I feel like I'm 15 1/2 again.
As Americans, we are only allowed to drive on our US driver's licenses for 1 year. At the end of that time, we have to have gotten UK driver's licenses. Our year mark is looming ever closer, so we've finally started the process. And by process, I mean epic. Like Homer's Odyssey, only filled with red tape and lots of money being spent.
The first thing we had to do was apply to get a provisional license. That cost 50 pounds per person, plus 4 pounds per person to get the "right" kind of photos for the license. You're not allowed to smile for them. We kind of look like thugs. Bill especially. After filling out all of the paperwork, we had to mail it all in, along with our passports. We were told this could take up to four weeks to get back. Luckily it was closer to one week, but it still made me rather nervous... as if we were being held prisoner in the country...
Once we got the provisional licenses, we could sign up to take the theory test. This is comprised of two parts: a 50 question multiple-choice, and a "hazard perception," which is 14 video clips of driving where you have to click at the right time when you see a hazard. And when I say "right time," I mean that they are extremely picky about this. They were booking three weeks out or more for the theory test. Oh, and it was 30 pounds per person. I finally had mine on last Wednesday, and Bill's was Thursday. We both did lots of studying for it (me more than Bill), and thankfully, we both passed.
Next step: the practical driving exam. This is the actual behind-the-wheel portion, and they are booking nearly six weeks out for it. It lasts about 45 minutes, and includes "show and tell" type questions about your car (like how thick your tire tread has to be, how to check your oil, etc.) as well as the demonstration of good driving. Good driving here includes being able to back into a (very narrow) parking space, back around a corner from a main road into a side road, parallel parking, and some other rather difficult maneuvers. I am NOT looking forward to this. I've got mine on October 16th, Bill's is the 14th. Oh yeah, and this costs 57 pounds per person. And there's a 40% pass rate.
I have my first driving lesson on Tuesday. Yes, lesson. I've been driving for 15 years, and I have to take lessons to be able to pass this silly thing. Oh, and the lessons cost 20 pounds per hour. Sigh.
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5 comments:
holy schniekies!! so, since i am an arrogant american, how much actually dollars are you spending? it looks like alot to me, but how do i know? $1 could = 100lbs. and jeez, they're not picky!! well, maybe if we were a bit more picky in the good ole usofa, we'd have less accidents....nah. of course we wouldn't! we're americans, lol!
liz
Good luck!!! Yeah...I remember that time of my life...in italy it is pretty much the same...extremely expensive and very hard...I am impressed you passed the theory right away....I know it is not easy...I am sure you'll do great with the actual driving one...I can imagine how you feel though...I am enjoying your blog again after a long time I hadn't been here...your girl is so cute and she looks great with her new hair cut and how great she got to open her package early...good for her! :)
Liz-
One pound equals roughly two dollars. So if you double all the prices, you'll get a rough estimate of what it cost in US dollars.
And the pickiness is new--the people our age, who took the test 15 years ago (heck, even those who did it 5 years ago) practically just walked in and had their license handed to them. My guess is that this is an over-reaction to trying to fix the high rate of accidents.
All I can say is WOW! Good luck on the driving portion. I am sure you will do fine.
Congrats on the written part! Yea!!! It's just one step...or test at a time :-)
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