Driving

I got my first driver’s license and started to drive a car when I was 18 years old. My instructor was my elder brother who gave me my initial training. At that time there was no requirement from the government’s side to get training in order to obtain a driver’s license or appear for a written/road exam, the only requirement was 18 years of age and therefore I collected my first license without passing any exam.

Pakistan and India were under the British rule from 1857 to 1947, therefore in Pakistan British driving rules are enforced. The main difference between Canada and Pakistan driving is the use of two way roads. In Pakistan, drivers use the left-hand side of the road however in Canada drivers use the right-hand side of the road, which is very confusing for newcomers.

The second main difference which came to my attention is that, most of the drivers in Canada follow the rules and regulations but unfortunately in Pakistan most of the drivers break the rules and the majority of them escape unpunished. This is because the law enforcement authorities do not have enough resources or the latest technologies to trace them. Therefore, driving in Canada is safer compared to my homeland.

In the initial days of arriving in Canada, I felt the importance of owning a car because the weather in winter is very cold and sometimes it seems very hard to use public transport, especially with children.

During those days I planned to get a driver’s license before buying a car even though I was allowed to drive with an international driver’s license for 90 days. I searched for a driving instructor and started to get training on the roads of Regina. I learnt all the necessary rules which were new for me and were compulsory for the driving test. After getting 10 hours of practical training I pass my written and road exam on the first attempt and received my driver’s license.

When I appeared for my road test, I was very nervous as many of my friends told me that very few people pass the road test on the first attempt. I was waiting for my turn and the examiner called my name. He introduced himself to me and asked me to sign the form.

At the very beginning the examiner understood my situation that I was nervous, so he tried to relax me by talking about my homeland and told me to forget about anything, just focus on your road exam. His nice behavior helped me a lot to get myself relaxed and to focus.

My instructor told me during my training that the duration of the road exam is between 20 to 30 minutes; however, the duration of my exam was around 45 minutes and at the end my examiner told me that I did well during my exam and I had passed the exam. I was so happy to hear my examiner’s comments. I thanked him and submitted my report. After a week I received my driver’s license at my residence address.