Beep beep, beep beep, yeah.
I was pretty reluctant to write about my car when I bought it last year. I bought a brand new one but I had a few people judge me for only being on my learner’s licence when I bought a brand new car. Because of that I didn’t really want to tell anyone about it, either, and that’s why LZRGUN sort of remained a mystery.
I first got my learner licence in 2007. The requirement was to log at least 50 hours of driving. Then it was announced that after a certain date, the rules would change to a minimum of 120 hours, which had to include a minimum of 20 hours of night driving. I did my learning test and got my licence before that change, hoping to log 50 hours and do a driving test.
In my state, there are a series of licences you have to go through before gaining your full licence:
- Learner (yellow) (minimum 1 year)
- Provisional 1 (red) (minimum 1 year)
- Provisional 2 (green) (minimum 2 years)
It sounds annoying, and I am certain that other countries only require you to do one test, whereas here… you have to do one test for each of the above, and one more test to get your full licence. You also have to hold each licence for a minimum period of time. The only practical driving test is the one to get to P1, which is the one I finally took last week. It allows you to drive on your own (without a supervising driver). The others are computer tests.
My first licence had expired many years ago. I didn’t log 50 hours because I never got the time to drive, thanks to school getting in the way. I never needed to drive because it was easier and cheaper to catch public transport to university, work, and other places I wanted to meet and hang out with friends.
Early last year I got my learner licence again before buying a car. I even went all out to get the custom number plate LZRGUN, and I figured it would make me somewhat motivated to drive.
I had a couple of lessons before I took the test. I wouldn’t say I passed with flying colours, but I got a score of 97/104. You just need 90% to pass. The two people who came in before me had failed, and I worried that I would do something wrong (since there are some ‘instant fail’ items). I parked a bit weirdly, having touched the side of the road, but then straightened my car. The testing officer just said I needed to make sure I check my blind spots. I was pretty relieved that I got a female officer, the male ones seemed strict and… I think I would have been very uncomfortable with them sitting in my car. :| But yes, the lady was nice and made some small talk, which I normally hate but I guess it settled my nerves in some way.
I had to drive through so many school zones and wait at a lot of traffic lights. It was a nice challenge, but I was somewhat glad that I got some school zones because at least I could show off that I knew full well to slow down. School zones are only active when school kids might be on the road – so, early morning and in the afternoon. I picked a time in the morning and they were active, but I wanted to get my test done before going to work. :P
I drove by myself to the doctors yesterday, and I also drove all the way to the city to pick Nick up from university (he was doing an exam). I’m pretty proud of myself, haha. I was a bit scared on the motorway but I just took my time. Some people passed in front of me but I wasn’t bothered. I made sure I drove safely. Woohoo.
Now singing the Beatles’ song Drive My Car makes more sense. At least, the beep beep, beep beep, yeah part. 🚗