I finally managed to schedule my appointment for today at the RMV (Registry of Motor Vehicles) at Framingham, MA. Last year I was on a visitor's status to the US and hence did not attempt to take the license. This year I waited for the winter to pass and all the snow to melt. Finally after driving for 6-8 weekends (weekdays husband takes the car to work) I took the plunge.
This morning I woke up a bit nervous not sure what to expect cos I have heard various stories some of them claiming how easy it is to pass the test and other how rigorous it is. In New Zealand I know they were pretty strict which such stuff. I started driving a car from 2003 after moving to New Zealand. I took five classes and with little bit of practice it was a cake walk. However I was only eligible for "Restricted License". As I was under 25 I had to wait 18 months to take the Full license or take the Defense Driving training after 6 months as a short cut and take the final road test. With Restricted license you can only drive from 6am in the morning to 10pm and can only take your family members in the car. That was quite okay with me. Besides with 40 bucks each class I had spent 200 already, the stingy student in me did not want to spend more for the Defense driving and insurance (which is also higher if below 25 apparently). Moreover most of the people told me in NZ that the Full license road test is usually a 30-45 minute affair. They take you on the inner roads, make you do all the possible 3 point or 5 point turns (lol), parallel park, change lanes on motorway (freeway) and then they also ask you to narrate hazards at every stage (to check how observant you are?) etc.
When I called the RMV for the appointment the rep on the phone told me the test should take any where from 5 to 20 minutes. I was happy to hear that for a start. My driving is pretty decent but I can get nervous and flustered at times. I also never parallel parked and recently learnt it, I wasn't too nervous about it though actually I like parallel parking now :) but I was generally worried about mood of the person who would grade my driving - the silly stuff that can ruin my prospects.
When I reached the RMV I saw the inspector and was a bit nervous. Well inspector in uniform what can you expect eh? Anyways I was third in queue on a VW Jetta (which my husband painfully drives everyday cos I made him by the smallest car cos I am still not used to driving big cars), a Volvo in front of me and BMW was the first vehicle. Both the cars had teenage girls in them. The inspector took the girl in the BMW asked her the hand signals and got back in less than 5 minutes, then again the Volvo followed and got back in 5 minutes. That was quick I thought and was happy but there was no one else behind me in the queue so the inspector could spend more time to test my driving skills - shoot!
Anyways inspector came and sat beside me. My husband sat behind. I had hinted him enough times it was not required for him to be there (as two people watching me might make me more nervous). Anyways the inspector asked me the hand signals which I dutifully showed and then asked me to start the car and take an immediate right. I indicated the road was empty, thank god I thought and started driving and suddenly out of nowhere there is this really old Asian (Chinese to be precise) lady with a cart pushing (she even wore one of those Vietnamese/Chinese pointed hats) and walking feebly towards me. Bloody Hell! I thought in my mind thats it - end of story. Where the heck did she come from?. She was carrying some filthy stuff in the cart and looked like a destitute. I waited for her to pass, she acknowledged and waved - poor lady! I thought felt bad for her anyways I continued, indicated and took a right. The road led to a STOP sign with the red light flashing. I waited and he asked me too take a couple of left turns and stop near the kerb. He asked me to reverse a bit which I did. He asked me to take the three point turn. Now this was something I hadn't done for a long time but it was easy. Then I got back to the road from where we started and it was all over in less than 5 minutes. He asked me to take my temperory license (the actual license would be mailed out) and bid goodbye.
Yes! It was that easy. I was unnecessarily that scared - but yes that Chinese lady still remains a mystery (reminds me of some mythological stories when people would disguise and come to test your values blink!blink!). And my husband is glad to get rid of VW Jetta. That was the story of how I obtained my license in the US of A.
This morning I woke up a bit nervous not sure what to expect cos I have heard various stories some of them claiming how easy it is to pass the test and other how rigorous it is. In New Zealand I know they were pretty strict which such stuff. I started driving a car from 2003 after moving to New Zealand. I took five classes and with little bit of practice it was a cake walk. However I was only eligible for "Restricted License". As I was under 25 I had to wait 18 months to take the Full license or take the Defense Driving training after 6 months as a short cut and take the final road test. With Restricted license you can only drive from 6am in the morning to 10pm and can only take your family members in the car. That was quite okay with me. Besides with 40 bucks each class I had spent 200 already, the stingy student in me did not want to spend more for the Defense driving and insurance (which is also higher if below 25 apparently). Moreover most of the people told me in NZ that the Full license road test is usually a 30-45 minute affair. They take you on the inner roads, make you do all the possible 3 point or 5 point turns (lol), parallel park, change lanes on motorway (freeway) and then they also ask you to narrate hazards at every stage (to check how observant you are?) etc.
When I called the RMV for the appointment the rep on the phone told me the test should take any where from 5 to 20 minutes. I was happy to hear that for a start. My driving is pretty decent but I can get nervous and flustered at times. I also never parallel parked and recently learnt it, I wasn't too nervous about it though actually I like parallel parking now :) but I was generally worried about mood of the person who would grade my driving - the silly stuff that can ruin my prospects.
When I reached the RMV I saw the inspector and was a bit nervous. Well inspector in uniform what can you expect eh? Anyways I was third in queue on a VW Jetta (which my husband painfully drives everyday cos I made him by the smallest car cos I am still not used to driving big cars), a Volvo in front of me and BMW was the first vehicle. Both the cars had teenage girls in them. The inspector took the girl in the BMW asked her the hand signals and got back in less than 5 minutes, then again the Volvo followed and got back in 5 minutes. That was quick I thought and was happy but there was no one else behind me in the queue so the inspector could spend more time to test my driving skills - shoot!
Anyways inspector came and sat beside me. My husband sat behind. I had hinted him enough times it was not required for him to be there (as two people watching me might make me more nervous). Anyways the inspector asked me the hand signals which I dutifully showed and then asked me to start the car and take an immediate right. I indicated the road was empty, thank god I thought and started driving and suddenly out of nowhere there is this really old Asian (Chinese to be precise) lady with a cart pushing (she even wore one of those Vietnamese/Chinese pointed hats) and walking feebly towards me. Bloody Hell! I thought in my mind thats it - end of story. Where the heck did she come from?. She was carrying some filthy stuff in the cart and looked like a destitute. I waited for her to pass, she acknowledged and waved - poor lady! I thought felt bad for her anyways I continued, indicated and took a right. The road led to a STOP sign with the red light flashing. I waited and he asked me too take a couple of left turns and stop near the kerb. He asked me to reverse a bit which I did. He asked me to take the three point turn. Now this was something I hadn't done for a long time but it was easy. Then I got back to the road from where we started and it was all over in less than 5 minutes. He asked me to take my temperory license (the actual license would be mailed out) and bid goodbye.
Yes! It was that easy. I was unnecessarily that scared - but yes that Chinese lady still remains a mystery (reminds me of some mythological stories when people would disguise and come to test your values blink!blink!). And my husband is glad to get rid of VW Jetta. That was the story of how I obtained my license in the US of A.
2 comments:
Haha..congrats! and not to nit pick or anything but i think it is spelt curb ;)not that my spellings are any great but i already said i could be a nasty critic :)
WC
Prash was pretty brave to get in the car :)
Hey your almost right :) Kerb is the other spelling sometimes used by the British for curb - in NZ I saw it in the road code book :) (not my own creation!) :)) promise!
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