Learn to drive - AGAIN?
Moving countries is pretty stressful, right? Sure you have to plan everything like a military mission. And it is frustrating that so many things are out of your control. You can’t get your home sold by willpower alone. You can’t make the dollar exchange rate what you want it to be, even though FX brokers like TTT Moneycorp do help. You can’t make Canadian employers take your excellent non-Canadian experience seriously.
With all these frustrations, it is still the stupid requirement to re-take your driving test that gets people annoyed. Yes, unless you are coming from one of the few countries (U.S., Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea) that allows a straight swap of your driving licence then you are going to have to go through the whole thing again.
That means hitting the books before hitting the road. Well at least studying the Knowledge Test. You can take the practice tests online. Then you get to do the test at one of the ICBC test centres. Tip for this is to skip questions if you are not sure of the answer. With luck you will hit your pass mark before having to go back and answer them.
Once you’ve done the knowledge test you can book your road test. The wait list can be quite long. As you only have 90 days from the date you become resident in BC to get your new licence, this can be another frustrating thing. If time is running out for you then you can apply for a cancellation. Best time to look for this is at 7pm (online) when their database is updated (so we were told).
If you fail your road test you will get a Learner’s permit – this means you can only drive with a fully licensed driver in the vehicle. And they will have taken away your overseas driving licence so you can’t cheat. Many people argue about this and unfortunately most fail – ICBC rules.
Get a lesson or two so that you are familiar with the test area and the tricky spots (school zones particularly) that seem to be where the examiners like to take you. With these lessons and a calm attitude you will be OK.
Ah! Driving licence – not one of the things i most wanted to do when taking up residence in Canada. Here is a small tip. My husband and I both retook our driving test – we had both been driving in the uk since the legal age and each had over 20 years of almost accident free experience. The only difference we found when taking our tests was that when asked if this was our first test we gave different answers. My husband said ‘No’ assuming that his UK test counted and i said ‘Yes’ assuming they meant tests in Canada. He passed and I failed. On failing the instructor told me “We fail 95% of new drivers, so dont worry, you will pass next time”. Maybe something to bear in mind