Getting driver's license. Driving exam
After the theory exam
Until I got to that practical exam, my brother was waiting outside nearby our car and I went to him. Well, of course, I told him that I had all the answers correct and stuff like that. Then we decided to drive a car until I got to that practical examination.
There was this before-examination practice nearby and you could pay them and drive that car on a road, where all those things were aligned that you had to perform in the practical examination. That was a good decision, I guess, however, I had some practical lessons in Tbilisi until we went to the examination center, you know.
So, we looked for that place, however we couldn’t find it the first time and then we had to go all the way to the road that led to Tbilisi and then turn somewhere and get back to Rustavi and then we couldn’t find it either and just before we passed it, my brother saw it and we went in. there were three men sitting there and two cars were being driven by a woman and a guy and, yes, they were practicing just like I wanted to practice. They said that one drive was 5 Laris and so that we got into the car and, of course, this one man got into the car, too, next to me, where those instructors seat during the lessons. He was pretty boring. He could talk without stopping and that killed me. He was telling me all those things that were not really interesting, I mean, I already knew what to do and he was telling me to do this and that and, well, it was annoying, you know. I just wanted to kind of review my driving skills until I got to the real exam and he just couldn’t let me. He just couldn’t stop talking and telling me how to drive and things like that. Well, it was still a good idea to drive that car until the examination.
The examination
After that, we went to this practical examination, where those people were in line waiting for their turn to come and there were two lines: one of them was for mechanic cars and the other one was for automatic cars.
There were many people, who couldn’t pass the exam and it got me thinking, what if I couldn’t pass it, too. I mean, they couldn’t do so many things and many of them even got kicked out of the car from the very first task and it was pretty bad. Well, I wanted to take a look at a “big picture”, so that I stood somewhere nearby the track and watched how people drove those cars and what they did in those tasks and stuff like that.
There was this one girl, she struggled pretty badly, she did all those things with such struggle, that I thought the computer in the car would tell her that she didn’t pass, however, she somehow got to the finish line and she passed the exam! And imagine her driving a car in the streets! She was just a shock for everyone and people were shocked in that waiting line that she passed the exam. It was just crazy, you know. And there were some people, who couldn’t pass the exam, however, they knew how to drive better than this girl, if you ask me. Well, what can you do?! Sometimes it’s about luck and things like that.
Well, while I was watching those people, my brother took my ID card and gave it to that policeman who then made those waiting lines, and there were more than ten people in that waiting line, I guess, when he went there. However, while I was watching those people, this policeman had cried my name out, though I couldn’t hear it, of course, so that when I got there and he asked about me and I told him that that was me, he told me that he had once cried out my name, but I was not there, so that I had to get in that line now.
Well, there were somewhat about 20 people before me waiting for their turn to come, so that I got in line, too. As I’ve said already, many of them couldn’t pass the exam and they got kicked out of the cars pretty soon, so that the line was getting closer and closer to those cars and I didn’t really have to wait much long for my turn to come. However, it was so hot that one could hardly stand it. good thing was that we were in some kind of an open building with a roof on it and it was not that hot there, if you want to know the truth. And we watched how other people were driving those cars and whether they passed the exam or not. Some time later it was just two people in front of me in the waiting line and I knew that soon it would be my turn to go and get into that car and drive it. though I was not nervous, if you want to know the truth. I was just tired of waiting, I guess, and I just wanted my turn to come soon, so that I could drive the car and see whether or not I was able to pass the exam, you know. It was kind of easy to get into the car and stuff like that, you know, because you just have to take some steps and there you were _ sitting in that car, waiting for the instructor to tell you the rules and then go and begin the examination.
When I got into the car, he asked me my ID card and he checked whether I had passed the theory exam successfully or not and when he saw that I had passed the theory exam, he started explaining those rules and that I just needed to use that hand brake twice during the exam : one on the uphill and the other one on parallel parking and that the computer sensor in the car would tell me directions and would decide whether I did the task correctly or not and that he would be silenced during the whole examination and that I should not ask him any question during the examination, because he would not answer me anyways. Well, I corrected the seat and the mirrors and the belt and all those stuff and then I started the car, well, to be honest, at first, it didn’t start, because it was not in a free mode and then I realized it and then I started the car.
