Car

At first I wanted to write “how to choose an instructor?”, and then I thought “From whom to choose? Whoever they offer you on the courses, that is who you will have!” It turns out the saying “you don’t choose neighbours and relatives” can be supplemented … and driving instructors. I get the impression that starting practical driving, nobody thinks about what we are paying money for, and in Norway this is altogether “in a big way,” 1.5 hours of driving officially on the courses costs 140 euros. ...

In part 3 I already wrote about the road signs that were in my test. The name of this group of signs is FARESKILT (danger signs). I make a literal translation, so that it is easier to remember in Norwegian. Try to pay attention to them where you live and move about. The next group of signs is VIKEPLIKT- og forkjørsskilt. Vike — to yield, plikt — duty, forkjør — main, priority on the road, skilt — sign. ...

I have the inspiration to work out tunnels. At the exam there is always a question about tunnels. I advise you, when you are a passenger in transport, to pay attention to tunnels. 1. What do they set up before the entrance to a tunnel? These are posts with black-and-white stripes diagonally 914 Tunnelmarkering and 916 Avstandsmarkering i tunnel. Skiltet markerer avstand til tunnelåpningen. Be sure to look at them carefully and remember! When these signs come up at the exam, a strange feeling may arise with the question: “and where have I seen them?” ...

I warn you, there will be no pictures! You will have to open the Appendix in the textbook yourselves and look through the pictures. FARESKILT. Fare — danger, Skilt — sign. In the Russian translation they are called WARNING signs. A triangle with a red rim and inside a picture on a white background. Sign 146 Dyr (animals) — skillet varsler at dyr ofte ferdes over eller langs vegen — the sign warns of animals often passing across the road or along the road. There are 5 such signs in Norway. I got 146.1 on the exam — in the triangle an elk is drawn. Anyway “I remember the Elk, but I don’t remember the question!” I can assure you, the wording of the questions is not complicated, it differs from those twisted “questions that you get in computer tests when preparing on your own.” So now you need to remember in Norwegian: “skiltet varsler at dyr ofte ferdes over eller langs veien.” If you remember this sentence and know the translation into your native language, then at the exam you will be able to understand the question that will be asked. And in order to remember, you will have to read (you can aloud, loudly and with expression 😃 up to 7 times! The next sign (skilt) is 149 kø (queue). I give a description: a triangle with a red border, and inside little cars standing tightly against one another. Well, what can one say? Sitting at the wheel, how will you behave when you see this sign? I think you already need to be attentive (oppmerksom), reduce speed and approach civilly, “get in the queue.” I have now found in my notes how the “correct answer in the test for this sign” can sound: “FARE for kø.” ...

“Feet, brakes, seat belts and in general, What does it mean to drive a car? (Hva er bilkjøring?) In the first part we established at which points we hold the wheel; now we take “feet in our hands,” that is we look down and find 3 pedals and understand that we are sitting in a car with a manual gearbox (manuelt gir). And that means that your two feet (venstre fot og høyre fot) — left and right — will take an active part in the driving process. The left foot has its advantages — it “presses” only the clutch (koplingspedalen trykkes inn). As our instructors put it, “press the clutch to the floor.” The brake pedal (bremsepedalen) is in the middle, and the gas pedal (gasspedalen) is on the right. And so on the right foot there is a load of as many as 2 pedals, which you MUST NOT confuse! ...

“My thoughts, my steeds….” as in the song. Of course I will not manage a tidy exposition of the material, but I very much want to share what I myself have already gone through in Norway, having received those coveted class B rights. The best option is to start studying theory and practice at the same time and in the Norwegian language. In Norway a ledsager can be a person who has reached the age of 25 and has 5 years’ driving experience. You must attach an L sign at the back of the car, and according to the rules there should also be an extra mirror, well, and “in life” not every private car has one. ...

In this part I will reveal a family secret, about which I was silent all summer. Today I have in a certain sense a holiday, and for my husband Ivan it is definitely a holiday. They returned his driving licence after a 4-month punishment for speeding: he overtook in a 60 km zone, drove at a speed of 90 km and “straight” ran into a police patrol. They were just carrying out a raid! And also a fine of 1000 euros! As they say, “even an old woman can make a blunder.” The first time in his life he suffered like that. ...

From 0.5 sec. to 3 sec. It turns out like this: we are driving at a speed of 20 km/h. We have seen a cat sitting in the middle of the road and understand that it is not going to run away, but continues to sit on the road. And you are driving at 20 km and in 1 second take the decision to brake. So in that second you have already travelled 5.5 m and pressed the brake on dry asphalt, “stretched” another 2 metres!! That’s all. Stopped. The cat is alive and of course ran away in time. ...

I paraphrased the saying. I want briefly and primitively to describe how to sit at the wheel for the first time. If I now write the phrase “don’t worry!”, it will be useless. “Worry!” But… only until the moment of sitting in the car! Dress comfortably, so that clothes and shoes do not constrain you. Try chewing gum. It calms. Recall where the right hand is and where the left. That is obligatory. You may label them with a felt-tip pen in large letters. ...

I zealously took up the study of driving theory in Norwegian. Many times we bought tests on the computer. I solve, I solve… and the result is 50% correct answers. What to do? What to do? I drag it out… I do not dare go to sit the exam. And one can sit it any day. You arrive, photograph yourself in a booth, pay 600 kroner (60 euros) and go into a computer classroom; they give you 1.5 hours for 45 questions. Of them it is permissible to make 7 mistakes. ...