Okie dokie, here's an update for my friends of happenings since my last posting and this is a long post but I feel its important for all those coming into the country so you know what to expect:
Yesterday evening when I came back from Pennsylvania to Virginia, I was delighted to have found my Social Security Card in the mail (and more delighted that it was processed so quickly). That same evening my brother and I decided to go to the DMV the next day to try and pick up my driving license.
My brother and I went to the DMV near Falls Church (VA) today and I took all my documents with me that I took to the DV interview. The lady at the counter (she was Russian I believe) checked my immigrant visa/passport, social security number and proof of address which was on my bank letter and she refused to let me through because she said I needed a bank statement. I was really annoyed as was my brother and we drove to the nearest Bank of America to get a printed statement showing proof of address on it and then rushed back to the DMV.
Once again I was faced with the Russian lady who was annoyed to see me back there being the persistent idiot I am lol...anyway I said to her I'm a new immigrant and I want a driver's license and she slightly in a rude tone replied "be specific" and I said I want to apply for a learner's permit and subsequent license. She then gave me a ticket and a form to fill out which I did and waited my turn to be called up.
Once called up the pleasant African American Muslim lady took in my passport, proof of address and started to fill things out on her computer. She then asked me if I have my Tanzanian driver's license on me and I said I did to which her reply was that if I had the license from my country of origin, then I wouldn't need a learner's test and wouldn't have to come back after 60 days to do the test if I failed it i.e. I could do the test that day and fail and do it again the next day and if I passed then I could have my physical test immediately.
Once she'd processed all my paperwork (making copies of my passport/immigrant visa/Tanzania license) and information she asked if I wanted to do the knowledge test (two parts - part 1 is 10 multiple choice questions on road signs which MUST all be answered correctly; part 2 is the general knowledge and what I call the "common sense" test of 25 multiple choice questions of which you must answer 80% correctly i.e. only 5 mistakes allowed) manually on paper or on the computer (the computer test is slightly harder from what I have been told). She then did a small vision test right on the spot.
Anyway me being the idiot I am chose the computer test and I was assigned a computer. I started off with part 1 of the knowledge test on signs and I got all correct the first time. BIG SIGH of relief because if you flop part 1 even with a single mistake, then you can't do part 2.
Next came part 2 which was the general knowledge test on things such as safety, judgement etc. I got 24 out or 25 correct and I botched the most easiest question of all and I felt like a dingbat for making such a silly mistake. The test results are automatically fed back to the lady's computer and she told me to sit down and asked my brother to bring his car registration documents so we could to the physical test.
After a frying wait of almost 90 minutes, a grumpy instructor who'd been taking everyone for tests (who I believe was of West African origin - and man was he hostile and grumpy lol!) called me up. We then exited the building and he told me to walk in front and for a moment I felt like I was going in front of a firing squad lol...I got into my brother's car and he told me "get in the car and put the driver's side window down" and me being the a-- pulled one of my cheeky lines out and said "you want me to close the door?" which annoyed him and he said "you planning to drive with the door open on the road?"He then made me turn on the car and switch on the left indicator, right indicator, hazard lights (he checked them on the front and back) and then said "switch on the AC and I am coming in."
He got into the car and I had to turn the wipers on because it was raining and buckled up (not something I'm used to in Tanzania lol). He then said "I am going to instruct you in advance on what to do and you must follow my instructions carefully and DO NOT look at the sheet on my lap and what I am writing. You MUST focus on the road and your driving" and I said "yes sir."
He made me back up the car (and from all my reading I looked over my right shoulder then left shoulder and mirrors) and backed up. He then said follow the arrows and exit the DMV which I did (and I stopped at the STOP sign completely and he was watching to see if I'd do that). Before we hit the first traffic light he said "at the traffic light ahead I want you to make a right" which I did when it went green. He then made me drive up the road and then make another right at the next traffic light which I did and we doddled up the road for about 2-3 miles and he made me go into a small road with a 25mph speed limit and there was a 4-way STOP sign which I got through and up ahead he made me go around the roundabout.
