The Road Test Chronicles
I took a road test for a Driver's License for the 6th time today (24th June, 2017). I passed.
It has been an unhappy series of events.
My first driver's test was when I was in college. I must have been about 19. I had taken a series of lessons from a driving school in Munirka. I had also been driving the family car under my mother's supervision. My father had stopped driving by then. The driving school had not done much by way of actually teaching me to drive but they would set up the logistics of taking the test.
The test would be at a place called 'Majnu Ka Tila' in the far north of Delhi. A driver was engaged for the day to take me there. The car to be used for the test would be provided by the driving school. Their people would be there to organize things and presumably to persuade the examiner to be nice to their students.
The first few students went through the test uneventfully. It was a fairly basic test. They just wanted to make sure you we could drive the car, knew the signals etc. Very basic.
When my turn came, I couldn't make the car move.
I had been driving a Maruti 800 which is a pleasant and responsive car to drive. The car for the test was a Fiat Padmini. For one thing, the gears were in the wrong place, next to the steering wheel instead of beside the seat. The accelerator and the clutch had a lot of play. I thought I was pressing the accelerator but actually I had to press it a lot harder to make anything happen. The clutch had two stable positions, completely pressed and completely released. Anything in between was very difficult to sustain. Every time I put the car in first gear and release the clutch, it would pop all the way up and the engine would stall.
After three attempts, the examiner gave up on me and failed me.
After the entire contingent from the driving school was done, my driver went up to the examiner and persuaded him to give me another chance. He told me 'press the accelerator down all the way. Don't worry about the noise. Then slowly release the clutch. Once it starts moving, you'll be okay.'
That's what I did. The engine made a sound like a dying jet engine and when I released the clutch, the car jumped like a kangaroo but it did not stall. The rest of the test was uneventful.
Most people only have to take one drivers test in their life but I was not so fortunate. The next occasion was when I was in the Bronx. When our younger son was born, it was clear that public transport would not be sufficient. In the winter it was not practical to carry a baby to the nearest subway station. We had to get our own vehicle and before I could get a vehicle I had to get a driver's license.
I joined a motor driving school in the Bronx. It was run by an amiable Indian guy. Since I had been driving in Delhi for 15 years without any major mishaps, I assumed that the test would be a formality. He told me: 'people who are just learning to drive do better in the driving test. You will get into trouble. You think you know how to drive and you will take things for granted which will get you failed in the test.' I memorized things like how many feet from a fire hydrant you are allowed to park, what an interstate highway sign looks like, what a state highway sign looks like and so on. I practiced many hours in the driving school's car.
The day of the test was a snowy day in winter. I have only the most vague memories of what happened but basically, the car had an automatic transmission. My reflexes were still attuned to manual transmission and my left foot, instead of remaining sedately on the floor of the car, reflexly decided to participate in the process of driving, leading to an immediate fail due to the car moving backwards instead of forwards or the other way round.
The next appointment for a test was after two weeks and this time I passed uneventfully and was eventually able to purchase a venerable Dodge Caravan, 10 years old with a magnificent 3.2 liter V6 engine which gave about 7 miles per gallon.
Unfortunately, the New York license expired when I returned to India and I was again faced with the prospect of taking a test for a US driver's license, this time in Pennsylvania.
I think I made the mistake of scheduling the test too soon after I arrived in Pittsburgh. My reflexes were still working on right hand drive and I had not yet overcome my difficulties in communicating with Americans in English. I messed up the part of the test in which I had to back up and park between two pillars. I started too far away and then did not realize that I had three chances to correct the maneuver. Failed again.
I might not have had the chance to try again since I was not getting an opportunity to schedule a driver's test before returning to India. Eventually I found that if I were willing to drive to Beaver Falls, about 50 miles from Pittsburgh, I would be able to take a driver's test the day before my return.
The examiner asked me what happened in the previous test. I answered honestly. He became fairly friendly and the test was uneventful after that.
Of course, I could drive all over the country using my Indian driver's license but the car insurance company would not insure me without a local license. Besides it is a convenient form of ID. Saves having to carry the passport around.
I'm one of the safest drivers on the streets on Delhi (or Mumbai or Pittsburgh or New York). I'm just not good at tests.
It has been an unhappy series of events.
