Driving School

[llama_lout]

I've driven in Australia, Europe, USA and Japan and am quite terrified here! I'm just not quite sure what is going to happen next. A turn right from the left, a left turn from the right, wrong way down the one-way street, baby driving the car, blind man on a bicycle, family of 7 on a scooter doing a u-turn, crane unloading bath for a 7th floor aprtment, stalled taxi, 7-11 truck delivering eggs on a 3 wheel trolley, large pot-hole in the road and a dead dog in the gutter - all at the same time at one intersection. I 've rediscovered prayer and carry a hip-flask.

NOOOOOO driving school prepares you for this!

[Bu Lai En]

I may have cheated a bit by pointing my rear-views at the ground so I could see the sensors, but the instructor didn't seem to mind.

You can stick your head right out the window and look at the sensors. Rearview mirrors!!! Man, they don't even teach you to use these.

Also, in the straight section where you are supposed to accelerate to 3rd gear, I laid rubber for a good 20 feet and chirped 2nd gear. The death grip the instructor had on the door was well worth taking the test twice for. He make no comment however, but did remind me that I had to use the emergency brake on the hill after observing my combo brake/clutch/gas action.

Now, if Shulin is as strict as you say, either one of those maneuvers might have failed me.

Yep, I think they would have. You have to go into third on the long stretch, and you have to use the handbrake on the 'hill'.

The test is a joke

Oh yeah!

Brian

[MJB]

Oh, I made it into 3rd.........Just a little quicker than most.

I think the next time he tested a foreigner, he wouldn't have said "You must drive fast here"

[Loretta]

Interesting thread, guys. I'm waiting on my ARC renewal, then I'm going to have to go through all this myself.

I've been driving 20 years and don't really think there's much I'm going to learn from an instructor here, except for what to expect in the test. From what Bu posted above it doesn't sound like a big deal, although I'd like to size up this 'S' bend etc before trying it for real.

(Why do people make such a big deal about reversing anyway? I took a turn that didn't work out a few days back and had to reverse 50 metres or so, and my passengers seemed strangely impressed. Standard stuff. Why even comment on it? Making your car go where you want it to seems like something you would want to get the hang of if you're going to drive.)

Question is, how do I go about this? I basically want to do a practise test and then go do it for real. I absolutely am not going to pay for a course. And my chinese is on a par with my ability to play golf or beat my way through solid rock with my forehead.

And I can't find the link to the written test in English. Anyone?

[Bu Lai En]

Question is, how do I go about this? I basically want to do a practise test and then go do it for real. I absolutely am not going to pay for a course. And my Chinese is on a par with my ability to play golf or beat my way through solid rock with my forehead.

And I can't find the link to the written test in English. Anyone?

I suggest going to a driving school and asking them how much for an hour or two, preferably with an instructor (and maybe a friend to help you translate) who can tell you what the examiners expect at each stage of the course.

I can lend you the book.

Brian

[cw.jc]

I took the test recently and I will admit it was difficult (for a driving test). I didnt take any classes and I passed. I made a 74 with a manual.. I screwed up right away on the backing up in a parking space, I have never had to do this and I hit the line right away, but after that I have no clue what I messed up on except for the fact that the test instructer kept telling me to slow down???

Hard test though!

[henrystudent]

are there many "boy racers/barryboys" around in taipei city? everyone seems to accelerate really smoothly here, even the mitsubishi evos, and 'done-up' cars, in the UK those bastards are a regular occurence.

[Lol]

2. Drive forwards through a fairly narrow S-bend, then reverse out, without letting your wheels cross the lines on either side (our school had us in the backseat watching the person before us - the guy in front of me crossed the line at this point, enough to fail the test, and had to immediately get out of the car and walk back to the test centre).
Brian

Huh? As I understand it -- which means this is what my driving school in WenShan (district of Taipei) taught me -- you only lose points crossing the line on the S-curve going forward. You do not lose points if you cross the line reversing out. The ONLY thing you lose points for is if you miscalculate the angle of your turn and have to stop move forward and have another go.

To get the reverse S right, it does help to angle your side mirrors down a bit. And you don't need them for anything else on the test.

I find that I even change the position of my right hand side mirror when parallel parking (having electric mirrors is essential of course). Street parking spaces in Taipei are always small and sometimes really tight and you need to get it right first time or you're screwed. Last time I was in London (July) I was shocked at the size of the metered parking spaces. You could have parked a truck in them. Not here, no way.

[Fox]

The interesting thing about that aspect of the test is that the written test specifies this to be illegal.

[MikeN]

Just passed my test on Wednesday- I've ben driving for more than thirty years, though I'll be the first to admit I'm not great- not in a car anyway; give me a Kawi and a twisty road...

Anyway, I paid for an hour of instruction beforehand, and unless you're very confident in your skills I'd say it's a good idea- the test is quite strange if you try it at one go.

It also helped to show me why the drivers on this island are the way they are- as Bu Lai En said, absolutely no relation to driving on the street.

"Back until your shoulder is in line with this post, then crank the wheel exactly twice; back until you see the second yellow dot....line the bolt of the front mirror to the spot on the curve of the S-bend...."