A reply from the Danish Ministry of Justice

I got a second letter from the Danish Ministry of Justice after my very frustrated second email I sent after failing the first theory test. As you can read in the attached letter, they just reiterated what they had told me before regarding the conversion of my Victorian licence to a Danish licence, however they did say they are working on a new digital theory test which will be available in English and other languages! This would hopefully be a vast improvement on the current system where you must pay for an interpreter, and in my two theory tests at least, his English skills left a lot to be desired! In addition they plan to extend the validity of foreign licences from 14 days to 3 months for new residents, which might be useful for some people, but for me (and many others I imagine) I wouldn't invest in buying a car unless I had a full Danish licence.

So at least the theory test might be better in terms of the translation!

What a difference!

I'm a new man! What a difference having a car has made to my life. No longer do I need to spend 3-4 hours a day traveling... this has been reduced to 1 hour! I've got a life again - I've got back into my fitness regime, can go shopping easily and conveniently where ever I like and I plan to start Danish lessons again. "Fantastisk"!

PASS - Finally I have obtained a Danish Drivers licence!

Oh thank god I passed my practical test yesterday! It all went fairly smoothly although of course I was a little nervous that I would do something wrong. There were a few little "trick" directions, like being asked to turn into a one way street and driving down a street that turned into a no entry/one way in the oncoming direction at the end of the street. At the end of the test the policeman said that I had passed the test and obviously know how to drive! He said that as with any test there are always some minor observations and he said that there were a couple of times when the lanes merged on regular streets that I did not turn my head to check for cars (honestly I'd be getting whip lash if I turned my head fully every time there were double lanes reducing to one in Copenhagen - if I have already done a check of where cars/bikes are before crossing an intersection, turning or whatever then I don't feel its necessary to fully turn my head but rather glance in the mirrors and to the side when the lanes reduce to a single). The other comment (and he was very nice about it saying that real life and a test are different) was that whilst stopped in a line of traffic at a pedestrian crossing, I stopped short of the car in front to allow a cyclist to exit a side street. Apparently this could indicate that I did not know the traffic rules because I was giving way to traffic from a side street.

Well this long 8 month saga is all in the past now! I went straight out to look at some cars and I think I have found a good deal on a used car (2006) that has only been driven 25,000 km by an old man! Perfect. Its a little bit of a small girls car, but in Denmark the priorities are different when cars are triple the price, petrol double and there's a pollution tax on your car's emissions - therefore it must be small, economical, reliable and cheap to run!

OMG !!

OH...MY...GOD...! Finally I have a practical test date, and even better its next week! My driving instructor called me to tell me this week and it was good timing as I'd just spent 2 hours getting to work! Wish me luck :)

waiting, waiting.......

So finally I have passed the theory test, but now I am waiting for a practical test time to become available. Still none as I write this blog.... once I finally get a date there could be another 3-6 week wait for the actual test date from the time of booking. My teacher is searching the whole of greater Copenhagen, but nothing and no new test dates released yet....

Since passing the theory test I decided to change driving schools to the Copenhagen International Driving School in Gentofte since the Enlgish guy there seems a lot more organised and was also the translator and publisher of the Danish Road laws book in English, which I highly recommend you buy if attempting the theory test (www.learn2drive.dk). He was quick to organise a practical lesson for me on the Sunday after transferring to him - a double lesson just to make sure there were no bad driving habits or anything I needed to change before the driving test, and for me it was also good to get in extra practice at driving on the right. He was pretty happy with my driving, and his only general comment was that I should drive in the outer most right lane (slow lane) whenever possible as this is something they always pick up on. Personally if I am sticking to the speed limit I may not always choose the right lane due to parked cars or whatever, but will of course make sure I am never holding up traffic that wishes to go faster, and on a freeway (motorway) I will only travel in the right lane if there is no traffic going slower than me, otherwise I usually travel in the middle lane and stick to the speed limit. Personally I don't see the point of always being in the right lane if you have to constantly change lanes to get around slow or parked cars (a hazard in itself), but if that's what I have to do to pass this test then I will do it! Apart from that, my only other "mistake" was to pass a car on the right that was slowly accelerating from traffic lights that had just turned green.

PASS !!!!

Oh thank god I passed the theory test today!! Now just the practical test to pass, which apparently is easier but we'll see (I've lost all confidence in the process)!

My partner is very relieved I might add, as Australia was starting to call!