We then headed back towards the DMV and this is where I screwed up without realising it and following the car in front of me...at the traffic light turn going left, I went into the second lane going left and didn't stick to the first lane going left. I didn't realise it at the time and having driven in the USA many times I didn't bother with it. On the way back he said to me "when it is safe change lanes" which I did and I actually did so initially when we left the DMV. I looked into my side mirrors and rear view mirror and changed lanes...BIG MISTAKE!
Back at the DMV he said "find a parking spot you are comfortable with and park the car and I found the hardest spot available to try and impress the guy (stupid me) and I said "now what?" and he's like "what do you do when you park the car and I said "either I sit inside with the music or switch it off" and he went ballistic at me and said "are you telling me or asking me, you're the driver!" and I switched the car off.
He herded me back into the DMV like a prisoner on Death Row and made me go to his counter and said and a harsh voice "this is your first time to take the test isn't it? You almost failed today because 10 points is a fail and you were at 9 points. You are NOT supposed to go into the right lane in a turn and you MUST stay in the left lane and that mistake today cost you 6 points" and I said "yes sir I understand and it won't happen again."
He then blasted me again saying "you are not supposed to look at only the side mirror and rear view mirror when you change lanes, you must also turn your shoulder left for blind spot and that cost you 3 points" and I said "yes sir I understand but how was the rest of my driving?" and he said "it was absolutely fine and you know your way around but be careful on turns and lane changes!" and I said "I will keep that in mind sir."
Once that fiasco was done with he said "look 9 points out 10, one more and I would have failed you! Anyway you must pay $20." I made the payment and he comes back to me with a printout saying "this is your temporary driver's license and you will receive the original one in 7-10 days" and I said "thank you sir" and ran out of there like a bat out of hell and my brother and I were laughing like crazy outside at what happened about my screw up because everyone makes those mistakes on the road even those already with licenses. Some of the worst drivers I have come across in the USA are in the Maryland (Silver Spring/Laurel area), NYC and Dallas (TX).
So in summary, SSN done and I got my driver's license sorted out and my temporary driver's license allows me to drive like a regular license does until I get the physical card. Next up tomorrow is to go to the car dealer and pick up my car
On to more important things regarding the above, here are some pointers for those going to the DMV at some point and I will break this up into two parts as follows:-
DOCUMENTS
- Take your passport as it contains your information and DV visa.
- Take your Social Security card with you - they need to see this.
- Take a proof of address in the form of a bank statement (open an account first, wait one week, go to the bank the following week and get a printed statement with proof of address) and take this with you.
- Take your native country's driver's license with you. If applicable you can skip the learner's permit part like I did.
STUDY STUDY AND STUDY AND STUDY THE MANUAL BEFORE YOU GO INTO THE DMV. YOU MUST KNOW ALL THE SIGNS FOR PART 1 OF THE TEST AND HAVE A PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT TO DO IN REAL LIFE FOR PART 2 OF THE TEST.
PHYSICAL DRIVING TEST
- Keep both your hands on the steering wheel. Think of the wheel as a clock and place your hands in position 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock or 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock. Don't do that one hand fancy stuff because the instructor will fail you on the spot.
- Use your mirrors at all times for backing up and make sure you look over your shoulder in the direction the cars are coming from behind your car.
- At a STOP sign, you MUST STOP for at least 3 seconds, don't be rolling slightly at all because you will fail the test. The car has to come to a complete stop, look at the intersection/roads by the stop sign for any traffic i.e. look left and right then go.
- Rule of thumb for a car that got to an intersection with STOP signs first is that the first car goes first then the second one that got there at another STOP sign.
- The other rule of thumb is that if cars get to a 4-way STOP intersection is that the car on the left must yield to the car on the right at a 4-way STOP sign.
