We left the apartment at 7 a.m. so we can go to Aira Driving test facility early enough to walk the course. When we got there, we saw the signs saying we can walk the course between 7:30 - 9:30. I walked the course. It only took about 10-15 minutes. So we had to wait till 8:30 to register for the driving test. People can register from 8:30 to 9:10. Since the course can be walked up to 9:30, no driving test will be conducted earlier than 9:30. After registration, we learned that their is orientation at 9:45 a.m. and then the driving test starts. Being early, I register first, but probably turned out bad choice since I would be first to drive. Oh well, we are here to learn.
This time it was course 1. The very first time, it was course 2. I had spent the entire week memorizing both courses so I won't have to rely on the proctor telling me where to go. So basically I was going to ignore whatever he says. During the orientation, he asked who don't understand Japanese, so he knew I didn't along with several others. This proctor was much nicer, as he totally let me focus on the route. Unfortunately his perception of my driving didn't match my perception. At the first stop sign, I thought I had come to a complete stop but in his mind, I didn't so he slammed the brakes on me and pointed out the stop sign. From that point on, I counted 1, 2, 3 at each stop. Since this is course 1, the S-curve and Crank were different from course 2. I thought I was fine in the S-curve, but then the back passenger tire just nicked the curb on the first turn. It is an automatic fail if you go over the curb. So I guess I get a deduction from the nick. I managed to get through the Crank without having to back up and retry (you are allowed 3 retries and touching curb is OK). I knew I failed from the accumulation of deductions but at least I finished the course. I thanked the proctor in Japanese and he was kind enough to give some tips to Sister Lee on what I have to improve on. 1. Come to a complete stop. I guess I need to count to 4 instead of 3 to make it a longer stop. The proctor claims I have a blind spot on turns because I don't look back. I do look back but I need to accentuate looking back to convince the proctor that I am looking back. He suggested going slower on the S-curve to avoid the curbs. I thought I was slow enough but if he says so, I'll go even slower. I am sure that there are things wrong but I won't find out what they are until I can fix the major stuff first. I am hoping 3rd time will be the charm and get lucky to get the same nice proctor again. Definitely, we are not going to get there so early to be the first driver.
No comments:
Post a Comment