The paper here is the all important paper you must take to your test. It shows I failed the first but passed the second. Note there are 14 possible repeat tests on this page, but thats not all, there's 28 in total continuing to the next page. My god, do they consider it necessary to have 28 possible re-tests!!???

One more try!

Well I have decided to give the theory test another try - I do hate to be defeated! However I'm not sure I will bother wasting more time, effort and money if I fail again. I'll just resign myself to public transport for another year or two and plan on returning back to Australia.

So what's happened between now and my last post (and theory test failure) I hear you ask?! Well I had planned to book in for a new theory test earlier, but I had to rush back to Australia for a family funeral but luckily I managed to leave before the volcano erupted and return once the worst of it had cleared.

Whilst away in Australia I contacted my driving school and asked him to book me in for a new test. He told me he needed the form that I got from the Borgerservice in order to go to the Police and book me in for a test. I said I could bring it to him immediately on my return from Australia and that he should book a date in for me now. Of course he could not book the date without having my form (which he and the police have seen before), but oh no, he has to physically have the form to make the booking.

So on my return to Denmark I went in to the driving school with the form and got him to book in for a new theory test, and as usual there's a 4-6 week wait as I expected. The guy told me that "if its any consolation, I looked at the theory test you were given, and it was the NX version"! Apparently this "NX" version is the most difficult to pass but he could not tell me why the Police give this more difficult test sometimes, and apparently the Police could never answer this either. Well lucky me, I got it and failed by one picture! So he tells me he can probably book me in for a test in 4 weeks time. Great I said, do it. So that will be 1,500 kr. Oh shit, I just cycled over and forgot my wallet, but I did remember the form of course. He said not to worry, he'd make the booking and then I could pay him when I come back and collect the form (because you need to present this all important form at the test).

A week later I haven't heard back so I SMS him (this is his preferred way of communication) and he tells me the date of my test (which ends up being 6 weeks not 4 as he indicated previously). OK, I reply, I'll drop by to pay the money and pick up my form. So again I go back to the driving school. I pay the money and I ask for my form. Oh no he said, I need the form to make your booking. I said, but you have already made the booking and I understood that I would pick up the form today when I made the payment. He told me that it was only a pre-booking and blah blah blah, I would have to come back and collect the form a week before the test. Mmmmmm, not what he told me last time, but hey, I told myself to keep my cool and remember, this is the LAST time I put myself through this bullshit! He also asked me whether I'd like to go for a pre-test class with him again. I asked, well will that cost extra, to which he replied that it would be a "special" half price rate for me since it would be my second time. I said no, I don't think I will bother, after all he told me he thought I could not have prepared any more than I did last time and that even he would not necessarily pass the test if he did it himself!

So that's the current situation. Wish me luck, because I seriously don't want to put myself through any more of this bullshit and just line all their pockets with more money for nothing in return!

PiNG's Danish Adventures: The Danish Driving License

PiNG's Danish Adventures: The Danish Driving License

The Danish drivers test is like...

Unfortunately I cannot claim that that Australia is free of these ridiculous tests that people are forced to go through, but this video reminded me of what it was like to go through the Danish Driving test!

A course of action that I would not recommend!

Well on a lighter note (well not at the time, but upon reflection), I have something kind of funny to share about my experience at the theory test yesterday. After coming out of the test and waiting about 15 minutes for the results, we were handed back our application forms with a sheet which summarised our "results" (see picture). There was no explanation, no congratulations you have passed or sorry you have failed, no instructions on what you should do next, nothing, just simply the forms were handed back by the same grim faced police officer who conducted the test. I quickly looked down the page to find the "6" fails - SHIT!!! Looking around the room I could see that I was by no means the only one who had failed, but even those who had passed only seemed to have just passed with 5 wrong pictures (at least I didn't see anyone with less than 5 wrong). One thing we all had wrong in common was pictures 1 and 2, despite people saying they had answered it differently. Picture one was about overtaking on a country road and it didn't seem to mater whether people had answered yes or no to overtaking, we all got the picture wrong, so obviously some of the other questions pertaining to the picture were tricky! Apart from the "report sheet" being too brief and in Danish, it is seriously hard to remember the 25 pictures and what the questions to each were, so the report card was pretty useless as far as I was concerned!

