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driving test take 1 |
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June 01st, 2021 |
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I took my written driving test on Monday. I did not pass. |
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This isn't a surprise, though. In fact, it's the norm! My wife |
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also failed to pass on Monday and it was her second attempt. No |
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one in the room passed during her first testing. Only one person |
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passed on the day we took it together. |
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Why is that? Well, it's a very hard test! The driving exam in |
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Iceland covers a lot more material and subject matter than |
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anything I saw in the United States in the various states I lived |
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in. It also goes into greater detail on those topics and is |
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incredibly pedantic. Do _you_ know the minimum mm depth tire tread |
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can be to pass inspection? Do you know the maximum towing capacity |
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for your driving license class? There are also quite a few |
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questions about insurance policies, the various road and safety |
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agencies and their roles, and even first aid. |
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The reason we didn't pass, though, is not just because of the |
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material, but the scoring itself. The test is 30 questions long |
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with part A being the first 15 and mainly being focused on signage |
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while part B is the second 15 and is focused on everything else. |
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You are allowed two mistakes on part A and five mistakes on part |
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B. Any mistakes unused on part A can be applied to part B, such |
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that if you had no mistakes on A you can have up to 7 on B. |
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But what constitutes a mistake? Ahh, here's where things get |
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tricky. The questions are multiple choice and you mark a mistake |
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for each incorrect response, not each incorrect question. Since |
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each question has three choices that means you can get three |
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mistakes per question! |
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In fact, that's what I did to fail mine. I got everything correct |
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on the test in both sections except for a single question on |
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section A where I misidentified a road marking, choosing option |
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"C" while the correct answer was "A & B". Thus, 3 mistakes on one |
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question and a fail. |
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I'll test again at the end of the month and hopefully pass this |
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time around. Once that's done I still have to meet with a driving |
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instructor, deal with their manditory lessons, and then finally be |
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allowed to take the behind-the-wheel portion of the exam. Yeesh! |