So, I went slowly towards the first task and that was the getting the car into some virtually four-walled room or something like that and many people just couldn’t do it, you know, and you would lose many points if you didn’t do it correctly and then you would have to be kicked out of the car, because you wouldn’t have passed the exam, if you want to know the truth.
You know, there are 100 points and you lose points for each mistake and if you lose more than 39 points, then it means that you didn’t pass your practical exam and you have to come back to take it in 7 days or so. I mean, you can take the exam again in 7 days, or in another 7 days and so on and so forth during the following 30 days. So, basically, you have another three tries if you don’t pass the exam that day. Otherwise, after that time, you must take the theory exam again and do all those things again, in general. However, you can pay extra and then you can take the exam again whenever you want. There were some guys there, who didn’t pass the practical exam and ran to the examination center and, I guess, they paid that 50 Laris or whatever it’s needed, so that they could drive the car again and take the practical exam and maybe, they would pass the exam that time. Well, at least, they hoped, that they would pass the exam the second time, I guess. Well, the whole examination thing was kind of hilarious, when looked from the other side, I mean, from the spectators’ side, because people did so many silly things while driving those cars, that one could not resist not laughing or something like that.
Anyways, I did the first task perfectly, as they say, because I didn’t lose any points or did something wrong or anything, you know, and just when I finished doing that task, this computer sensor in the car made some noise and I didn’t really get what it was trying to say and I stood like that for a couple of seconds and it didn’t say anything else, so that I decided to ask my instructor policeman what was going on and whether I could start the next task or not, however, I knew that he told me that I shouldn’t have asked any questions to him during the examination, though I still asked, if I had finished this task and could go on to another one, but in vain. He just groaned and that was it. and then I said, okay, let’s move on to the next task and just when I got out of those lines, the computer told me to move on to the next task, which was “zig-zags” as they call it. well, this computer was pretty slow, if you want to know the truth. They should have a little faster sensors, if you ask me. Or maybe it was because I moved pretty slowly during the examination. Well, that’s what they told me, I mean, everyone was telling me to move slowly with the car, so that there wouldn’t be any problem and I would control the car better that way and nothing was to be in a hurry for and stuff like that, you know. So that, I moved pretty slowly and just enjoyed the ride, I guess, because after that first task getting done pretty well, I was in a good mood and I wanted to enjoy the whole thing, if you want to know the truth.
After finishing that task, too, there was this dead-end, which was pretty easy and then came the 8-shaped task, where this other guy was finishing the task and that was when my instructor broke his silence and told me to wait for that guy and then start doing that task, so I hit the brakes and waited for him to finish this task, so that I could begin it. well, I did that and then it was the uphill that many people were afraid of and many of them couldn’t do it and I knew, that if the car went down, I would lose 20 points or so, however it all went great and the car didn’t go downhill or whatever, it just went up and everything was just great and I just had one task left and that was all. However, there was one thing, too, the light signal, which could have been red and if I didn’t stop there, I would lose some points, so when I looked at it, I saw that it was red and then I went pretty slowly towards it, so that meanwhile it could get green and so that I wouldn’t have to stop there and there would have been no problem at all! So, that’s what happened, and the light got green and I just went on and then there was this parallel parking task, which I did perfectly while practicing and I wasn’t really afraid of losing some points there.
Then was the second time that my instructor spoke. He told me to wait a little, until those other people finished that parallel parking tasks and then he told me to do that task in that place which was in the very end. Well, I was kind of stuck there, because those things, which I had to concentrate on and rely on were not seen, and I was not sure where I had parked my car or whether I was in a correct spot or not, however, I had no choice, but to rely on myself and my intuition and I started doing that task and, well, I did it just well and I stopped the car and that was when the instructor and the computer said that I had successfully passed the examination and that I could park the car on that place where I started from.
