Watched by about twenty people who awaited the examiner’s instruction at line 9, one of the 12 test lines, I got out of the car and couldn’t restrain myself from smiling. Finally, I passed the examination of subject 2 of the driving test, which I had already flunked twice.
The driving test consists of 3 subjects, a theory test, a site test and a road test. Subject 2, a site test which has tasks such as zigzag driving and parallel parking, troubled me for nearly a month since I have to wait at least 10 days for a makeup test. It is said to have a passing rate of only 65%, according to Nanjing Daily in April. I started to learn driving this summer and found myself not alone. Cars, associated with the words like speed, freedom and convenience attract lots of young people just like me.
According to Nanjing Bureau of Statistics, the demand for a driver’s license in the first half of this year kept going up. By the end of June, the city has added 145,900 new drivers, 806 people per day on average, which is the largest number since 2009. Nanjing had 2,452,400 drivers in total by the end of last year. With a permanent resident population of 8,216,100, there are more than a quarter of people owning a driver’s license.
Young people are obsessed with acquiring a driver’s license. For some university students, a driver’s license is not only about driving, but also a certificate. Certificate matters in Chinese’s life.
“People say that things always go by three’s,” said Fang Shanting, a senior student of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, who came to take her test for the third time. “I’m sure both of us will pass today.”
Fang Shanting didn’t feel like wanting a driver’s license at the first place. Nonetheless, getting a driver’s license is an optional choice of learning an amateur skill, which is one of the eight items of the Quality Development Plan of her college. She must achieve those before graduation. Other items like reading a famous book and joining in a student club are also included.
Fang Shanting’s parents, neither owns a driver’s license, highly encouraged her to have the test and planned to buy a car for her. It isn’t uncommon since Chinese parents are known for spending a lot on their only child, even paying for their houses when they get married. Thanks to the habit of saving, cars are affordable for most ordinary families.
Therefore, some young people will choose to drive the car that their parents give them or they will get the access to their parent’s car, which is just what Shen Jialian, a senior student of Nanjing University of Finance and Economics, thought of.
In her opinion, driving is a must-have skill that most people should acquire. “We will make use of it, either on the way to and off work or going out for a trip,” said she. In fact, with 369 bus lines and 6 metro lines throughout the city, according to official statistics, you can go almost anywhere. In addition, it is also said that 20,000 pubic bicycles will be displayed by the end of this year according to Nanjing Daily. Building up its public transportation system by adding bicycles and metro lines to the rapid bus transit systems, Nanjing aims to provide omnipresent transport facilities.
However, Bian Huahua, another senior student, who came to take the test, said that public transportation is still not as accessible as the private car. A private car parks right below your apartment, carries you anywhere you want to go, frees you from the heavy burden when you go shopping, with a clean and comfortable space surpassing the bus or underground train.
“A driver’s license is as important as an identity card,” said Bian Huahua. As people around her who had acquired a license all agreed with the convenience of going to work by car, Bian Huahua is willing to be a regular driver as long as she passed the test. She said she would use the car owned by her family first.
Li Xiaolong, a junior student who came to take the test for the first time, approved neither. “Living near is the most convenient way,” he said he. For him, a driver’s license becomes more vital. He described the importance of a driver’s license as one of the three certificates that a man must have in his life, with the other two going to a college diploma and a house property certificate.
He said these three certificates show that having a house, a car and the ability to make money are the necessary condition for a young man to marry a girl nowadays. He said his fellow classmates all agreed with him.
Liang Xiaodan, another senior student test taker, said she just wanted to experience new things. She said that it was unnecessary to have a driver’s license. You can act as a driver when needed, which is all it means.
Fang Shanting was excited for a step forward on the way to acquiring the license while Liang Xiaodan became cautious and conservative. “I don’t feel like to drive after having a license. Every time when I made a mistake when driving at the school, I felt lucky that I was not on the real road.” said Liang Xiaodan. “I’d better not danger the society with my driving.” She decided to practice more in the driving school before driving on the real road.
