I've had a driver's license for about 30 years now. I'm hoping soon to become certified on motorcycles as well.
My current car is a 2003 Chevy Malibu LS - I got it from a dealer who got it when it was returned at the end of its lease back in '05. To make it attractive to lease, it has every single option available at that trim level. Leather seats, sunroof, power everything, overdrive, etc. I've been loathe to give it up, but my wife and I are looking at getting a Toyota Prius C in the hopefully-not-too-distant future. I'd get a Chevy Volt, but being an apartment dweller makes it impractical since I'd never be able to charge it.
Funny story: I actually got my first driver's license without ever taking a road test. I was in Florida for a short while and got a learner's permit while I was there, at age 15. The learner's permit in Florida automatically becomes a restricted operator's license at age 16, but I moved to New York before that occurred. I waited a year before applying for a New York license (I had no vehicle to drive so I didn't think it was very important prior to that). As I filled out the application, I noticed a section called the "Road Test Waiver", where I was allowed to turn in an out-of-state license and get the New York equivalent without taking a road test. The DMV issued me a New York restricted operator's license which automatically became a full operator's license at age 17 - thus allowing me to get, via a legal loophole, a full license without ever taking the road test.
Eventually, I did take a road test. When I returned to Florida in my early twenties, the state changed their laws regarding new residents from elsewhere, requiring that everyone take a road test. It was meant to cut down on the number of senior citizens who hadn't been behind the wheel of a car in decades suddenly being unleashed on Florida roadways when they move to a place with big, open spaces and little public transportation. The test, however, was a joke. They held it in a parking lot instead of on actual roadways, and the parallel parking portion required me to park between two orange cones that must have been nearly two car lengths apart from each other. The funny part is that the parallel parking portion of the test has since been eliminated from the test completely. There's very few places in Florida where people need the skill - most places have parking lots and many city streets have no sidewalks, never mind curbs...
(Read 1057 times)
