You know what's stressful??? Buying a car. There's registration, and insurance too...like, why are there so many questions to answer when I'm trying to buy insurance!? I need my dad...haha. But really. Thank goodness I know people who know people here in Maitland who can figure all this stuff out for me.
And let's not even talk about how thankful I am to have an international license and not have to go through the whole process that Australians do, because, lemme tell ya, it's ridiculous. Australia takes their driving wayyyy to seriously. I mean, I'm all for safe driving and all, but I mean, come on...you basically have to have a permit for FOUR YEARS before getting your full license here! Here's all the rules and conditions of each license, word for word from the website (if you don't care, you can skip to the next pictures...where I continue to talk about the car I bought).
First, you get your Learners Permit...
Steps to get a Learner's permit:
•
Minimum age 16
•
Pass a theory test or hold a driver's licence
•
Pass RiderSafe basic training
Learner's permit conditions and rules:
•
Zero alcohol/drugs
•
Must display 'L' plates
•
Must not exceed speed limit by more than 10kph
•
Must not ride over 100kph
•
Must not incur 4 or more demerit points
•
No pillions unless your passenger is a Qualified
Driving Instructor
•
Learner riders who don't already hold a driver's
licence must hold a learner's permit for at least 12 months (six months for
over 25 years)
•
You must not use any type of mobile phone function
•
Holders of a learner's permit for R Date, who
are under 25 years of age and who do not hold a P2 or full licence for another
class must not ride a motorcycle between the hours of midnight and 5am unless
they:
◦
are accompanied by a Qualified Supervising
Driver (QSD)
◦
hold a P2 or full licence for another class; or
◦
they meet the exemption criteria
The permit is valid for two years and you must carry it at
all times whilst riding.
You must complete the RiderSafe advanced training course
within two years. If you do not complete the RiderSafe advanced course within
two years you may be required to resit the RiderSafe basic course.
Next you get your Provisional (P1) License...
Provisional licences are issued subject to conditions. If
you breach a condition you will lose your licence and be disqualified from
driving. This is in addition to any other penalty.
The conditions are:
•
You must not drive a motor vehicle with any
concentration of alcohol in your blood or the presence of cannabis, speed or
MDMA (ecstasy) in your blood or oral saliva.
•
You must not exceed any speed limit by 10km/h or
more.
•
You must not accumulate four or more demerit
points during the provisional licence period.
The following laws also apply. If you breach any of these
laws you may incur penalties such as fines, demerit points or loss of licence.
•
You can only drive the class of vehicle stated
on your licence.
•
You must carry your provisional licence at all
times whilst driving.
•
You must not drive a high-powered vehicle while
you are under the age of 25 (unless you have an exemption certificate).
•
You must not drive over 100 km/h even if the
local speed limit exceeds 100 km/h.
Laws that only apply to holders of P1 provisional licences
(these laws do not apply to P2) include:
•
You must display the correct size 'P' plates so
that they are clearly visible from the front and rear of the vehicle (rear only
for motorcycles).
•
You must not use any mobile phone function while
driving, including hands-free mode and Bluetooth technology or loud speaker
operation.
•
If you are under the age of 25 years, you must
not drive:
◦
between midnight and 5am, or
◦
with more than one passenger aged 16 to 20 years
(excluding immediate family members)
◦
unless a Qualified Supervising Driver is seated
next to you or you meet the exemption criteria
Breaking the rules
If you are disqualified from driving you
will need to re-apply for your provisional licence. If you are returning at the
P1 stage, you will need to hold your new provisional licence for three years
(one year on P1 and two years on P2). If you are returning at the P2 stage you
will need to hold it for two years.
Then, you get your Provisional (P2) License...
Provisional licence laws and conditions
•
You can only drive the class of vehicle stated
on your licence
•
You must carry your provisional licence at all
times whilst driving.
•
You must not drive a motor vehicle with any
concentration of alcohol in your blood or the presence of cannabis, speed or
MDMA (ecstasy) in your blood or oral saliva.
•
You must not drive a high-powered vehicle while
you are under the age of 25 until you get your full driver's licence (unless
you have an exemption certificate).
•
You must not drive over 100 km/h even if the
local speed limit exceeds 100 km/h
•
If you commit a speeding offence of 10 km/h or
more over the speed limit you will breach your licence conditions.
•
You must not accumulate four or more demerit
points during the provisional licence period.
•
You must display the prescribed P-plates so that
they are clearly visible from the front & rear of the vehicle (rear only
for motorcycles)
Breaking the rules
If you break any of the P2 rules you could get a fine,
demerit points, be disqualified from driving and have to go to court. If your licence is disqualified while holding a P2 licence
when you return to driving your new P2 licence will be issued for a further two
years.
