Milestone alert: I finally have my driving licence!
A woman undertakes her driving lesson.
What you need to know:
- After months of procrastination and Netflix excuses, I reluctantly committed to driving classes at a nearby school in Nairobi.
- The first driving lesson brought unexpected shock when the instructor immediately handed over the car keys, leading to rapid confidence building.
- Despite early morning exam jitters and sacrificed holidays, the journey culminated in a successful driving test and newfound independence.
For reasons I cannot explain, I struggled to register and commit to driving classes. I had a litany of excuses to support my procrastination – or maybe it was simply not time yet. Around mid-2024, I visited the driving school that is about 200 metres from my house. I picked up the fee structure and tentatively committed to the 9am Saturday classes. I got home that day, and as I went through the catalogue, I felt pleased with myself – that I had made the first step. There were even sparks of commitment in my mind that day.
Well, come the following Saturday, at the precise time when the class was meant to begin, I asked myself some questions.
“Why do I need to be up so early on a Saturday morning after waking up early all week to go to work?”
“Do I really need that driving licence considering how reliable online taxis are [more often than not]?”
“Between not watching Netflix and not going for driving classes, which one am I more likely to regret come Monday morning?”
These three questions made me abort my classes mid-last year. The classes were forgotten for a while. Until the urge started coming back again – the convenience I would get from being able to drive myself to work, and gentle nudging from my close friends who have waited all their lives to see me drive.
That is the story of how I finally signed up and followed through my driving classes in December while on leave. My consideration for a driving school was made based on two key factors: The reputation of the driving school and the proximity. I was lucky to get this combination easily.
On day one of practice, I arrived at school all psyched to keenly watch how the instructor would drive, and learn from him. You can, therefore, imagine my shock when he handed me the car keys and asked me to take the driver’s seat, while he took the passenger’s side!
He walked me through some of the things on the dashboard, like how to turn the lights on and off, how to adjust the mirrors and other stuff like that. All this time, I was waiting for him to remember that I had never driven a car before, and ask me to move to the passenger’s seat so he takes up the driver’s seat. But alas, when he was done explaining, he gave me the instructions to actually start the car and the car started moving! It was shocking at first and then exhilarating and by the second driving practice, when I was taken to one of the major highways in Nairobi, I knew for a fact that I will enjoy driving myself!
My class had the quintessential composition. From that student who never appreciated the theory class and always told the instructor that he did not need to know lane options because, in his words, “he’d simply follow the vehicle in front of him”, to the quiet and shy students whose presence in class could be easily missed, but somehow, they knew answers to all the questions, including naming the road signs you have never seen.
The Saturday before the exam, my instructor took me through an internal assessment – to give me a sense of what happens during an actual oral exam. I suspect I did well because I was booked for an exam. I also did my final practical class that day, with the instructor as a full passenger. Once he was confident he could release me to the roads, he bid me goodbye with a parting promise to meet on the exam day.
I woke up at 5.30am on test day. The instructor had advised that we should be at the exam venue by 6.30am to ensure we got a slot in the top 100 candidates – I got slot 64. The biting cold that morning was reminiscent of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education first exam day. At some point, I could not decide whether I was shaking because of the cold or because I was scared of the exam. But with others around me busy cramming road signs, I knew I was in good company. At about 8am, one of the National Transport and Safety Authority officials came to give us a briefing – to remind us of the dos and don’ts and voila, we were ushered into the hallowed exam corridors!
I received my driving licence a few hours after the exam and I am so excited that finally I have completed the classes and fully graduated. Driving classes are off my bucket list! Well, I had to sacrifice my leave and Christmas to ensure I attended and completed all my classes before resuming work, but once again, I am happy to report that commitment truly pays off!
The writer is the Research & Impact Editor, NMG ([email protected]).
