Driving Up The Wall Part 3

Owing to somewhat rainer conditions earlier in the week, my third trip out to North Charleston and the DMV office had to be postponed to today - making it three Thursdays in a row. Again, the queue was virtually non-existent so it was a matter of moments for me to get to the counter, hand over my receipt from last week (proving i had taken and passed the theory test), and a couple of minutes more until the examiner came out (thankfully, a different one from last week). Being aware of what i'd failed on last week helped and i made sure to iron those problems. Thankfully, everything was fine, and i passed. I have a paper licence as temporary for the time being and the photo licence should be with me within a couple of weeks (but then that's what social security said!). So, now the car shopping can start in earnest.

The thing that surprised me most was the cost. The theory test was $2 and the fee for the licence was $12.50. Sum total for me to get my licence was the equivalent of about 8 pounds. Compare this to the UK - looking at the DVLA website, the provisional licence costs 38 pounds, the theory test costs 21 pounds and the practical test costs 45 pounds fifty pence. Generously, they let you update your provisional licence to full for free - provided it's from after the 1st March 2004, otherwise it's 9 pounds. So you're looking at 104 pounds (that's 185 dollars for any American readers) and that's even before you factor in costs of driving lessons. And they say the UK is a rip-off. Can't think why!