Safer Driver Agreement
If you are disqualified you may elect to enter into a Safer
Driver Agreement instead of serving the six month disqualification (unless it
was a serious disqualification offence). The Safer Driver Agreement will apply for the duration of
your provisional licence. If you choose a Safer Driver Agreement you will be
issued a new provisional licence for a further two years. If you breach
your licence conditions or accumulate four or more demerit points again:
•
you will be disqualified for 12 months (twice
the original disqualification period)
•
you must serve the disqualification - you cannot
appeal to the Court
•
you will not be eligible to apply for another
Safer Driver Agreement for the next five years.
And FINALLY you get your Full License or "Blacks." Talk about serious business!
A few weeks ago I spotted this Volkswagen beauty on the side of the road...
...but, unfortunately it wasn't for sale. Even if it was, I probably (actually, make that definitely) couldn't afford it. But it did bring back nice memories of our old VW bus that my family used to have. Tell me why we ever got rid of it again?
I have started working regularly at my new job with SNAP, and generally my placement is an hours drive away. I felt I was becoming a nuisance to Mitch and everyone else who was having to take me to and from work. And since learning to drive a manual was proving to be a bit more difficult than I had anticipated, we started looking for an automatic for me to drive. Annddd we found one! A 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo.
The previous owner was a nice, honest guy. And he sold the car very well; he'd had it for three years, put a lot of work into it, and even told us about the few "glitches" it had. He kept it in good condition, too. So I bought it. Or rather, Mitch bought it. And I'm on a pay plan since I have minimal funds at the moment...
I was SUPER excited about having a car and driving again. The four months I lived in Brisbane without one wasn't bad because everything was walking distance, or there was easy/nearby access to the busses and trains. Maitland's a different story. And driving's not like "riding a bike" either, especially after five months cold-turkey; AND ESPECIALLY when you're in a county where everything is opposite (you're steering wheel is on the right, and you drive on the left side of the road). I feel like I'm doing pretty well though, I've only driven into oncoming traffic once! Old habits die hard, ya know...
So yeah, I bought a car, and the first day I drove my car to work, it broke down. Seriously!? Just my luck. We buy this car that seems like a sweet deal, drove absolutely perfect during the test drive, and then just so happens to do one of those glitches that the guy said happened to him maybe only twice in two years...sweet.
I had made it off the highway and to my exit, barely, before the car completely died. I tried and tried to restart it with no luck. I called Mitch, who called Lloyd, and told me that I just need to wait about ten minutes to restart it and then be sure to engage the immobilizer (which for this car is to press lock, then unlock twice in a row, and start it right away). I gave it a go, and THANKFULLY it worked and I made it to the house I was working at. I was an hour late to my first official day of work. Ha! Go me. Fortunately the woman I was changing over with was understanding, and gladly covered my shift 'til I got there.
For my job, it was a shift that I slept over, and once 8am rolled around the next morning it was time to head back to Maitland. But my car wouldn't start...again. I waited and waited, tried the immobilizer trick (with no luck), and after an hour of trying and hoping for the best, I called Mitch. He and Lloyd had to come pick me up and try and fix the car. When they got there I wanted them to get it to start but at the same time I didn't want them to get it started because then I would've looked like a dumba** who doesn't know how to start a car. They didn't get it going, so we left the car there and Lloyd called his mechanic friend who said he would go by and fix it the next morning.
Whatever his mechanic friend did fixed it. And it's been working just fine ever since! I still leave for work extra early to allow myself time to break down, just in case...
I had made it off the highway and to my exit, barely, before the car completely died. I tried and tried to restart it with no luck. I called Mitch, who called Lloyd, and told me that I just need to wait about ten minutes to restart it and then be sure to engage the immobilizer (which for this car is to press lock, then unlock twice in a row, and start it right away). I gave it a go, and THANKFULLY it worked and I made it to the house I was working at. I was an hour late to my first official day of work. Ha! Go me. Fortunately the woman I was changing over with was understanding, and gladly covered my shift 'til I got there.
For my job, it was a shift that I slept over, and once 8am rolled around the next morning it was time to head back to Maitland. But my car wouldn't start...again. I waited and waited, tried the immobilizer trick (with no luck), and after an hour of trying and hoping for the best, I called Mitch. He and Lloyd had to come pick me up and try and fix the car. When they got there I wanted them to get it to start but at the same time I didn't want them to get it started because then I would've looked like a dumba** who doesn't know how to start a car. They didn't get it going, so we left the car there and Lloyd called his mechanic friend who said he would go by and fix it the next morning.
Whatever his mechanic friend did fixed it. And it's been working just fine ever since! I still leave for work extra early to allow myself time to break down, just in case...
"The LORD protects the simple hearted; when I was in great need, he saved me." - Psalm 116:6
XO - Cristin
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