Reality of being in the driver’s seat of Harriet Dyer’s chaotic new comedy DMV
Aussie actress Harriet Dyer stars as a driving examiner in the new US comedy DMV, prompting us to test our own skills behind the wheel of a Mustang GT.
Colin From Accounts star Harriet Dyer plays a driving examiner in the hilarious new series, DMV – and, we have to say, we have a new-found appreciation for all driving examiners across the globe.
In the brand-new US comedy, the Aussie actress portrays Colette, an overworked but surprisingly perky employee of the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in fictional East Hollywood.
The CBS series, which is now streaming locally on BINGE, follows Colette and her fellow underpaid DMV colleagues as they navigate annoying customers and queries daily.
As a tester, she is quite literally taken for a drive as the applicants run stop signs, dodge pedestrians and keep their attention anywhere but the road.
“My life flashed before my eyes,” Colette says on the show after one challenging driving test with a little old lady.
Stream DMV and Colin From Accounts now on BINGE, available on Hubbl.
To celebrate the release of the new series on BINGE, I took part in the DMV Ultimate Drive Day at Sydney’s Motorsports Park (SMSP) in Eastern Creek – and it was all filmed for news.com.au.
Was it fun? Yes. Was it terrifying? Also yes.
Colette and co were not there to conduct the tests, but I did have a real-life professional driving skills instructor by my side who put me through a series of obstacles to test my driving abilities.
Like Colette, he was very calm and patient with me but probably secretly fearful for his life when I was behind the wheel. I did see him put his hand on the handbrake a few times when I was doing a braking exercise (more on that later).
After undergoing an eyesight test with a cardboard cut-out of Colette overseeing the results in her trademark pink cardie, we were introduced to a shiny red Ford Mustang GT with more horsepower than any car I’ve ever driven.
Is it just me, or do red things just generally go faster? We’ll soon find out.
My first challenge was to drive through some traffic cones set up on the skidpan at SMSP. Sounds easy enough, right? Not when the cones were narrowly spaced out and the sprinklers were turned on to simulate a slippery road. I may or may not have knocked down a few cones, but Colette would be happy to know that no pedestrians were injured in the making of our video.
The next challenge had a strong focus on acceleration and braking. Basically, I was told to floor it to 60km/hour and then hit the brakes.
The “flooring it” part was easy. I was there in 4 seconds. But I just couldn’t bring myself to slam the brakes without restraint for fear I’d flip the car over.
Not a valid fear, I’m told, as I was nowhere near the speed needed for the car to overturn. Read: I’m a slow driver.
Hands down, the definite highlight of the day was doing donuts in the skidpan. I could hear Teriyaki Boyz’s Tokyo Drift playing in my head as I manoeuvred into a series of figure-8s (Fast & Furious fans would get it).
I doubt my donuts would have got me the pass I needed at the DMV – my instructor told me to slow down a few times — but Colette passes everyone that’s why they call her “Easy Pass” on the show. There is even a whole episode dedicated to it.
“I’m not ‘Easy Pass’,” she hit back of the nickname. “If anything, I’m like ‘Hard Pass’. I am an experienced examiner that is firm but fair.”
So would Colette have given me an Easy Pass? Watch the above video to find out.
DMV is streaming now on BINGE
Originally published as Reality of being in the driver’s seat of Harriet Dyer’s chaotic new comedy DMV
Cops probe ‘unlawful’ assault of 17yo on bus