- Follow the traffic lights at turns. Study your signals in the manual. If you're an experienced driver and are able to time your turn at small turns not requiring lights then its fine. Safe bet is to turn when the signal is green and allows you to turn. Don't pull a lame stunt by turning when the light is not green otherwise the instructor will fail you.
- Keep to the speed limit. If it says 25mph on the sign then keep yourself at 25mph or 20mph (play safe depending on the weather conditions).
- Keep your headlights on at all times even in the daytime. I personally don't understand the whole concept of headlights on during the daytime but as the saying goes "when in Rome, act like the Romans."
- When changing lanes, watch your side mirrors and rear view mirror and look over your shoulder at the blind spot and then change. According to the manual there are rules on changing lanes or passing so you MUST know these.
- At turns be it left or right, make sure you turn into the innermost lane not the second lane.
- Maintain safe distance between yourself and the car in front of you. The instructor is actually looking out for this and if you give yourself enough provision to stop the car in time. If you brake too hard and too close, he will fail you.
- Last but not least, don't pull out cheeky comments/questions like I did (its just my stupid sense of humour lol).
Most importantly, read the manual properly and study it before you go into the DMV. Its no point you not knowing your stuff and flopping the test then having to wait 30 or 60 days to do it again. Try to get it right the first time so you can be on the road as quickly as possible because a car is a necessity here.
Please feel free to throw any questions at me and I hope my experience above was a good insight for all
God Bless!
Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
I-134 - 16th July 2013
Bank Statements - 22nd July 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania - SUCCESS!!!
Visa Pick up - August 14th 2013 - PICKED UP
Departure Date - August 17th 2013 - booked already on Emirates!
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles - August 18th 2013
Yesterday evening when I came back from Pennsylvania to Virginia, I was delighted to have found my Social Security Card in the mail (and more delighted that it was processed so quickly). That same evening my brother and I decided to go to the DMV the next day to try and pick up my driving license.
My brother and I went to the DMV near Falls Church (VA) today and I took all my documents with me that I took to the DV interview. The lady at the counter (she was Russian I believe) checked my immigrant visa/passport, social security number and proof of address which was on my bank letter and she refused to let me through because she said I needed a bank statement. I was really annoyed as was my brother and we drove to the nearest Bank of America to get a printed statement showing proof of address on it and then rushed back to the DMV.
Once again I was faced with the Russian lady who was annoyed to see me back there being the persistent idiot I am lol...anyway I said to her I'm a new immigrant and I want a driver's license and she slightly in a rude tone replied "be specific" and I said I want to apply for a learner's permit and subsequent license. She then gave me a ticket and a form to fill out which I did and waited my turn to be called up.
Once called up the pleasant African American Muslim lady took in my passport, proof of address and started to fill things out on her computer. She then asked me if I have my Tanzanian driver's license on me and I said I did to which her reply was that if I had the license from my country of origin, then I wouldn't need a learner's test and wouldn't have to come back after 60 days to do the test if I failed it i.e. I could do the test that day and fail and do it again the next day and if I passed then I could have my physical test immediately.
Once she'd processed all my paperwork (making copies of my passport/immigrant visa/Tanzania license) and information she asked if I wanted to do the knowledge test (two parts - part 1 is 10 multiple choice questions on road signs which MUST all be answered correctly; part 2 is the general knowledge and what I call the "common sense" test of 25 multiple choice questions of which you must answer 80% correctly i.e. only 5 mistakes allowed) manually on paper or on the computer (the computer test is slightly harder from what I have been told). She then did a small vision test right on the spot.
Anyway me being the idiot I am chose the computer test and I was assigned a computer. I started off with part 1 of the knowledge test on signs and I got all correct the first time. BIG SIGH of relief because if you flop part 1 even with a single mistake, then you can't do part 2.