My first driver's test was when I was in college. I must have been about 19. I had taken a series of lessons from a driving school in Munirka. I had also been driving the family car under my mother's supervision. My father had stopped driving by then. The driving school had not done much by way of actually teaching me to drive but they would set up the logistics of taking the test.
The test would be at a place called 'Majnu Ka Tila' in the far north of Delhi. A driver was engaged for the day to take me there. The car to be used for the test would be provided by the driving school. Their people would be there to organize things and presumably to persuade the examiner to be nice to their students.
The first few students went through the test uneventfully. It was a fairly basic test. They just wanted to make sure you we could drive the car, knew the signals etc. Very basic.
When my turn came, I couldn't make the car move.
I had been driving a Maruti 800 which is a pleasant and responsive car to drive. The car for the test was a Fiat Padmini. For one thing, the gears were in the wrong place, next to the steering wheel instead of beside the seat. The accelerator and the clutch had a lot of play. I thought I was pressing the accelerator but actually I had to press it a lot harder to make anything happen. The clutch had two stable positions, completely pressed and completely released. Anything in between was very difficult to sustain. Every time I put the car in first gear and release the clutch, it would pop all the way up and the engine would stall.
After three attempts, the examiner gave up on me and failed me.
After the entire contingent from the driving school was done, my driver went up to the examiner and persuaded him to give me another chance. He told me 'press the accelerator down all the way. Don't worry about the noise. Then slowly release the clutch. Once it starts moving, you'll be okay.'
That's what I did. The engine made a sound like a dying jet engine and when I released the clutch, the car jumped like a kangaroo but it did not stall. The rest of the test was uneventful.
Most people only have to take one drivers test in their life but I was not so fortunate. The next occasion was when I was in the Bronx. When our younger son was born, it was clear that public transport would not be sufficient. In the winter it was not practical to carry a baby to the nearest subway station. We had to get our own vehicle and before I could get a vehicle I had to get a driver's license.
I joined a motor driving school in the Bronx. It was run by an amiable Indian guy. Since I had been driving in Delhi for 15 years without any major mishaps, I assumed that the test would be a formality. He told me: 'people who are just learning to drive do better in the driving test. You will get into trouble. You think you know how to drive and you will take things for granted which will get you failed in the test.' I memorized things like how many feet from a fire hydrant you are allowed to park, what an interstate highway sign looks like, what a state highway sign looks like and so on. I practiced many hours in the driving school's car.
The day of the test was a snowy day in winter. I have only the most vague memories of what happened but basically, the car had an automatic transmission. My reflexes were still attuned to manual transmission and my left foot, instead of remaining sedately on the floor of the car, reflexly decided to participate in the process of driving, leading to an immediate fail due to the car moving backwards instead of forwards or the other way round.
The next appointment for a test was after two weeks and this time I passed uneventfully and was eventually able to purchase a venerable Dodge Caravan, 10 years old with a magnificent 3.2 liter V6 engine which gave about 7 miles per gallon.
Unfortunately, the New York license expired when I returned to India and I was again faced with the prospect of taking a test for a US driver's license, this time in Pennsylvania.
I think I made the mistake of scheduling the test too soon after I arrived in Pittsburgh. My reflexes were still working on right hand drive and I had not yet overcome my difficulties in communicating with Americans in English. I messed up the part of the test in which I had to back up and park between two pillars. I started too far away and then did not realize that I had three chances to correct the maneuver. Failed again.
I might not have had the chance to try again since I was not getting an opportunity to schedule a driver's test before returning to India. Eventually I found that if I were willing to drive to Beaver Falls, about 50 miles from Pittsburgh, I would be able to take a driver's test the day before my return.
The examiner asked me what happened in the previous test. I answered honestly. He became fairly friendly and the test was uneventful after that.
Of course, I could drive all over the country using my Indian driver's license but the car insurance company would not insure me without a local license. Besides it is a convenient form of ID. Saves having to carry the passport around.
I'm one of the safest drivers on the streets on Delhi (or Mumbai or Pittsburgh or New York). I'm just not good at tests.
'I'm just not good tests'
ReplyDeleteAll this while I was thinking I was the only one gifted with this special ability of not performing well when tested. A feel good read ;).