Capel Dewi Cars

It comes as a surprise to meet someone - a senior - who has never had driver knowledge or learnt to use an auto. A driver's licence, whether or not it's a car licence or truck licence, or possibly even a motorcycle licence, is the nearest thing we have in this country to a overall identity card, earned thru extended hours attending driving schools proven now by driving log books. Even a trifling learner's permit is evidence you're on the road to motoring identity.

In this firmament of motoring ability, the non-driver is equivalent to a stateless person. The non-driver is probably going to be viewed with suspicion simply because the condition (that is, can't drive) in rare; that suspicion grows when, with no driving licence, the non-driver can produce no prepared formal picture identification. Lack of the driver's licence means you are scratching to find the wherewithal to meet the 100-point identity check increasingly needed by central authority and corporate officialdom. This is the disposition of non-citizens, of interlopers, people with guilty secrets.

Never having taken the driving test or attended driving schools, and thus not driving, has the flavor of rejecting societal norms, a little like a vegan, or a nudist. A touch cranky, but with the scent of sedition. The significance of driving, in Australia as in America, is that much larger thanks to the urban growth of the major cities, not to mention the huge open spaces between those towns. This, combined with the comparatively poor availability of public transport, means not having a driving permit reduces your independence and liberty of movement. The driving test is an initiation ritual to, and the valid driver's licence the badge of, adult citizenship. To reject this is positively un-Australian, and probably un-American.

In contrast, refusal of driving and eschewing the driver's licence in Europe, with its excess of public transport and compact urban living agreements, may be certainly chic. In the towns, riding a motorcycle makes much more sense than driving an automobile, and a pedal cycle is the cheaper-quicker-environmentally considerate mode of transport. Walking is best, and safest (particularly where the streets are cobbled).

Nevertheless it's never too late. While it's simpler to learn virtually anything when you are young, driving is still not too hard for the mature-age student. Discover the correct recommended range of driving schools to choose between, choose a then suitably qualified (and insured) driving instructor, and when prepared head on down to the local Road Traffic Authority office for the motor test. The good news here is that, provided you can identify English script alphabetical characters 10 centimeters (that is 4 inches) high at fifteen paces, you do not need a legit driving licence as corroboration of identity in order to be issued your learner permit.

Then, they take your picture, stick it on the ID card, and you're on your way to motoring citizenship of the world. Yes, really the World: after you've got your licence, the Global Driving Permit is yours just for the asking.