Next came part 2 which was the general knowledge test on things such as safety, judgement etc. I got 24 out or 25 correct and I botched the most easiest question of all and I felt like a dingbat for making such a silly mistake. The test results are automatically fed back to the lady's computer and she told me to sit down and asked my brother to bring his car registration documents so we could to the physical test.
After a frying wait of almost 90 minutes, a grumpy instructor who'd been taking everyone for tests (who I believe was of West African origin - and man was he hostile and grumpy lol!) called me up. We then exited the building and he told me to walk in front and for a moment I felt like I was going in front of a firing squad lol...I got into my brother's car and he told me "get in the car and put the driver's side window down" and me being the a-- pulled one of my cheeky lines out and said "you want me to close the door?" which annoyed him and he said "you planning to drive with the door open on the road?"He then made me turn on the car and switch on the left indicator, right indicator, hazard lights (he checked them on the front and back) and then said "switch on the AC and I am coming in."
He got into the car and I had to turn the wipers on because it was raining and buckled up (not something I'm used to in Tanzania lol). He then said "I am going to instruct you in advance on what to do and you must follow my instructions carefully and DO NOT look at the sheet on my lap and what I am writing. You MUST focus on the road and your driving" and I said "yes sir."
He made me back up the car (and from all my reading I looked over my right shoulder then left shoulder and mirrors) and backed up. He then said follow the arrows and exit the DMV which I did (and I stopped at the STOP sign completely and he was watching to see if I'd do that). Before we hit the first traffic light he said "at the traffic light ahead I want you to make a right" which I did when it went green. He then made me drive up the road and then make another right at the next traffic light which I did and we doddled up the road for about 2-3 miles and he made me go into a small road with a 25mph speed limit and there was a 4-way STOP sign which I got through and up ahead he made me go around the roundabout.
We then headed back towards the DMV and this is where I screwed up without realising it and following the car in front of me...at the traffic light turn going left, I went into the second lane going left and didn't stick to the first lane going left. I didn't realise it at the time and having driven in the USA many times I didn't bother with it. On the way back he said to me "when it is safe change lanes" which I did and I actually did so initially when we left the DMV. I looked into my side mirrors and rear view mirror and changed lanes...BIG MISTAKE!
Back at the DMV he said "find a parking spot you are comfortable with and park the car and I found the hardest spot available to try and impress the guy (stupid me) and I said "now what?" and he's like "what do you do when you park the car and I said "either I sit inside with the music or switch it off" and he went ballistic at me and said "are you telling me or asking me, you're the driver!" and I switched the car off.
He herded me back into the DMV like a prisoner on Death Row and made me go to his counter and said and a harsh voice "this is your first time to take the test isn't it? You almost failed today because 10 points is a fail and you were at 9 points. You are NOT supposed to go into the right lane in a turn and you MUST stay in the left lane and that mistake today cost you 6 points" and I said "yes sir I understand and it won't happen again."
He then blasted me again saying "you are not supposed to look at only the side mirror and rear view mirror when you change lanes, you must also turn your shoulder left for blind spot and that cost you 3 points" and I said "yes sir I understand but how was the rest of my driving?" and he said "it was absolutely fine and you know your way around but be careful on turns and lane changes!" and I said "I will keep that in mind sir."
Once that fiasco was done with he said "look 9 points out 10, one more and I would have failed you! Anyway you must pay $20." I made the payment and he comes back to me with a printout saying "this is your temporary driver's license and you will receive the original one in 7-10 days" and I said "thank you sir" and ran out of there like a bat out of hell and my brother and I were laughing like crazy outside at what happened about my screw up because everyone makes those mistakes on the road even those already with licenses. Some of the worst drivers I have come across in the USA are in the Maryland (Silver Spring/Laurel area), NYC and Dallas (TX).
