I finally managed to get my driving license last wednesday i.e 12/19/2007.Let me share my experiences. I hope the article will be a source of encouragement to all who are trying to get their driving license.
I did have a driving license in India for my 2 wheeler as well as LMV (Light Motor Vehicle) for my care. But the fact is i din't know to drive.
After coming to the US, i got my learners permit on 11/09/2007. I had to give a computer test for that. I prepared for that test for 3 days. I read the entire manual given by the DMV. It had so many road signs and rules. The day before taking the test, I took 2 practise test online. The test had two parts, road rules test for 20 marks and road signs test for 20 marks. It was multiple choice and computer based. So once I enter an answer, I couldn't change it. I got very tensed when my very first answer went wrong. I could make a maximum of 5 mistakes to pass. To make matters worse my 3rd answer also went wrong. But after 15 minutes of full tension, i completed my test. I got 17/20 in road rules test and 20/20 in road signs test. When i got my learners permit i discovered that it was valid only till dec 2007. I just had 3 months to get my license.
Time passed by until it became nov end. I suddenly realised that I just had a month to practise my driving and get my license. So I finally started my driving practise. My husband was my tutor. We used to practise every sunday after church for an hour in the parking lot of Big Lots. Thats the time my daughter sleeps. The first day we went round and round the parking lot until I got familiar with the accelerator and brake. Another thing I had to get familiar with was the side of driving. In India the steering is in the right and we drive in the left side of the road. In the US it was exactly the opposite. Even now I get confused with the side of driving.
The second day of practise was again in the parking lot. I tried parking, left turn and right turn. But this time I tried driving back home after the practise session. It was very scary when vehicles would speed up in the roads. But I managed to reach home safely. The following week I did some more driving in the road. After 3-4 days of driving I became little confident. So i called up the DMV to fix up the appointment for my road test. I got the appointment for 12-19-2007 at 1 pm. It was already 15th dec and I had very little time to practise. That sat, my husband made me drive the entire day. We went to different places, had lunch in Red Lobster and also did some shopping. But the entire time I was driving. The next day also I did a bit of driving.
The day before getting my license, we went to my friend Swathis house. She had taken her road test recently. She gave me some tips on driving. She told me to adjust the mirrors before starting the vehicle even if it is properly adjusted. She told me to be confident in what I was doing. She also gave me some tips on Parallel Parking. That night i tried parallel parking a few times in our apartment. It came out well a few times but I was not confident enough doing it in the test. Anyway I had no other go.
The next day was a tension day. I was fully thinking about getting the license. In the DMV, after completing the initial formalities, an officer accompanied me to take my test. We got into my car. He told me to put the indicators, slam the brake and press the horn to check if my car was in good condition. After that he told me to pick up speed and do sudden stop at a point that he showed me. Next he told me to go in reverse all the way that we had come. I hadn't practised reverse so I was a bit tensed. But it went well. Next he told me to do parallel parking. There were cones all around the parking lane. I had to park within the lane without hitiing the cones. I was not very confident about that but by Gods grace it turned out well. Next the officer asked me to do reverse parking. Now this was something that I was totally not prepared for. I was not even good at reverse driving. I got so tensed that I started sweating. I just made a small prayer in my mind and took the reverse. By Gods grace and to my surprise, the car went straight into the paking lane without hitting any of the cones. It was purely Gods grace because that was the first time I ever tried doing it. Once the car was parked properly I heaved a sigh of releif. Next the officer told me to go to the road. He told me to change lanes, make a left turn, right turn, change speeds etc. After driving in the road for 10 minutes, we came back and the test was over. As my vehicle was parked, i was eagerly looking at the officer as to what he would say. Finally he said that i had PASSED. HURRAY.....
In the next 10 minutes my photograph was taken and i was given my license. The officer told my husband that i needed lot of practise as my driving was not very smooth. But there was no reason for not giving the license. He wished me best of luck and we retured home happily. It is indeed an unforgettable experience as I had got my license with very very little practise.
