Why foreigners with international driving license failed to get Chinese driving license in Beijing? Read the article below to find it out:
One of my most prized accomplishments in the past year was earning my Beijing driver's license. This may sound strange—particularly to people who believe a driver's license test is one of life's simplest exams. I, too, once thought this way. Growing up in the United States, I believed almost anyone could pass a driver's test, and when I moved to Beijing in 1991, all my expatriate friends who drove in Beijing laughed at how simple the process was. "Ridiculous," one friend quipped. "I only needed to turn in my overseas license and take a driver's test that consisted of starting the car and driving 100 meters. I passed with flying colors."
Hearing this was a relief, particularly when my wife and children urged me to get a license so we could travel more easily to the countryside. Considering daily work pressures, I didn't need any bureaucratic hassles—driving through the streets of China would be tricky enough.
So I simply handed my US driver's license to a coworker so he could help me apply for a license and arrange a date for me to drive the famed 100 meters. "It's impossible," he replied in Chinese. "The Beijing Traffic Management Bureau changed the requirements. Foreigners can no longer trade their nation's license for a 100-meter test. You must take a 100-question exam and get at least 90 percent correct to obtain a Beijing license." I was about to become part of a new generation of Beijing drivers who had to take the multiple-choice, true/false test that was developed in September 2003. (Some foreigners, including staff of embassies, consulates, and international organizations with diplomatic privileges, are exempt from the exam.)
On the day of my test, I arrived at the traffic management bureau just in time. A proctor told me that I would have 45 minutes to complete the test (in English) and that they would tell me immediately whether I had passed. After answering all of the questions I knew the answers to in the first 20 minutes, I still debated the answers to roughly 20 questions. I took a few calculated guesses, turned in the questionnaire with minutes to spare, and awaited the good news.
Most of the questions that puzzled me had had awkward translations. I remember one question that asked in rather broken English whether a person who had been in an accident and had a bone sticking out of his or her body should be moved or left in the street. And there were other questions whose wording would stump even the most intrepid linguists.
As I waited outside the classroom, my exam result came at a speed uncharacteristic in China. Standing among about 10 other participants, the proctor announced to all, "Ke Ingde xiansheng, ni zuo bu liao!" (Mr. Kronick, you did not pass!)
I first felt embarrassed, as all of the other exam participants—both Chinese and foreigners—laughed. Then I felt ashamed because I had to explain to my wife and children that I had failed the exam.
But I was determined not to be defeated a second time. Thankfully, a colleague bought a Beijing traffic regulation manual for me; the manual contained all of Beijing's traffic rules, along with the test's questions and answers. The only caveat, since the book was then unavailable in English, was that I needed fairly advanced Chinese-language skills to read the book. To make things easier, I had the questions and answers translated. Among the questions:
* "Categorized according to the specification terms, carriers for agricultural use include ____________.
1. Three- and four-wheeled vehicles;
2. Three-wheeled vehicles, four-wheeled ordinary goods carriers, four-wheeled vans, four-wheeled tank carriers, and four-wheeled automatic unloading trucks;
3. Three-wheeled, four-wheeled, and six-wheeled vehicles."* True or false:
"When big trucks are loaded with goods, the height of the goods from the ground should be not more than 5 m, the width of the goods should not be more than that of the carriage, the front part should not stand out of the vehicle body by more than 1 m, and the rear part should not stand out of the carriage by more than 2 m or touch the ground."
By now, word of my test preparation had spread to my colleagues and friends, and the pressure mounted. A test date was set, and with a translated portion of the book in hand, I crammed.
This time, I arrived early and braced myself for the test. I considered each answer in detail. After 45 minutes, I turned in the test and waited to hear whether I would soon be taking to the road, or facing my family and colleagues another time with word of defeat.
Fortunately, the coveted license now rests in my car. And with a combination of pride and fear, I have become one of Beijing's newest defensive drivers.
Now your will know how important to get a Textbook for exam of Beijing driver's license. Click the link to find more information.