So in summary, SSN done and I got my driver's license sorted out and my temporary driver's license allows me to drive like a regular license does until I get the physical card. Next up tomorrow is to go to the car dealer and pick up my car
On to more important things regarding the above, here are some pointers for those going to the DMV at some point and I will break this up into two parts as follows:-
DOCUMENTS
- Take your passport as it contains your information and DV visa.
- Take your Social Security card with you - they need to see this.
- Take a proof of address in the form of a bank statement (open an account first, wait one week, go to the bank the following week and get a printed statement with proof of address) and take this with you.
- Take your native country's driver's license with you. If applicable you can skip the learner's permit part like I did.
STUDY STUDY AND STUDY AND STUDY THE MANUAL BEFORE YOU GO INTO THE DMV. YOU MUST KNOW ALL THE SIGNS FOR PART 1 OF THE TEST AND HAVE A PRACTICAL UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT TO DO IN REAL LIFE FOR PART 2 OF THE TEST.
PHYSICAL DRIVING TEST
- Keep both your hands on the steering wheel. Think of the wheel as a clock and place your hands in position 11 o'clock and 2 o'clock or 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock. Don't do that one hand fancy stuff because the instructor will fail you on the spot.
- Use your mirrors at all times for backing up and make sure you look over your shoulder in the direction the cars are coming from behind your car.
- At a STOP sign, you MUST STOP for at least 3 seconds, don't be rolling slightly at all because you will fail the test. The car has to come to a complete stop, look at the intersection/roads by the stop sign for any traffic i.e. look left and right then go.
- Rule of thumb for a car that got to an intersection with STOP signs first is that the first car goes first then the second one that got there at another STOP sign.
- The other rule of thumb is that if cars get to a 4-way STOP intersection is that the car on the left must yield to the car on the right at a 4-way STOP sign.
- Follow the traffic lights at turns. Study your signals in the manual. If you're an experienced driver and are able to time your turn at small turns not requiring lights then its fine. Safe bet is to turn when the signal is green and allows you to turn. Don't pull a lame stunt by turning when the light is not green otherwise the instructor will fail you.
- Keep to the speed limit. If it says 25mph on the sign then keep yourself at 25mph or 20mph (play safe depending on the weather conditions).
- Keep your headlights on at all times even in the daytime. I personally don't understand the whole concept of headlights on during the daytime but as the saying goes "when in Rome, act like the Romans."
- When changing lanes, watch your side mirrors and rear view mirror and look over your shoulder at the blind spot and then change. According to the manual there are rules on changing lanes or passing so you MUST know these.
- At turns be it left or right, make sure you turn into the innermost lane not the second lane.
- Maintain safe distance between yourself and the car in front of you. The instructor is actually looking out for this and if you give yourself enough provision to stop the car in time. If you brake too hard and too close, he will fail you.
- Last but not least, don't pull out cheeky comments/questions like I did (its just my stupid sense of humour lol).
Most importantly, read the manual properly and study it before you go into the DMV. Its no point you not knowing your stuff and flopping the test then having to wait 30 or 60 days to do it again. Try to get it right the first time so you can be on the road as quickly as possible because a car is a necessity here.
Please feel free to throw any questions at me and I hope my experience above was a good insight for all
God Bless!
Case No - DV2013AF0007XXXX (applied the first time and got it the first time - lucky me!)
Entry Checked - 1st May 2012
Forms Sent To KCC - 10th May 2012
Received By KCC - 12th May 2012
Confirmation From KCC - 25th May 2012 after I sent them an email
2nd NL - 14th June 2013
Police Clearance (TZ) - 13th June 2013
Police Clearance (UK) - 21st June 2013
Medicals - Completed 24th June 2013
I-134 - 16th July 2013
Bank Statements - 22nd July 2013
Interview - Wednesday, August 7th 2013 @ 8am - US Embassy Tanzania - SUCCESS!!!
Visa Pick up - August 14th 2013 - PICKED UP
Departure Date - August 17th 2013 - booked already on Emirates!
Port of Entry - Washington Dulles - August 18th 2013
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