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Q: Seems like getting a driving license is a trend in China, do you think so?
I've seen many chinese friends and people I know, specially girls are applying for driving lessons to get the driving license even when is not even in their plans to buy a car in the next 3 years.
I've asked why they wanna get it and most of times answers are random and senseless, most of people I know are in Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian & Guangdong.
Have you also realized about this in the place where you live? Even if they get the license they don't drive even once a year, they will totally forget what they "learn".
Keeping up with the Joneses is a way of life here. If all your friends have a driving license, but you don't.....massive loss of face points. What's crazy is how much money they will drop for driving "lessons". Thousands of rmb's is the norm around here, plus more if you fail the first go around (pretty common). They've (traffic police) also made prospective driver's work as "ushers" at busy intersections during rush hour. You can see them wearing the red vests, holding a red flag. They're supposed to help control the throngs of pedestrians and e-bikes/bikes crossing the street, but generally aren't giving 2 sh*ts, because angry birds, or some other game.
I am in the process of getting my license here. It's a massive pain in the arse. Involving paying over the odds and lots of subterfuge. At least I don't have to bribe the instructors like my friends fiance has to. She is Chinese and in order for her to have a fair whack at her license (ie for the instructor to do his job) she has already had to shell out more than 1500RMB in cigarettes, baijiu, etc. Not cool.
Getting a drivers license seems popular, learning to drive less so.
They get one because Laws change and get more strict as time goes by..
pbrown22:
This. Whenever I ask people about this they respond it will only be harder and harder to get one in the future.
ironman510:
Now there is a rain test and night driving test. Prices also jumped by 2000, so 8000 for 6 months and 6000 to finish in 1 year
Nessquick:
what ? we pay less than 500Eur in Cz , and all school is done in 3month, include all rain and night tests.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/30/world/asia/china-female-drivers/index.html?iid=article_sidebar
How very 21st century to blame women for not being able to drive
"Sisters burn your bras in the streets"
Vyborg:
Nice article. Glad to learn that the Chinese people object to this kind of nonsense. I've been driven by female taxidrivers on a few occasions and explicitly thanked them for not honking. One of them replied: "you foreigners feel it's uncivilized, don't you?"
yesterday saw someone trying to park is bmw in a 4m parking slot (not like the bmw has 1billion cameras and sensors everywhere)
he needed like 20 minutes and after that the car was still in an awkward position.
please make people stop getting driver licenses in china.
I head from a friend you can make it even more fun. go to korea change it to korean driver lincense, then go to europe and change it to european driver license. Works visa verca too.
Scandinavian:
I was going to dinner with some people one evening. As this is China we took a taxi across town to meet with some of the people we were having dinner with, just to drive pretty much all the way back to our place to eat in a restaurant. Anyway, we got a lift from a woman driving a Skoda Fabia, small car. By incredible luck we made it to the restaurant without dying. We all get out and leave the driver to park. After a couple of failed attempts my wife knocks her window and asks if she'd like help. She would. I park her car in less than 5 seconds, the spot was large enough for 2 SUVs parked side by side. She had no clue on what way to turn the wheel when the car was in reverse. It certainly has nothing to do with being female, it has something to do with zero training.
Every year the regulations change and make it harder to get a driving license. They have already put a lottery on license plates in several major cities, they do something similar to driving licenses I think as my friend (Chinese) said he had been waiting for a year to get approved to begin taking the lessons, even though he had paid.
When I got my Chinese license the pass rate was 70-80%, about 3 months later they changes the questions and format of the test and that dropped to less than 20%.
Better to jump in and get it now before things get harder and more expensive. In Dongguan the price for your lessons/test/etc has rose from 5,000 to 6,000 in the last 18 months.
morocotopo:
Sure, ur reason sounds convinceable. The point is all the young people I know and have asked about the reason why they get it most of times they dont even know what to answer.
They like showing off they will apply for the license, driving lessons or they got it but once they did it in my experience when I ask they dont know what to answer, that's why I say is a trend or perhaps they think it gives them status.
hiddenjelly:
I guess there is a status attached to it. The fact it cost's money and it shows they can spend on something they won't even use for maybe another 5-10 years is very Chinese and in their and their friends eyes would give them a lot of face!
