Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Newcomer Stories: Passing Your Driver's....Again - Part 4

Borrowed Photo

Part 3 was here.

In my mind, because of my nervousness, I did a lot of things incorrectly. In my mind, I thought of other things that I could've done differently or better. I clouded my own judgment. So in my mind, I may have failed.
 
But I didn't.
 
That was a great feeling right there. As David, my examiner, signed the sheet that announced that I had passed my driver's exam. I was relieved. And happy. It could have been that David was just such a nice guy that he decided not to fail me that day. But I suppose he would need some true justification that I could drive and behave myself on the roads of Canada.
 
For people taking the test at the Etobicoke centre, I'd like to share the drive routes that I took when I did my G test. From the Etobicoke test station, it was a right onto Eglinton Avenue West (70kph zone turning into 60 kph before you reach the turn). Drive straight on and turn right again into Renforth Drive (which is a 40 kph zone with the famous pedestrian crossing right in the middle of the road). A few blocks down, it is a left into Eringate Drive (50 kph). Here you drive further down before you reach the onramp to the highway, you will be asked to turn right into one of the small streets to make an emergency stop and 3-point turn. After which, you will have to return back, turning right into Eringate Drive and then finally getting onto Highway 427 (100 kph). You will take the offramp for Burnhamthorpe Road and will turn left on this street, followed by a quick lane change to the right to catch the onramp back onto Highway 427.
 
Then you are requested to change lanes to the left and to the right, do some overtaking of slower cars and other manouevring prowess.
 
You take the offramp to Eglinton Avenue West and turn right on Commerce Boulevard. This area is a business district. I don't recall seeing a speed limit sign in this area so I have assumed that it is 50 kph. After travelling Commerce Boulevard, you turn left on Matheson Boulevard East. You then turn left on Explorer Drive and then right again onto Eglinton Avenue West, where you will be heading back to the test centre.
 
It was nerve wrecking admittedly but I think one should not over-analyse stuff at all when taking these kinds of exams. There is always something that can be done differently. And the best is just to be prepared.

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