When I approached the grim faced police officer (well at least I presume he was a police officer, he was not in uniform) and asked if I could go through the incorrect questions with him or someone else, I was abruptly told that I should do that with my driving school instructor! I complained that this was not possible, as the sheet he had given me did not have sufficient information for that,

and I was again abruptly dismissed, at which point my anger overflowed and I let 6 months of frustration fly! I said (or something very close to this ) "I have been driving 25 years in Australia with a good driving record and I am now forced to go through this crap.... this is total crap" and maybe there were a few more rantings as I went out the door ........ So I am not sure I would recommend an outburst like this, but certainly you should let them know this is an unfair test and system and that YOU object to it! By the look on my other theory test victims faces I think I said exactly what they were all wanting to say but maybe did not have the courage to! I think I understand why the police officer was so grim faced now, its probably not the first or last time he will get an angry outburst like that, which for me is just another indication, like the 30% pass rate, that something is seriously wrong here!

Take the fight to the Danish Ministry of Justice!

Apart from coming home from my failed theory test yesterday completely deflated, angry and in need a a hard drink, today I decided to be more proactive and hence this blog. I also wrote to the Danish Ministry of Justice (again) and the Australian Embassy (again) regarding the situation. Below is a copy of my email to the Ministry of Justice. If you are at all inclined, I would encourage you to write an email, even if only brief. If no one ever complains, then obviously it is not a problem and nothing will ever change or be done to fix the problem! I'm aware that if any change does come out of this that it might be too late to make a difference for me, but this "injustice" just infuriates me and I would like to see it changed so that at least people in the future might benefit!

I'm also considering starting a petition and standing out the front of the Teoriprøve doors in Valby where I took the test. I'm sure I would have absolutely no problem whatsoever getting people to sign a petition! I could overhear just about everyone complaining about it in some way. Maybe we could start an online petition (but I have not worked out how I would go about this, so please anyone who has any ideas please let me know).

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To:

jm@jm.dk

Dear Sir/Madam,

I'm writing to you to provide an update on my experience to gain a Danish Drivers licence (see your reply to my email from last year attached).

Firstly I would like to say quite simply that this has been one of the most frustrating and time consuming processes I have ever endured!!!!

I can also tell you, that I am not the only Australian, American or foreign national that finds this process totally frustrating.

Because I was not fortunate enough to have an ACT licence, I was forced to go through the Danish Drivers licence tests, however as you probably know, the obscure Danish drivers theory test is almost impossible to pass on knowledge of the road laws or driving ability alone, you need to understand what the Danish authorities "expect" to hear for very weird questions such as "what must you pay particular attention to?". So even if you have practised and continually pass the online practice test and believe you have got some idea of what they want to hear, you can still fail the actual theory test as I did yesterday! The fact that this test is unfair and totally obscure is reflected in the fact that (I believe) only 30% of people pass this test, and from my perspective it seems like it is by luck as much as knowledge that people manage to pass. Even Danish people are frustrated by these tests and find them difficult to pass (An intelligent, professional engineer colleague had to sit the theory test 3 times before passing!!). The whole reason I decided to get a car here is because I travel 3+ hours everyday by train to work. Getting a licence and car was meant to save me time, but so far it has consumed my time and money, and after 6 months jumping through several regulatory hoops and frustrating delays (I won't even bother to explain this part here) I finally got to sit the theory test and then failed! I anticipate it will possibly take several more attempts to pass the theory test (by luck), and then sit the practical test, and this could take another 6 months - a total of 12 months and lots of heartache and frustration to get a car which was meant to save me time! I am now in the situation where I must simply decide how much more effort I am prepared to put into this process. Should I continue to persevere until I somehow get lucky and pass this test, or should I put up with my long train travel to work everyday. For me it depends on how much time I expect to remain in Denmark, and although it was previously for me a very open timeline, now I am forced to make a decision of whether I expect to be here 1-2 years (whereby the licence is not worth the effort) or longer! In addition to the theory test being obscure, other parts of the process are totally frustrating. There is also a substantial cost involved in both monetary terms and my time (medical examinations, driver school registration, fees for the temporary licence and drivers tests, fees to gain access to the online practice tests etc). The online tests have obvious mistakes in them (several times the exact same question for a picture is repeated with different correct answers and in addition some answers are plainly wrong, for example that someone on your left in a round about should give way to you entering the round about!!). The English interpreter at the theory test (which I paid for) did not have a good command of English and there were several questions where myself and other people in the test were obviously confused by his use of the language. It is bad enough that I am FORCED to take these tests, but the fact that they are seriously flawed and do not accurately test my knowledge is extremely frustrating.

