Wednesday, December 3, 2014

double spirals


This building is part of the complex where I took an exam last Friday.  It was a test of my knowledge of the "rules of the road" of driving in France.  Passing this test allows one to continue on to the next step which is the actual driving phase of  the application for a French driver's licence.  For me, the significant challenge is doing all of this in French.  Plus I've heard the success rate of passing the first test on the first try is around 40%.   But in any case, yesterday I learned that I passed the knowledge test !  On to phase two.  Stay tuned.

19 comments:

  1. YEA-A-A-A!!! What an accomplishment!

    It sure would be nice if all the states in the US had reciprocal agreements with France for exchanging drivers' licenses.

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    1. Let's see, how many hours would I have saved ?

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  2. Oh well done! I'm so glad I didn't have to do this on arriving in France!

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    1. Yes, it's a real pain. It's an amazing difference between living in a state with reciprocity with France and one without. It's either a quick trade of permits or a year of studying, testing, taking driving "lessons", and paying!

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  3. So... ummm... do you have to take the test to be allowed to drive here? I wouldn't have thought so. Well done, the 'code' is sometimes kind of difficult to pass!

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    1. A resident is allowed to use one's originating country's license for a year and then you have to get a French license. And yes, it's not easy to pass the test!

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  4. Congratulations Stuart! I'm glad you passed it. It's so scandalous that you have to sit for a driver's test at all. I just learnt that a Madagascan driver's licence is totally valid in France. Yet yours isn't ...

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    1. Well, if I had just lived in an adjoining state in the US, I could have avoided it all too. (Even though all states in the US have reciprocity with each other! But don't get me started.)

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  5. Congrats! I did this nine years ago. I also passed on the first try. And the driving part was easy. The examiner kept wanting to talk about the US during the test. He told me it was obvious I knew how to drive and passed me. You'll do fine.

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  6. Si tu conduis, Il faudra aussi que tu apprennes quelques injures...

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  7. Are the dual spirals for jumping off in case you don't pass the test?

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  8. Well done Stuart, there's no way I could ever get used to driving on the 'wrong' :) sude of the road!

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    1. If I had to learn the opposite side of the road, I'd never make it !

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