JPJ Driving Test Coming Soon

Yes, it's true. This 36 year old man does not have a Driving License. It's not like I did not try to get one before, it's just that I've always found the whole process to be extremely time consuming and a big waste of time. So what have I paid for this opinion? Three trips to the court for driving without a license, RM300 poorer each time and a whole lot of heartache having to ride my bike a much longer distance just to avoid those generic roads where roadblocks are common. Did I just mention bike? Well, I don't have a motorcycle license as well but we'll keep that for another day.

Well, I'm happy to say that I've wisen up somewhat...just a little. After two months of reluctantly attending a total of 16 hours driving instructions, this Tuesday, 8th December 2009, I will at last be a licensed driver. At least that's what I hope will happen.

The test itself is not gruelling. Just three things one needs to do on a closed circuit and a short drive on a normal road. But for some strange reason which I cannot comprehend, I feel freaked out.

The test like I mentioned is broken into two parts called Part A and Part B.

Part A involves three tests; The Hill, The Three Point Turn and The Side Park.

For The Hill, I would need to drive up a 45 degree incline and stop precisely with my front tires on a thick yellow line. No problem so far. Then I'll have to pull the hand brake and put the gear on neutral. Still no problem so far. Then I'll need to press the accelerator while slowly releasing the clutch until I feel the car attempt to move forward and release the handbrake so that the car smoothly goes over the hill and down again. This is where the problem lies. The dozens of times I've practised this, it was fine. But my fear is that when I attempt it on Tuesday either the car is gonna stall or slide down backwards, both situations causing me to fail Part A. Damn!

Ok, if I somehow manage to get over the hill well it's time for the Three Point Turn. This is where I'll have to maneuver the car into a narrow T junction dead end and back out again without touching the side lines or knocking down the poles. As long as I keep my cool and follow the steps my instructor Norlizan taught me then I should be able to breeze this one.

Finally it time to park the car. The parking space is narrow, just enough to fit a Perodua Kancil. I know the sequence by heart now. Step one, stop the car so that my body sits in the middle of the street. Step two, reverse until the lock on the left hand back door is aligned with the inner front corner of the parking lot (WTF???). Step three is where I turn the steering wheel to the max and reverse while looking into the right hand mirror until I can see four squares painted along the back of the lot. Too many squares and I'll hit the back poles. Too little and I'll hit the front poles. When I'm ready, I'll have to straighten the front tires and reverse in until my right back tires rest on the parking line. Then I'll need to turn the wheel the opposite direction all the way and reverse in some more until the front tires are completely inside the parking square.

Do all these well and I'll pass Part A and move on to Part B. Fail any one of these and I still can attempt Part B but will have to resit Part A on another day.