In your last letter to me, you pointed out that the difference between an ACT and Victorian licence is that the ACT has a certain requirements for the practical and theory tests that the other States do not. I was informed by the Australian Embassy that this "requirement" was that in Victoria you are NOT REQUIRED to have a qualified instructor. Well in my case (in Victoria) I did have a a qualified instructor, but because it was 25 years ago, I have no records or way of proving it now. However surely after 25 years of driving experience, with a good driving record and a rating 1 insurance for life (I have an Australian insurers letter stating this- see attached), I am more qualified to drive than anyone who manages to pass the theory test by luck!!?? In addition, you must still pass the theory and practical driving tests in Victoria (even if you are not taught by a "qualified" instructor), and this is all I am now required to do here in Denmark, so what is the difference?! In other words, you do not require people who are seeking a conversion licence to be under the instruction of a "Qualified" instructor (only pass the tests), so how is putting people through the agony of the Danish tests any different to them having already passed the tests in their respective countries!

I believe that the Danish authorities need to seriously review their regulations here. Do you seriously consider that the Danish regulations and that Danish drivers are better than in other Western countries such as Australia and America, and that the accepted counties such as South Korea, Taiwan and Russia are better drivers than Australians and Americans? I think there is a serious problem with this logic and that the authorities are so focused on the "rules and regulations" that they are losing perspective and have failed to put faith in the American and Australian driving tests and systems.

Once again, I would like to point out that I am by no means the only foreign national who is frustrated by this regulation. I know of several other highly educated, professional people who have come to work in Denmark that are totally frustrated by the time and effort they must use on gaining a Danish drivers licence despite being good drivers and valuable members of society who are contributing to the Danish economy and society. I believe if you want to make Denmark an attractive place for such individuals, you must revise your requirements for drivers licences.

Yours sincerely,

David

The frustration of it all

Well here we go, my first posting, my first blog! Where shall I begin with this whole frustrating process of obtaining a driver's licence in Denmark?! Well maybe I'll start with a brief run down on where I am at right now. Yesterday I took the Danish driver's theory test and failed! You are allowed 5/25 pictures wrong and I got 6 pictures wrong. Each picture has mostly 4 questions about it, and you must get ALL questions correct to pass that picture. It seems many people yesterday got 5+ pictures wrong and I believe that around 30% of people fail this test, so obviously it is not an easy test to pass, and at least for me it suggests that there is something wrong if that many people are failing the test! Most of these people have taken an intensive driving school course (compulsory if you are not converting your licence) and could probably answer most if not all your questions on road law correctly! So what is the problem? Quite simply these tests are designed to confuse, trick and make you fail! In addition to the tricky way these tests are worded, you also need to learn certain terms and what is expected when these certain terms are asked. For example, "what must you pay particular attention to here?"...with yes/no answers to the following: the course of the road, the surroundings of the road, the type of road, the condition of the road, oncoming traffic, the traffic lights, pedestrians, etc. Mmmm, well I suppose I should pay attention to all these things to some degree, but which ones should I pay PARTICULAR (you will get tired of hearing this word in the test!) attention to? After investing a lot of time learning when something was particularly important and when not, I thought I had worked out some of their logic and learnt that I needed to focus on the immediate situation in the picture and that whatever the most immediate danger was is what I should pay particular attention to. I practised the online tests (for which you have to pay for access and which are quite frankly wrong and flawed in some instances...in another post I'll talk about this) and managed to get to a point where I consistently passed, however it is apparent my efforts were still not enough to pass the actual test which contained a few new and confusing terms. In addition to the fact this test is confusing and difficult to pass (even for Danes), as foreigners we are forced to have an interpreter for the test, who reads out the questions in the chosen language as the 20-30 year old slides are shown to you on the projector! You also pay for this luxury of an interpreter, which for me and my class of 12 was of course in English. Well I have to say that my interpreter yesterday had a poor command of the English language, and I could tell by the look on several peoples faces and by a question for clarification, that I was not the only one who had a problem with understanding the meaning correctly. Its bad enough that we are forced to take this difficult test and forced to pay extra for an interpreter, but then on top of that the interpreter we get does not have a good command of the language! I've met many Danes who have very good English, and in fact probably most Danes would have had a better command of the language than the interpreter we got yesterday! Just to highlight that this was not just my problem, after the test many of my fellow victims had the same opinion! So it would seem that the odds are stacked against you passing this test, and to me it seems that passing it is as much about luck on the day as any road knowledge!