City Driving Lessons

I just claimed my Driving Lessons Certificate from City Driving School last week.

The lessons did not come as a walk in the park for me. It was not even my first driving lesson. But at least the driving instructors cannot give up on me. They were paid by me through the driving school.

Mine is an interesting driving history. I’ve had several informal driving lessons for decades.

1. First from my uncle who was so kind and considerate I never heard a sigh of resignation from him.

2. Second from our working student, who was also kind however the lessons we’re rough. It was indeed rough we round the lot near the public cemetery under a vegetation of coconut trees.

3. Third from my brother, who always had alibis that I have to bribe him with money. He was so impatient he had to be mean and angry all the time. I gave up after one day.

4. Fourth from a family friend who was patient since he had no choice. He was paid by my mom more than his daily income to teach me to drive. It was fun driving from our town to the barrio and to our farm where the road was unforgiveable. Just like any other driving instructor I’ve had had he did not really have to give me up. He had to settle for his cousin who died the afternoon we were doing the driving rounds in the barrio. That was the end of my driving practice. I never attained sufficient skill to drive much more get a driver’s license.

Until this year, when I am more mature and a driver’s license is perceived as very necessary. I took another leap of faith in getting my driver’s license. Here’s the journey.

1. I secured for the nth time a student’s drivers permit. To be able to get this, I prepared  the following:

• Money. I prepared about P500.00 but I paid the exact amount of P317.63. With the exact breakdown of: P100.00 – application fee. P 150.00 – student’s permit fee. P 67.63 – computer fee.
• Two valid ID’s. I brought original copies and photocopies of my  TIN card, Employment ID, Passport and GSIS. Actually only two are necessary but i had them just in case.
• Land Transportation Office. I headed to the Land and Transportation Office in Baguio City. They have a relatively systematic system in the filing of student permits and drivers license. It took about an hour for me since there were already people lining up for their liceses.

2. Since I could not learn by any means driving through informal lessons, I enrolled in a certified driving school. There may be a number in your area. Check them out. In Baguio City, I choose City Driving School for several reasons. Their office is accessible. It is just right in the heart of Upper Session Road near KFC. Second, the fee is affordable. I paid P2,300.00 for ten hours of driving lessons. This also comes with a free seminar for half a day with free snacks. It was a big-time bonus, the snacks.

3. The practical driving lessons commenced with a practical lesson on the parts of the machine. I learned something about blow-ffatch. It means battery, oil, water, fuel, air, temperature and whatever. The lessons were conducted around South Drive in between 15 mins breaks by the driver. So you compute. Ten hours driving lessons for two hours per day on any day of your choice less 15 mins and less another 15 mins trip from the school to the driving venue. That is only about seven hours and a half of real driving. Anyway, I got free snacks and a free seminar and the best thing is that the driver instructors can not give up on me. It was however obvious that I’ve had different instructors everyday but at least I still have somebody to teach me.

4. The seminar which consists of  Defensive Driving and Basic Automotive is conducted every first Saturday of the month. There was a lot to learn. How to park a car in a slope, causes of accidents, what to do during emergency, and how to get away from the police in the most unlikely of a situation. The basic automative however was nosebleed. I realized that the machine could be so complicated and vulnerable that we should be scared of driving much more commuting on them. I only have to show you the pictures. I can’t make sense out of it. Try to understand them for me.

5. My next goal is to finally apply for my real driver’s license. I don’t know when and where. It can be here in Baguio  or in Iligan City. Here in Baguio the test will involve going around Session Road. I don’t think I will ever dare to be caught in the traffic in a sloping Session Road. Maybe Iligan City where I was born is easier. There is no Session Road that I would have to conquer.

I’ll keep you posted on this adventure. I’m excited to get my driver’s license soon.