Driving in China?

One goal Sandy and I have had is to get our Chinese driver's licenses. Now, there is little desire on my part to drive (much less own) a car here in China, though Sandy is somewhat interested in it. However, our main focus is to get our motorcycle endorsement so that we can drive motorcycles here (something we have really wanted to do). So, we figured that this was a great challenge to take on while life has slowed down because of the virus.

We looked into the process -- well, actually we had friends who looked into it for us -- and figured out that it was a fairly straightforward process: have our passports and Oregon driver's licenses officially translated, go to the motor vehicle office to fill out an application, pay a few fees, and then take a knowledge-based test. Since I have my motorcycle in Oregon, that will be the end of it for me, but Sandy may face some type of driving test -- we'll tackle that problem after we finish this initial process.

So, last week we set out for the motor vehicle office and had a friend meet us there to help with translation. All the initial paperwork and payment of fees went smoothly. Now to the test. We were ushered into a large testing room filled with computers and were each directed to separate computers. Not too intimidating. We didn't really know what to expect other than the test would be in English (well at least the words were English). I began my test and noticed that there were 100 questions. No, problem; I had 40 minutes to finish. So, I started answering some questions about basic driving with traffic lights and traffic behavior -- not to hard to answer even when written in Chinglish. Then there were a few questions about some point penalty system, and a few about the severity of punishment for certain infractions. Soon, I was seeing signs I had never seen before and having to "read" freeway signs and figure out what they were saying. I made several educated guesses and plowed through. 

When I was done, I went up to the front and found out I had received a 77. Not bad. But, also, not good. He set me up to take the test again right away. I told him that I didn't know which ones I got wrong,  but he just waved me off and directed me to take it again. I did, and this time got an 81, but still not good enough. Sandy had a similar experience. We talked afterwards and found out that the passing score was actually 90%.

So, it was time to study, but how to do that when there is no driver's manual in English. Use an app. Yes, there is an app that claims to have all the questions for the test (mine has 1,000 and Sandy's has 2.000). The only way to study is to answer the questions, again and again, until you have the answers basically memorized and then go take the test again. Jaiyou! Onward! In the process of studying we have found out that there is a penalty point system that runs for 12 months and records all your infractions: 12 points and it's back to some additional driver's training. We also learned that when approaching an intersection at night that doesn't have a signal you actually are supposed to flash your brights as a warning signal. And we learned that if you are driving a freight truck you are not allowed to carry any passengers. Why we have to know this when we are applying for a simple passenger vehicle license, I don't know, but we have to be ready.

Well, we have had so much fun with this I thought I might treat you to a sample Chinese driving test. I collected 20 of my favorite questions and put them together in a quiz. Click on the following link to take it and good luck. Chinese Driving Test