So Sam and I have finally given in and decided that we need Chinese driver's licenses. We know that driving here is like toying with your life every time you get in the car, but we are finding it to be a necessity. So we hired a very expensive agent to do all the dirty work of applications and junk to get us licenses. All we were supposed to do is take the written test (you can take your own sample test I have put together for you: see next blog entry).
So we get a call from our agent that the Chinese equivalent of the DMV would not accept Sam's U.S. driver's license. So Sam took essentially a whole day off work to go to the DMV to try and work out the issue.
It turns out that because Sam's license is an older Utah license, it does not define what a "D Class" driver is (It means he can drive a normal car, not a bus or 18-wheeler or whatever). Don't worry that we brought the official definition off the web. Don't worry that MY (Amy's) driver's license defines it for them. They refused to accept it and refused Sam permission to test. My opinion is that they just didn't like the look of the old license so they decided to reject it. After much arguing, they still refused to give Sam permission to test (despite the fact that his driver's license is 100% VALID!) The only progress we made was that at the end they threatened to also take away MY permission to test too, just because. Wow, if you think working with government agencies is frustrating in the U.S. try moving to a communist country!!! Nothing has to make sense; abuse of power at it's finest!
So I ended up taking (and passing!) the DL test last week. Don't worry, though, Sam is going to need to first return to the U.S., get a new license (even though his is still perfectly valid), and return to the China DMV before he can get permission to test. Awesome. And to add insult to injury, I don't really want to drive anyway -- Sam is the one that thinks driving here looks like fun. Mostly I'm just scared stiff!!
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4 comments:
I'm with YOU Amy! You know how in America people joke that if you hit something it's worth ten points? It seems like in China they take that seriously!
i love your stories! that's all i have to say about that...
Seriously?! Your China experiences are getting crazier and crazier.
Chris drove in Guatemala, but I would rather take my chances with getting shot on the buses! Driving in other countries really makes you appreciate our traffic laws and the fact that people, for the most part, actually obey them. I am scared for you, Amy, but I know that necessity makes people brave. And I am sure that you be a great Chinese driver.
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