a seemingly pointless exercise

A quick anniversary to acknowledge: March 17th (last Wednesday) was not only St. Patrick's Day, but also the second anniversary of my passing my driving test. Big fat hairy deal, you might say, and well, perhaps. The two-year anniversary is significant to new(ish) UK drivers, though, as the Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act of 1995 dictates that if you clock up six points on your newly-issued licence within two years of getting it, then it is revoked and you have to sit the test again. And don't think that going through all that rigmarole means the points drop off when you get your licence back, because they don't.

So it's a bit of a weight off the mind to have seen that two-year period elapse without clocking up any points at all. This doesn't mean that I'm now going to be speeding along at a hundred miles an hour through school playgrounds or anything, obviously, as I am a conscientious and careful driver. Conversely, my clean licence doesn't necessarily mean that I have never exceeded the speed limit, ever, anywhere. I'll say no more than that.

Other things you have to wait a bit after passing the test to be able to do are:

• hire a car - generally a year
• drive abroad - also generally a year
• drive certain types of larger vehicle (e.g. large vans and minibuses) - two years
• instruct learner drivers - three years