After that, the instructor asked me, where I wanted to get my driver’s license and I told him that I wanted it in Tbilisi and that was it, he gave my ID card to me and I said goodbye and got out of the car. To be honest, I should have asked him when my driver’s license would be ready, however, I didn’t ask him anything and, well, that’s why I had to call the center after some time to ask them whether my driver’s license was ready or not! Well, they told me that I would get a text message telling me that my driver’s license was ready and so that I was waiting for it to arrive, however, it went days, and I hadn’t received anything, so that I called the hot line and asked whether my driver’s license was ready or not, and they asked me when I had passed the exam and when I told them that I had passed it on August 30, they told me that the driver’s license would have been ready already on the 6-th of September, so that I decided to go to that place in Tbilisi, that is Kavtaradze street No. 5 and get my driver’s license.
It was not much effort going there, however I needed almost one hour to get there from my apartment. And when I asked my brother, he was nearby there, so that I could get there and he would wait for me there and we could go there together and then come back home together, so that sounded good, and well, though I was kind of lazy to go all the way from my apartment to Saburtalo, I still went there, and, well, to be honest, it’s good that I went there, because I still had to go there anyways some time later, so better soon, than later, I said and went. It was very hot that day, I can say, so it was good that I had to travel by metro and not some other public transport.
Well, the examination day was also hot, as I’ve mentioned and, well, some people knew that I was going on the examination and they were calling me and stuff like that, however, my phone was silenced, because they told us to turn them off during the exam, and, to be honest, my phone is almost always on a silence mode and practically, I never hear, if anyone’s ringing and, to tell you the truth, I don’t really like talking on the phone, rather than I prefer messaging and everyone just hates that I do that, I mean, that I don’t like talking on the phone. Well, what can I do, I just don’t like that. I pretty much prefer writing and reading about anyone and stuff like that, you know, rather than speaking to them. Well, to tell you the truth, the most I hate talking on the phone while others are around and I just don’t answer my phone on that situations, until it’s something very important or something like that, you know. Anyways, they would call my phone and then, when I didn’t answer them, they would call my brother and ask how I did on the exam and everyone was just calling a few times, you know. Well, there was this one thing, when I talked to my uncle and told him that I had passed the exam, he congratulated me, of course, and said that my cousin was interested in how I did on my examination and, well, he had called me a few times, too, and my uncle said that he would call him then and tell him, that I didn’t pass. And then I heard my cousin calling my brother, maybe asking about my failure and then he wanted to talk to me and I confirmed that I didn’t pass the exam and he was all like “don’t worry, you will go there another time and pass it” and stuff like that and it was pretty hilarious, and he had this voice of something like when you want to calm someone down and stuff like that, you know. It was pretty funny, and I tried hard not to laugh while talking to him. Fortunately, he said goodbye soon and so that I was relieved that I didn’t laugh. Well, of course, some time later he got to know, that we lied to him and everything. I imagine, how he was kind of desperate, that I didn’t pass the exam, because when I visited them this summer, I was doing those theory tests in my phone and he saw it and he was all like “I want to do those tests, too” and he was very excited about me taking the driver’s license exam and he was asking when I was going to take it and I told him that I didn’t know and stuff like that. He loves cars and he always plays these games on his computer about cars and racing and stuff like that, you know. He just loves those things and can’t wait to get 18 to get his driver’s license and drive a car. Well, it’s not that much that is left until he gets 18, if you want to know the truth.
Anyways, we went to our home in Kakheti after the examination to see our grandparents and my aunt was there, too, and, well, they didn’t know that I was going to go to the exam and when I told them, that I had passed the exam, they were pretty happy and congratulating me and stuff like that, you know. And then my grandfather told me, that it would have been great, if he had had a driver’s license. Well, he had his driver and stuff like that when he was working, so that he didn’t really need to drive a car on his own and that’s why he didn’t bother to take a driver’s license, but then came time, when he needed it, of course, however, it was not a time to get it, I guess. Now, when he needs to go somewhere, he can’t take a car, but he must call a taxi or ask my brother or father to take him some place where he wants to go and, of course, that’s not great, because he is depended on some people, when if having a driver’s license, he could just drive his car and go wherever he wanted.
Well, that was my driver’s license exam and everything about it. I hope that you enjoyed reading this blog!
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Comments (1 comments)
Bhawani Singh 6 years ago
thanks Salome,Its very useful