Tales from behind the wheel

Last week I read about 'share day' at preschool, when children get to bring some of their toys. Well, last wednesday I got to have share day at the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles), and I brought my car for my behind-the-wheel-driving-test. As a bonus of our move abroad I got to do my driver's exam all over again. Only this time, I was surrounded by 16-year-olds. 16-YEAR-OLDS! Who would - if they aced their test - take their share of the road I'd be driving on. Now, I think I am not the only Dutch person who thinks it somewhat strange that 16-year-olds get to drive behind the wheel, but are not allowed to drink (which does not mean I am pro drinking at this age, and I do think the combination of driving and not drinking is a very good one). Many studies show that the bulk of road accidents happen to adolescents. This might have something to do with the way our brain develops. Our frontal lobe (where all the major smart decision making processes happen) is the last to develop and is by no means done at age 16.

The Californian driving test consists of a 20 minute drive (of which at least 5 minutes is taken up by showing your instructor you can honk your horn). Special manoeuvres are limited to backing in a straight line. That's it. No parking (front or backwards), no stopping on a hill (which is not really a difficult thing when you don't have a stick), no back turns, nothing, just backing in a straight line. And you get to make 15 mistakes on the test before you fail, although serious mistakes count as an immediate fail. A bit different from the Dutch driving test. The result for me? 7 mistakes and a pass. The young girl in the Mini before me made 10 mistakes, got some extra pointers, and also passed. She was very happy that she didn't have to enter the freeway or highway during the test. Although her mom mentioned the fact that she would have to drive on the freeway daily on her way to school. I admit I was also glad I didn't have to enter any freeway during my exam: the on ramps are very short, the amount of traffic is huge, and it is often unclear whether the ramp will end or not or whether the ramp is also an off ramp. Confusion galore. But still, I do think it should be part of the exam.

But hey, all this aside: I am now the proud owner of a Californian driver's license and a Dutch driver's license.

To end this blog in style, some interesting license plates my hubby and me saw on the road:

TKCHRG
TNK GRL (which was actually a little SUV driven by a dude)
KIDSM♥M
♥MYHBD (on a Prius)
DRVSMRT (not on a Smart)
TRNRCHK
MAUIFUN
TRVL SZ
IDNTITI
MINK OAT (not sure about the spelling capabilities of this driver)


and my favorite:
IMAWEE1 (on a Smart)