D L

打燈看鏡回頭望: Driver’s License in
New York City

30+ years ago, it’s hard to obtain Driver’s License in New
York City. Written test demanded 90% correct rate while road test demanded
“parallel parking, triple-point parking (0.5-1 foot from curb), T road turn,
high-way to local, and local-to-high-way lane change, 4-way turn and change
lane, etc. Only a few passed the first time. Pu was one of that batch due to
many friends’ help.
 

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Written test, WHY advised Pu to take some old test sets to
practice. WHY gave Pu 12 sets of old test sheets (names were in those sheets:
SH, LMJ, CQT, WHY, HQY) he collected around campus at CUNY (22 campuses).
 

**

Pu took a 12 one-hour road practice course from a driving
school located in Flushing as recommended by MZW and SZH. The instructor “Tony”
was a former chef in a restaurant, a former colonel in Taiwan army, so strict
and harsh that you got shocked by his screaming commands. His famous saying:
“You got this 2,000+ pounds’ weapon (that car you drive) running around, so
dangerous and hazardous to other drivers and pedestrians. “
 

Pu took meticulous note after classes as Tony always asked what’s
learned. Tony got capacity of distilling complicated commands into
soundbites/compact slogans, easy for Pu to remember. Tony slogans include, 打燈(方向)看鏡(後視鏡,左右鏡)回頭望(視覺盲點, blind spot)(change lane and turn),轉踩緩抬 (油閘), 輕踩持續壓閘(乘客不會感突然停東而震暈); 行車時瞻前顧後看兩邊 -但車多時, 隻看前方走自己的路.
Another funny metaphor was like -

“留學留一手在家鄉大陸(curb)”-
parallel parking, triple-point parking (0.5-1 foot from curb), Tony
wanted to use rear-view mirror to look at curb, ensuring enough ((0.5-1 foot
from curb) room (留一手在) to back off; however, if you back all the way to
touch the curb, you’re dead as you don’t have room to back up (stuck on curb).
This parallel parking (0.5-1 foot from curb) test failed many drivers!

***

WHY advised Pu to drive his brand-new car from CCNY to
Queens residential area. My God! Pu was so scare that he sweated his shirts,
afraid of going from 25 miles per hour (MPH) to 65 MPH.
 

WHY yelled out up loud: “My wife HQY can do that – lady can
do, a man like you can easily do that!” Gone through the bridges connecting Manhattan
to Queens borough, Pu scared to death worrying he might go through the fence to
river with such 65 MPH – still nightmare in his dream.
 

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Thanks for friends helping and God’s blessings, Pu passed
both written and road test in the first try. Tony’s instruction of slogans has
vividly guided Pu’s driving for 30+ years. Pu thought sharing this with you –
bone voyage in your driving.