Driving Test No 3

Well, now to the third driving test.

Takapuna, NZ

We had returned to live in Takapuna permanently and therefore, were required to obtain a valid New Zealand licence.  I applied and was given a date and time to attend the test.  The road rules are/were virtually the same as those in the UK and so I was all set.

Except that I forgot.  The children had left for school, husband had gone to the office and I was enjoying a leisurely cup of coffee when I remembered.  A hurried bath (I didn’t shower then as time was never an issue) and off to the testing station.

Fortunately, husband had taken my Mustang that day leaving me his car.  I didn’t think I could take my test in a left-hand drive car when here in New Zealand we drive on the left.

1969 Mustang Mach 1.  Photographed in Montreal via Wikipedia. Mine was exactly the same colour et al.

I was given a short oral test by a very pleasant young man and then told to wait for the driving tester to arrive.

At that time, the NZ police force was split into two distinct sections – the police and the traffic police.  So all those employed at the testing centre were employed by the Traffic Department or were traffic police.

The door opened and out hobbled a young man in uniform, with one leg and one arm in plaster.  Traffic police used motorcycles and he had been involved in an accident and crushed his left leg and left arm.

He greeted me cheerfully and we set off for the car.  No elevator in the building and we had to go down one flight of stairs.  I had quite a wait at the foot of the stairs while he made his laborious way down.  He had to stop when he reached the bottom, not only to get his breath back but also to overcome the pain.

A good start to another driving test!

We went to the car whereupon he asked me to drive around the block. His comment was that as I had been driving in three countries over a period of ten years, there was little he could ask me to do that I hadn’t already done.  So again once around the block; back to the testing centre where he signed the form and I was presented with my NZ Driver’s Licence.

And that is the final time I have to sit a driving test.  Oh, I forgot.  Here one has to reapply for a licence at age 75 and then according to the NZ Transport Agency the following applies:-

“Once you turn 75 there are a few changes to the process for renewing your driver licence:

• your new licence will be valid for only two to five years
• the renewal fees are lower – because you’re renewing your licence more often
• you need to present a medical certificate each time you apply
• if recommended by your doctor, you will have to sit a 30-minute On-road Safety Test.”

So watch this space.  Wonder what will happen when I reach 75.

“Seize the moment.
Think of all the women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart.”
  Erma Bombeck