not just look at the mirror (I lost points because I only relied on mirror)
5. When parallel parking, make sure your wheels are straight before you put down the hand brake. (I lost points cuz I left my wheels turned after parking)

And yeah... the best thing you can do is probably practice driving around the area you will be getting tested at.
And don't rush.. it's better to do it slow than to do it wrong. (of course, don't drive way under the limit)

I passed mine first try. Good Luck

[quote=finkle]I failed mine last week because I didn't do a complete stop once and I stopped on* the pedestrian crossing line twice.[/quote]
i blew a stop sign and the guy still gave me mine reeheehee

um it might be a good idea to use an automatic car because if you roll back, stall, miss a shift, or even look at your shifter, they'll fail you

How long do they spend on each part of the exam? (Like different roads subdivisions, regular streets, and highway).
And how long is the overall exam?

Don't run a yellow light

The best thing you can do is just practice before your test. Not many other tips besides to stay calm and keep aware of your surroundings when driving.