Got My Australian Driver’s License

I’m a creature of procrastination and I’ve spent more time than reasonable making up my mind before I do something. This was one of those items.

I could technically drive with an Indian driver’s license, but I wasn’t feeling really confident driving here in the initial months and then I just sat on it. I felt a license would have made a big difference when my in-laws were visiting us as we were entirely dependent on public transport or Uber. While that works for the both of us, I don’t think it’s ideal for everyone.

I took ten classes with an instructor and I think I felt comfortable driving here the first class onward. I’m not sure why I hesitated for so long, but the good part was that I had made the first steps. I realised it’s much simpler to drive here as I was not spending additional effort to spot every pothole and bump on the road. Also I did not have to worry as much about people popping in from the sides, on their bikes over here. Though road rage exists that is still manageable when everything else follows some discipline.

For the license I could convert my India license to an Australian one, which meant I had to clear a knowledge test and then a driver’s test. The knowledge test was very simple, but the driving test itself can be a bit tricky. I failed in my first attempt for going a few KMs over the speed limit in a school zone and was promptly failed. That said, the person conducting the test mentioned that I had the right score and would have got the license if not for the lack of concentration.

I tried again earlier this week and passed without any more drama. I have no intention of buying a car just because I have a license now; we have GoGet available just in our basement and that’s as good as owning a car without the overhead of maintaining one.

We have spent the last year and a half exploring Sydney via public transport and foot and I guess we will be exploring some new suburbs of Sydney going forward.