The Licence

After 4 years in Australia, on 29 January 2014, I finally got my Australian driving licence (Class C - manual). Woohoo! I admit I dreaded the thought of having to sit for another practical driving test (had my Malaysian driving licence since 2008 but needed to "convert" it since I'm here now) but as I neared the end of my degree, so did my reasons of putting it off.

So that I never forget it, the official process:

12/11/13 (Tue) - Theory test ($18.50)

29/01/14 (Wed) - Practical test ($70.80)

And everything in between:

Reason why my practical test was more than 2 months from the theory was because I waited to call and booked the test after my final exams at the end of 2013 and the first available date was on the 29th. I wanted to take a couple of lessons with a driving instructor just so I know what will be tested (definitely different from the Malaysian driving test that I took all those years ago). Ended up taking 3 lessons and spending $180 ($60/hour). I don't know if I really needed that many lessons as I could already drive but the instructor was less than pleasant in his own ways. A subtle manipulator that tried to imply that unless I took a certain amount of lessons with him (no less than 5), I would fail the test. Now, what kind of teacher is that?! Rolled with it for 3 sessions just so I got things down pat. By the end of it I told him I couldn't afford any more lessons (which was true anyway but mainly because I couldn't stand his insistent forcing).  

Fast forward to days leading up to the test:

Don't have a car of my own so had to go hire one (another difference from the driving test in Malaysia where everyone drives the same car provided by the test centres). Silly ol' me didn't think that you actually need to book cars from rental places (don't tourists walk in all the time?) but apparently you do. I'm sure they take walk-ins but it's a tad cheaper if you book and booking ensures you get the exact car that you want (I specifically wanted a compact manual car). 

Booked the car online on the weekend before the test (which also turned out to be the Australia Day weekend i.e. a three-day weekend) from a rental place near home. Everything seemed fine online though I couldn't call beforehand to reconfirm anything because of Australia Day on Monday (26 January) and everything was shut. That left me to get the car on Tuesday, the day before my test.

Got a confirmation email on Tuesday morning asking if I still wanted the car. Replied "yes" and went to pick it up in the afternoon. Got to the rental place and just as I was about to pay the lady says, "You're not going to use the car for a driving test are you?" Told her I was and she said she can't rent the car to me. Say what now? Nothing in their terms and conditions stated anything of the sort (I think I've been watching too many Boston Legal in the past month that I wanted Alan Shore to come argue my case). Asked her why the hell not (in a polite, less colourful language) and she said, "You can't take your test on hired cars. Only using your own car or a friend's providing you have a letter from your friend saying that they agree to lend you their car." I know this wasn't true but suddenly I was doubting my entire existence (alright, not my entire existence) and started having a minor internal panic attack (this was the day before my test). Plastered on a big smile and stepped out to call the Department of Transport. DoT said they don't care what car you come in with as long as it's road worthy. Went back in to the rental place and said I cleared it with the DoT but the woman still won't rent me the car. 

Now what? I can't very well take a car driving test without a car. Called my sister who said to hire from the airport. Called the rental company at the airport and sorted out all the bookings and she assured me that they had the car I need at Perth International Airport. Needed a ride (airport is a fair distance away from home) and sister only got off work at 7 pm. Reached the airport around 8.30 pm, went up to the car rental counter (Thrifty), paid, and got the keys. Sister drove back home and I went to my newly rented car. What a relief. Got the car I needed. Right? Right?! Wrong! Turns out they gave me an automatic car when I specifically requested for a manual. Went back to the Thrifty counter and get this, she said Thrifty is in the process of withdrawing all their manual cars (I guess automatics are more popular). WHAT?! I was blatantly lied to by the person on the phone. Shame, shame on you.

There were a few other car rental companies at the international airport so I started asking around - Europcar didn't have any available cars, Hertz was going to cost me $133/day (Thrifty was only ~$80/90), another (can't remember which one now) said for me to go to the domestic airport where all the rental companies kept most of their cars since the parking space there is bigger so I'll have better luck there. Didn't have any other choice so I took the free shuttle from the international to domestic airport and walked up to Avis. 

Bless their soul, they have the car I needed. A compact manual car...a silver Nissan Micra. It costs $131/day (including insurance) but only because I'm under 25...would've cost ~$90 otherwise. Pricier than I would've liked but I really didn't care at this point. Double, triple checked with the man behind counter that it was a MANUAL and he assured me it was. As I was about to pay for it, another problem arose: they only accept Visa/MasterCard and I don't bloody have one. Sigh. When will this day end. Like a little kid, I had to call my sister so that I could use her card and she was forced to drive back out right after she reached home. Needless to say, she was not happy. Some 30 minutes later sister arrived with the card and sorted everything out. She drove back home and I went to my newly rented car. Got in the car and saw it was an automatic car. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown and start bawling right in the middle of the parking lot. Gathered up my wits and marched back to Avis and asked them what happened and he gave me a nervous chuckle and said that he gave me the wrong key. I'm definitely not laughing at this point. He gave me the right key and I finally, FINALLY got the car. I have to say though, comparing with all the other car rental companies I had to deal with up to this point, Avis was the most pleasant one so thank you, Avis. May your business eternally prosper.

Silver Nissan Micra which I used for my driving test

My driving test was booked for 8.45 on Wednesday morning. Was up bright and early to do a once over on the car in broad daylight and was out of the house by 7.30 (though the test centre is only 10 minutes from the house) to practice my reverse parking (not a parking style I always do though I much prefer it to parallel parking). At 8.45 am, the driving officer (is that the right title? "The tester" if you may), Ken called my name and we were off. He was really nice, not scary at all. Things I had to do for the test:

1. drive around (quite obviously) where he told me to

2. do an activity called "left something behind" (around a housing area) - basically what this entails is you start in front of a house, drive, and the tester will ask you to turn around because you "left something behind". You then have to pull up on any driveway and do a u-turn back to your starting point
3. reverse park
4. forward park
Test lasted around 30 minutes. When we got back to the test centre, waited for my tester to tally up my points and...I PASSED (with flying colours I might add)!

It was all worth it in the end. About $525 poorer (including a fee of $125 for a 5-year licence) but I need not worry about sitting for another car driving test ever again. So darn relief.