I passed my written exam!!!!!!!! I’m so excited! this means I can get driving!
This is actually the 3rd time i’ve had my L, once when I was 16, once about 2 years ago (it had expired which was why i needed to re take it) and again, right now haha. Luckily, because I already had my L for 1 year prior to retaking it, I don’t have to wait the designated 1 year period before I can take my full (N) license exam. Which is awesome, because my goal is to have it before April 15th which is when my 6 week teaching practicum will start. Because of the possibility of being placed anywhere within a 50 km radius of UVIC, I’m going to work as hard as possible to be a competent, fully certified driver by then to avoid having to rely on public transport.
I took a sneaky pic in the licensing office after I completed my test, got 95% !
I forgot to wear my glasses to my test, and almost failed the eye exam. It was *highly* recommended that I wear them when i’m on the road.
This is me, in my kitchen, excitedly posing with my interim license – my new one is in the mail and on the way, I can drive with this document for the time being. My next goal is to spend a few hours practicing and getting a feel for the car this weekend. Any recommendations of quiet places to go or empty parking lots are super appreciated !!!
aliciap
Congratulations Nikki! I actually almost failed my written test when I was younger cause they had a ridiculous question about road flares I got wrong 3 times (cause you can answer questions more than once). If anyone is wondering, yes apparently if you pull over for mechanical issues you should set up unnecessarily distracting road flares.
When I was practicing I usually went to school parking lots in the evening cause they are always empty! Also, don’t be afraid to hit something because we all do it. I scrapped my car along the cement barricade in the Tuscany Village parking lot, amongst other instances haha. It’s also nice to practice parking in the ICBC parking lot because that is where they make you reverse park at the end of the exam. I also almost failed that too, I re-parked about 5 times.
Good luck!
juliamarina
So proud of you Nikki!!! That’s amazing that you used our upcoming practicum as motivation for getting your L again. I’m so happy for you that you don’t have to do the full two years with it. I recommend checking out Google Maps for areas that have potential construction happening when you plan to head out and practice. The first or second time I went out driving I ended up driving through a construction zone and it was so stressful for me as a new driver. UVic parking lots on weekends can be a great spot to practice parking because they’re usually a bit slower traffic-wise then; I also practiced on the upper level rooftop parking at Hillside Mall!
mikw
Congratulations! I honestly recommend UVic on the weekends if its not too far from you. Lots of big parking lots that will be largely empty, and there shouldn’t be too many people on the ring road.
hayley
Congrats Nikki,
I have the same learning goal coincidentally, so I will make sure to check in with your blog as you do your on-road experiences. One thing I’ve noticed lately is that the rule changes for insurance have made it even harder to get that practice time without paying to be on the insurance of mutliple people who might otherwise be able to teach you. Also..they seem to have different ideas about the implications of the ‘new’ icbc rules for learners, because I get different answers about it every time I ask about the 12 times per year rule.