Living

Joanne Burns obtained her standard ‘B’ driving licence last April. It cost her about €2,000, even though she passed first time.

I didn’t learn to drive in Ireland because I never needed to. Here I work outside Barcelona and got really tired of taking the bus. I learned in a RAC school. First, you must take the theory test. After you pass, you take practical lessons with a driving instructor.

Going into the test was like jumping into the deep end of a swimming pool blindfolded. They used to offer a ‘language-adapted’ theory test for non-natives, but now you either take the theory test in Spanish, or in English. I took the test in Spanish, but bought the books in English and Spanish to help me understand. I was going to take it in English, but the translations were so bad that some questions were incomprehensible! The Spanish theory was extremely difficult. It was full of language tricks and false friends. I thought it would be impossible to pass. But after four months of intensive studying, three classes a week, I passed.

In Spain, it’s illegal to go out practising with a provisional licence and another licensed driver. My instructor was Portuguese, and spoke bad Spanish. I had to wait for six months to get a time slot with him that fitted in with my work schedule. I had a practical lesson every morning at 7am for about two months.

In the test there are four of you in the car: you, your driving instructor, someone else taking the test and the examiner. I passed, which is just as well because if you fail costs shoot up. In contrast to the theory, the practical was too easy. You only drive for 20 minutes. They didn’t test me on reversing around a corner or a three-point turn...in fact, my instructor told me that none of this was important.