The Driving Licence rambling

Accounts of experiences varies from person to person when asked about their journey towards a full UK driving license. Some just flew through without a glitch and passed the first time and I know of someone who had to sit for the practical exam for four times!

This is my journey:

Malaysian driving license can't be converted into a UK one. So we Malaysians who wants to drive here beyond the first year (where you can drive using the International Driving License) has to start from scratch. We need to pass both the theory and practical driving test. Theory test is a piece of cake for us M'sians as it just involves memorising and regurgitate. But the practical test is a different matter. Firstly, style of driving is quite different. Drivers are encouraged to speed up whenever possible, signals are used as indication of a subsequent swift action instead of an intention (... of waiting for an invitation sometimes :P ) and the hardest one is that we have to trust that other drivers are abiding by the rule at all times.

Driving has never been one of my better ability. I just do it just to get myself from one point to another and to get me to my work place. I have no dreams of being the fastest, the sportiest, the coolest or the smartest on the road. In fact, back in Malaysia, I literally had to force myself to venture to new routes which is not within my usual comfort zone route. Each time I did that, I was sure I lost some weight just from being nervous. I never felt safe, found myself always looking out for naughty drivers and mat motors. However cautious I've been, I still got into two accidents during my first year of driving. Both in Penang.

Fast forward to the UK. I first took my passed my theory test shortly after I first arrived in 2002. It was valid for 2 years in which I will have to pass my practical test. I never bothered and it expired. I made do with buses, cabs and SK ferrying me around. Fast forward 5 years later, I had NO CHOICE. There's Tobey to think of. He is the type of toddler that thrive when thrown into social scenarios like playgroups, music classes, swimming classes and so on. Cab fare is so darn expensive and there's only so many places we can go in a bus. And when it rains or freezing cold, which is 6 months a year here, it gets doubly hard to wait in bus stops or get stuck in a stuffy bus with no windows open. The last prompt is that SK will soon be starting a new job much further away from us. I can't exactly call him to come home from work within 30 mins if there's an emergency at home anymore. So the pressure was on. I took another theory test, got an instructor and took classes which cost me £24 per hour. SK decided to seal my commitment by getting me a swanky little used car. Cheeky bugger. So there was no turning back and run the other way now.

Took my first practical exam, hit the curb (not a kid, a rabbit or a bicycle. Just a stupid curb) and failed. I was gutted. I never failed especially when I worked so hard on it. I realised that it's not how hard you practiced, it's about not being nervous and do a silly mistake when the examiner is sitting beside you for that 50 mins. Easier said that done. They watch like a hawk, to see my eye movement (whether I look into my rear view mirror each time I brake or signal), my neck movement (whether I look all around me like 5 times just to do a reverse around a corner), my hand movement (whether I let the steering glide or cross my hands whilst steering), my car movement (whether it's too abrupt, or too cautious). It was driving me mad. I want to give up. I am not the kind of person that could ensure that these actions happen harmoniously under such pressure. BUT...I have Tobey to think about. SO I carried on. Booked another test for 6 weeks later. Practiced on my own car with SK every chance I got in hope that I can build enough confidence on the road to leave some concentration to orchestrate the symphony of actions the examiner wants to see. I was ready. The day before the exam, the Driving Standard Agency called and expressed how sorry they were that they needed to reschedule my exam to TWO weeks later as my examiner called in sick and they can't find any replacement. Bear in mind, this is EXTREMELY rare. The following day, my Instructor arrived for my lesson with a DIFFERENT car. His hatchback died on him 3 days earlier and he didn't even bother to call to tell me. If my exam were not cancelled, I would have been stucked with taking the exam in a car that I am not familiar with! I confronted him and that tut insisted that it's just 10% bigger.My foot. He must be blind. It was a SEDAN. It has a booth jutting out. I was fuming. That night I dreamed that he arrive for my lesson in a double-decker bus and insisted that it's still 10% bigger. So God was actually watching over me. The rescheduling was a blessing in disguise. I then prepared myself in my own car, half expecting his hatchback (the car I am practiced most in) not to be back in time. I was right. They couldn't find an engine for it. Karma I tell you.

Today was my second attempt in my practical test. I used my little swanky car. The driving condition was awful, raining, gloomy, windy and even slightly misty. It was another blessing in disguise. The examiner was more lenient in his marking taking the weather into consideration. I PASSED. I am still in shock. But it's slowly sinking in that I am now able to open up a whole new world of weekday activities for my son. Thank God.

Here's Tobey mobile saying hi to the world.