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by James Robertson.
Original Post: Getting a drivers license in Canberra
Feed Title: Michael Lucas-Smith
Feed URL: http://www.michaellucassmith.com/site.atom
Feed Description: Smalltalk and my misinterpretations of life
I thought I might share my drivers license experiences with you. Why? Well, Canberra has been implementing some 'special' new procedures for getting your L's, then your P's.
I'll start with the L's. I'm not one to jump in to something unless I really need it. I moved out to Spence, a fair way away from the city, so I suddenly needed transport. Lifts from my sister were wearing thin, so I knew it was finally time to get myself a license and car.
To get your L's in Canberra, you have to do a two day course! Yes, that's right. At this course you go through lots of road safety issues and you are expected to have studied your road rules. At the end of the two day course you get three goes on a computer system answering questions. If you pass, you pass, you get your L's. If you fail, you book again and do the two day course all over again.
Right! So now you have your L's in Canberra. Next step.. getting your P's. This is where the government makes lots of money. They have two ways for you to get your P's. A log book, where you get things ticked off by log-book qualified driving instructors (adds an extra $10 to each lesson, with a minimum of ten lessons.. big dosh!) or you can go with an examiner, the classic way of getting your license. I went with an examiner and it must be a maturity thing, I got a near perfect score - he was impressed.
You have your P's now - time to go get in some car crashes. You start off with 4 points and you have to wear P's on your car. No biggy, but 4 points isn't much of a safety blanket, especially for the demographic with the highest rate of car crashes! :)
Exactly! - six months later you get to do what's called the RoadReadyPlus course, or "P'offs"... this is what I did last night. You sit around in a group and discuss your experiences, present two pre-course things you did (I interviewed three drivers and took some pictures of some written off cars), watch some road safety ads and do some exercises. Then at the end of the course you get an extra 4 points on your license and you can drive around without your P's.
This portion of the course is a pilot program and it's no wonder that it is already being abused. Yes, that's right. Many of the people there had been in pretty bad accidents, had lost points, expected to lose points, or were on the verge of losing their license if they didn't get another 4 points. One girl had even hospitalised another driver in a car crash.
To end the story.. another 2.5 years and I'll be on a real drivers license.
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