The Driving Circle of Life
2020 was the strangest year ever. It started as any other year, but in March, thanks to COVID-19, it all changed. In my family, we have had even more changes. In this case, driving changes. My 84 -year-old father-in- law has returned his driving license, while my 18-year- old daughter just got hers.
TIME TO SAY GOODBYE
When my father- in-law, Pedro, was eighteen -years-old, he and the rest of the boys his age, were sent to do the mandatory military service (keep in mind that we live in Spain and back then, we were suffering the Franco regime). The first day in the camp, a Captain asked “Who knows how to drive?” My father-in-law raised his hand, and immediately, he was assigned to be the personal driver of a very important general who lived in Madrid.
This could have just been a simple anecdote, but there is a little extra to it. The issue is that the stupid captain asked who knew how to drive, not, who had a driving license. Nor did he specify who knew how to drive a car. My father-in-law had never driven a car; he only knew how to drive his dad´s tractor—now he had a problem.
Image | Mercedes-Benz Public Archives
His first assignment was to drive the general's brand new Mercedes-Bent from the port of Barcelona to Madrid (about 400 miles). In the 50s, this drive should have taken no more than two days. In fact, it took him five days to reach Madrid. He always explains that in order to practice, he drove over 20 hours every day. By the time he presented the car to the general, he was an avid driver.
During the next two years, he drove the general all over Spain. He even states that once Generalissimo Francisco Franco almost jumped into his car.
At the end of his mandatory military service, the general gave my father-in-law a small present. It was a leather wallet. He told my father-in-law, “Inside, you will find something you have never had”. It was, as you can imagine, his first driving license.
This last June, after over sixty years of driving, my father-in-law decided that he should not drive anymore and voluntarily returned his driving license. His records are amazing, just four speeding tickets in all those years. Come on! I already have more tickets than that!
A NEW DRIVER IN TOWN
On the other hand, this last June, my daughter got her driving licencse.
My daughter’s brand new license is valid for ten years.
Image | Fran Glaria
I don´t know how this issue works around the world, but here in Spain, getting your driver’s licencse is a big deal. One of the things that shocks foreigners is that we have to wait until we are 18 years old, and you are not allowed to practice at all before that day. If a parent is caught by the police allowing their 17-year-old kid to practice, the parent will get a 300€ ticket, plus a reduction of 4 points in his/her driving record. Our driving licencse comes with 12 points that will be taken away one by one, each time you get a ticket.
So, how do we get our driving licenses?
First, we have to go to a special school called auto-escuela, and pay 250€ so they can teach you. Once you pay, they hand you this wonderful 300-page book with all you need to know to pass the written test. According to my daughter’s driving school, it will take 4 months for a kid to be ready for the test. Once you have memorized the 300 pages, it is the time to pay 200€ extra in order to take the test.
When you pass the written test, you will start with your driving classes. These are one-hour classes with your instructor, driving around town. The cost of each class is 60€, and you are required to attend a minimum of 25 classes. Normally, a student will take at least 35 classes. This means that your driving classes will cost you about 1800€. Whenever your instructor decides that you are ready for the driving test, you have to pay another 200€ to take this second test.
If you are lucky and you pass the written test and the driving test at the first attempt, you will have paid about 2450€. But guess what—only 24% of the kids pass both tests on their first try. If you have to go for the second chance, you will have to pay about 1000€ extra.
When you get your driving licencse, you don't get all those 12 points yet. You only get six of them. If you do not have any tickets in the first year, you will get your extra six points. During this year kids have to put a bright green sign in the back of their car. It is a big sign that reads just a capital “L.” It’s a kind of Scarlet Letter, so everybody knows that you are new at driving.
The Scarlet Letter of newbie drivers—or in this case, the white letter on a green field.
Image | Fran Glaria
In many families around Spain, it is a custom to pay for the driving license as the birthday gift when the kids turn 18 years old.
This is a link to a short video of my daughter, Fidji, driving with dad for the first time!
