Thursday 1 July 2010

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!

3 comments:

  1. And... it must have room for a dog and the ability to make it to Jylland for visits!! :)

    Congratulations - I knew you'd do it!

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  2. Never doubted it for a minute!!!!

    HIP HIP HOORAY!

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  3. Hi -

    Thanks for the good info and experiences. What I did not quite read here is "when" you are required to get a Danish DL? I will get my CPR card next week, and I am here on a work visa, so as far as I can understand, I am not a temporary resident until that day...merely a tourist. That said, are temporary residents required to get the DDL? If they do not get a DDL, what are the consequences? My company paid for a car for me (though I have to pay a monthly tax on the value!!!) and I pick that up on the 1st in Daugard. I want to understand: you had fourteen days to apply, for which you get a three months permit. If you fail the written test, your permit is revoked? Then what do you do with your car and driving in the meantime while scheduling to retake the test? Anyway, congrats & appreciate if you can contact me: resu16rk "at" verizon "dot" net.

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