I was a bit nervous before the test. Fortunately, the test officer chatted with me about the Philippines and my life in Brunei and that helped me a lot to calm down.
Getting a Bruneian driver's license if you're a beginner isn't easy. First you have to apply for a Provisional License at the Land Transport building in Sungai Akar. Bring your passport and IC card, fill-up the form, and pay 5 dollars.
The provisional license is only a learner's permit, you are not legally allowed to drive without a licensed instructor. There are not many instructors, and only some can teach in English.
After deciding on an instructor, you will need at least 10 hours of sit-down lecture about safety, road signs, etc. This cost 150 dollars.Then, you have to take the written test.
The test had multiple choices. There were two parts. First part was about road signs and the second part had questions regarding safety and road knowledge. You have to answer all the questions on the first part correctly or you will fail. The second part allows a maximum of 6 mistakes. Most of the questions were common sense, but you must read them carefully because some of the questions were deliberately tricky.
You can schedule a re-test after a week in case you fail.
After you pass the written test, then you can start having actual driving lessons. The lessons cost 15 dollars per hour. You need at least 10 hours of lessons before you can take the actual driving test. The driving test only allows manual transmission, so of course, learning on automatic was not an option.
On my first day, the teacher and I went straight to the road. I had never driven in my life before that, so that was really nerve-wrecking for me. The learner cars (the white small cars with green roof) have an extra brake and clutch pedal on the teacher's side though, so that was a bit comforting.
Then you have to practice 2 round courses inside the Sungai Akar practice area. This is where you learn how to drive on a slope, how to make a 3-point turn, how to make U-turns, how to drive around tight angles and S-roads, and how to make very precise reversing and turning in order to parallel park and rear-in park.
Basically, if you slide down the slope, hit any curve or parking pole during the test, you will fail. If you pass these, however, then you will be tested on how well you drive out on the main roads.
The instuctor will teach you 6 routes near Sungai Akar, although the test officer will only choose 1 during the test.
If you pass, then you can finally apply for a Driver's License! If you don't, then you have to wait at least 2 months before you can take the test again.
Fortunately, I passed! I am so happy and relieved. Public transportation (even taxis) is almost non-existent here in Brunei. It 's quite inconvenient if you don't drive or if you don't have a car, unlike in Korea. As it is, we've been paying a lot for a driving amah to bring/pick-up Big Girl to/from school and to drive me to places whenever Mr. Big is at work. On the plus side, I was forced to finally learn how to drive.
Next thing to do: Find an inexpensive used car that is not too old and in excellent condition. Wish me luck!
3 comments:
Nice post and very informative. Can you kindly tell me about the way of finding good instructor? I am really new to Brunei. Please update me. Thx.. My email: yeschandana@gmail.com
Hi! After getting the Provisional License, the receptionist at the Land Transport Office at Sungai Akar can recommend instructors depending on where you live. Also, you will find them right there, outside the office, around the practice area. As far as finding a good one is concerned, I can only speak for the one I had. His name is Bernard Shak. He is 60+ years old, he speaks English, but is a bit ill-tempered. According to him though, all of his students, if I'm not mistaken, have passed the test for 4 yrs now.
His phone number is 881-6426.
Goodluck!
Thank you very much. Really appreciated.
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