Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Driving Lessons!



Well, we're taking our driving lessons and it ain't easy. After 40 years of driving, we're having to learn/un-learn an awful lot! We thought we could get away with just a couple of hours of refresher lessons, but it's going to take a bit longer than expected as we have so many habits which would fail us if we didn't change them.

The driving test over here is very strict. First you have to take a theory test, which consists of multiple choice questions based on a book called the "Highway Code". Then there's the hazard perception test in which you watch short videos and click the mouse when you see a potential or developing hazard.

The actual driving test comes after all that. They watch you like a hawk and you have to complete various sections. The backing up part can be parallel parking, backing into a parking bay and/or backing around a corner. You have to do a hill start and a three point turn. There are certain ways you MUST do things or they fail you and that's the part that's really hard.

Still, I think we'll come out of this as better drivers. If it wasn't such a bureaucratic nightmare I think it would be a good idea to re-test people at regular intervals. We all forget what we learned in driving school and we could all do with a refresher. In this country, especially, where the roads are so narrow and people drive so much faster, driving lessons are a great way to keep up your skills and boost your confidence on the road.

I'm experimenting with format for this posting. George asked me to post my e-mail address at the end of each post so you can send me your comments. I would have turned on the "comments" thingie on these postings except that I see people use them to post spamming adverts.

E-Mail: joanarnfield@gmail.com