Guus Bosman

I have my license!

After a long morning at the DMV with the usual paperwork and long lines, I passed the road skills test easily and I am now the proud owner of a Virginia driver's license.

Just in time of course for my move to Durham. There is a mandatory waiting period of 30 days between getting a Learner's Permit and doing the road test, so yesterday I had 3 big events: my last day at work, the pick-up of our belongs by the moving company and getting my driver's license.

Yesterday morning early I went to the DMV with my instructor and his car. We arrived at 8.00 am at the Four Mile Run Drive DMV, and the line was still short. I was the 7th person applying for a road skills test, and I filled in my paperwork at the counter. I gave them my learner's permit, passport and the car's registration papers.

Around 9.30 am they called my name (they just said "Bosman" -- they don't dare to try my first name like they do for other people). A DMV representative went with me to the car. She asked me to get in, switch the engine on so she could confirm that all the lights on the car were working correctly. The moment I stepped in the car, she asked me to come out again. I wondered what I could have done wrong. It turned out that there was something not in order with the car's registration papers: the expiry date didn't match the stickers on the license plate. The lady said I couldn't take the test in a car without the right papers, and she told me to go back to the instructor to see if there was another (older) version of the registration form. She said she would call my name again later.

My instructor found the other registration form quickly. The next name the lady called was of the girl that also came with my instructor. She had a driver's license from India but needed to take the road test for a U.S. license. She took the (right) registration forms, and went to the car. She came back 5 minutes later -- she failed the test, by leaving the emergency lights on when driving backwards. Not exactly what I wanted to hear -- somebody who already had a (foreign) license failing the test that I was about to take.

It took another 30 minutes before the lady called my name again. I was glad I had brought some coffee from our apartment and a magazine. There's not even a vending machine at the DMV for a cup of coffee.

When we came to get car again and I was a bit relieved to see that the girl had parked it in an easy place. I got in and the instructor stood outside. She asked me for the left signal, right signal and the other lights before she joined me in the car and told me drive out of the parking lot.

We made a right turn, onto the public right (30 miles per hour), and made a right at the traffic lights a little further. Another right a few minutes later brought me into a 25 miles per hour zone, where I obviously did not go any faster than 25 miles per hour. The car behind me disagreed, and honked, twice. I said to the DMV lady: "I don't think that that car needs to honk at me". She said, "I agree", so that was that.

We had one 4-way stop intersection and a small turnabout, and made another right to head back to the DMV. We entered the parking lot, and the lady told me: "that was very good". I had made it! A big relief.

Then she asked me to let her out of the car and told me to find a parking spot, so for the first time in my life I was driving a car alone. Technically speaking illegal because I did not have my license yet, but I suppose with the DMV's blessing it was okay. I parked illegally too, in a spot with a big "towing at your own risk and expense" sign because there was absolutely no place to park at the DMV's parking lot. I went back inside and my instructor saved the car while I did my paperwork.

Not that I'm complaining, but the test was really easy. I didn't have to do any of the non-standard procedure such as a 3-point turn, parallel parking or a U-turn.

Anyway, I'm very happy I have my license.