Tuesday, January 13, 2004
after much procrastination my days of breaking the law are over...well, kinda. see, in new zealand they have a three tiered driver's license program and if i think hard enough, i suppose i can see the reasoning behind it. if i apply that same thinking to it another way, i see the idiocy and the loophole behind it as well. i read the fine print that came with this thing and it states that since this is a 'learners' license, i'm not allowed to drive unless an 'adult' or 'experienced' person rides in the front seat with me. i'm also supposed to put a giant yellow and black "L" sign (to alert people that i'm a learner) in the back of my car. this is not going to happen. the one last thing that they state is that i'm not allowed to drive between the hours of 10pm and 5am as these are the 'most dangerous' hours to drive. what's a vampire like me to do?
here's where i have the problem with this system. i've been driving in new zealand now for more than 3 years. i'm pretty well aware of the rules and regulations seeing as how i only missed one on my test (one that related to tying something on the roof and how far it was allowed to extend past the front seat of the vehicle) and as being such i'm confined to this 'learners' license for something like 6 months until, for some reason or another, i'm allowed to apply for my restricted license (that's the second part of the process). then after having acquired my 'restricted' license, i'll have that for another 6 months or so until i can apply for my regular 'full' license.
where i have my problem is right here. since i'm clearly not a 'learner' or beginner by any means to the world of driving, i should be allowed to proceed right on through the process to obtain my 'full' license. i have no problem with paying three separate fees and taking their tests or any of that. i do have a problem that there is nothing in place to allow for the occasional 'unique' situation like the one i'm in, a situation where an obviously experienced driver has to jump through these hoops over the course of a year. oh well, i guess i'm still not free from breaking the law here in new zealand as hard as i try ... they make it extremely difficult.