I went to the Driver's License Examination Center 12 times!

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　【5904字/写真1】

「試験場に12回通った ボク！」を翻訳アプリで英語にしてみました」

１．How I came to get a driver's license

While waiting at a traffic light at an intersection near my office, "〇〇〇, aren't you going to get a driver's license?" She asked me.

She was a classmate of mine from junior high school. Her workplace was near the company where I worked, and we probably walked together from the train station area to the vicinity of her workplace.
I think we chatted a lot, but the only thing I remember is that when we were waiting at a traffic light, she said, "Aren't you going to get a driver's license?"

I had never heard of getting a driver's license until then. I had never thought of getting a car license until then. I was interested in cars, but getting a driver's license was not in my mind.

This is a rural town with a car-oriented society. I was surprised that I didn't think about it, and all I can remember is what he asked me: "Oh, everyone does that, I'm over 20 years old.

２．To the driving school

After that, my mind was suddenly set on getting a driver's license.
I started going to a driving school in a town between my home and office. Because I was working, the lessons were always held at night.

I don't remember the progress of the course, but I made it to the third stage, even though I couldn't improve very much. If I cleared the third step and passed the academic test, I was supposed to get a provisional license and be able to begin on-the-road training.
However, I was not able to get my provisional license.

I actually quit the driving school in the middle of the process....

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I think that nowadays, students are treated as customers at driving school, but at that time, there were many instructors who were very abusive and abusive, and I would have had no patience with them.
Now, I would have realized that that was the way it was and would have taken the course quietly, but I was young and didn't have the capacity to do that at the time. ・・・・・ Maybe...so...I just didn't want to go there anymore and quit.

３．That's when the tragedy began.

Then, without the backing of a driving school, I had no choice but to go directly to the testing center for my license. I had to take the test for a provisional license.
Since I had to work, it was difficult to take the test, and gradually, I was not able to practice ・・・・ and gradually lost the feeling of driving ・・・・・・.

４．I fail my driving test every time.

I didn't pass the first test I took at the Test center, but that was actually the time when I still remembered what I had learned at the driving school and was the best at driving.
Because of this situation, when I took the exam later in the day, I found myself getting further and further away from passing the exam.

Because I haven't been able to practice, exam time felt like practice.

I ended up going back and forth until I got my provisional license. During the process, I really thought that I was not suited to drive a car.

But God was there, and I finally passed my provisional license on the seventh try. At that time, I was really, really happy.

It was probably one of the three best moments of my life. And I remember buying a cake for everyone in the office.

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５．I managed to pass my provisional license and finally hit the road!

I passed the academic test the first time for now, and I can finally drive on public roads with a provisional license.

However, my life is not over yet....

Since I didn't have a car, I couldn't practice. At that time, I probably had to take more than 10 hours of on-the-road training before I could take the test.

So, I had my sister's husband (brother-in-law) ride in the passenger seat a few times to practice. Time was actually in short supply, but on the day of the exam, I wrote 10 hours worth of practice notes and took the exam.

What was particularly impressive in my brother-in-law's instruction was that when an oncoming car comes by, and you are about to pass by, it is better to stop and wait instead of moving.
To my brother-in-law, it may have been a normal, casual comment.

When I took this test, I was no more stressed than when I took my provisional license. I got permission from my workplace and went back to take the test again and again.

６．Finally, I passed.

Finally, I was able to pass this exam. It was the fifth time I passed, which is less than the provisional license. But it was still five times. I was naturally happy at this time, but I was not as moved as I was when I passed my provisional license.

That is why I went to the Driver's License Examination Center 12 times.

This was already 50 years ago (life goes by fast!).

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I am still working on it.

I'm not good at driving a car at all. but when I had a chance to talk about my driver's license, such as at the time of renewal, I would say proudly, "My license is not the one I got at a driving school."

７．Longing for a Corona hardtop

In fact, ・・・・ I confess ・・・・. I was so burned out during the period when I couldn't pass the test that I bought a car without a driver's license.

It was used, but it was on display at a car shop...it was...it was...it was so cool, I admired it every day....

The car was a Corona hardtop!　It was 1600cc and white in color.
That is the car in the picture below.
It looks cool even now! It is hard to believe that it is 50 years old.
You can't see it in this picture, but the front headlights looked like a pig's nose (^^;).

From an online catalog... I borrowed it!

The car was sitting in the parking lot of the dealership, and I was dazzled by it on my way to work. And the car dealership was just on the other side of the intersection I mentioned at the beginning of this article.

I went to many places with this car.
It feels like I've been driving it for about 10 years, but now that I think about it,  I only drove it for a couple of years. ・・・・・・ because I left the country not too long after that.

The end: ・・・・

Thank you for reading.