Applicants have one hour to answer the 50 questions on the computerised written exam and they get the result immediately. TERRA TRONGKAMONMARD
By Terry Fredrickson
Note: Today's Bangkok Post has a long feature on the driver's license exam process. You can read it in full here: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/454364/high-tech-licensing-fails-to-dent-road-toll
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When first you don’t succeed, try, try again...
Teera Trongkamonmard
Cars prepare to enter the obstacle course at the Land Transport Department’s driving test. Few drivers pass at their first attempt. THANARAK KHUNTON
The driver’s licence application process begins before the day of the exams. Applicants must book online for a four-hour road safety briefing which precedes the written exam later in the day.
The actual driving test is held the following day if applicants pass the written exam.
The briefing and the exams are held at the Land Transport Department’s district offices in Bangkok and at provincial land transport units.
I reserved my place for the safety briefing and the exams with the department.
At 8am, applicants are required to register for the briefing and they must also submit a medical certificate issued by a doctor at a clinic or hospital, saying the applicants are not afflicted with sicknesses which prevent them from driving safely.
An applicant works a hand-device which identifies the applicant and communicates with sensors in the obstacle course. TERRA TRONGKAMONMARD
Prior to the briefing, applicants are given a vision test.
I was then directed to the brake simulator. I used my electronic ID card, issued earlier, to activate the program which tested my responsiveness in applying the brake of a vehicle.
At 10pm, the briefing commences with applicants watching a video presentation about motor accidents. It says accidents are preventable and talks about the danger of reckless driving.
After a one-hour lunch break, the afternoon session of the briefing starts at 2pm. Applicants are taught about road signs, some of which I have never seen on the roads before, and how to drive.
The two-hour briefing was followed by the written test, which lasts for a maximum one hour.
The test, containing 50 questions, is done on a touch-screen monitor and applicants can go back and forth between questions as they please.
Once finished, I was told the result right away and was able to check which questions I answered wrongly and what the correct answer was.
The following day, I was assigned a queue number for a driving test at the DLT’s test circuit. Applicants are briefed on the obstacle course and what they must do to pass.
I was also allocated a hand-held remote device which tells officials I am about to start my test. It also communicates with the sensors installed at obstacle courses during the test.
The test comprises three main sections, with different skills tested at each section.
After some confusion as to where to start, I set off and was prompted to cross a bridge. Next they tested my alignment parking skills, followed by driving forward and reversing.
The test circuit has signs which some will find incomprehensible. THANARAK KHUNTON
At the next stage in the process they tested my ability to stop at a yellow line, and the last task, undoubtedly the most challenging, was to reverse into a parking space.
Each base is equipped with the e-drive sensor. If the applicants are unable to perform as required, an automated voice immediately announces a fail, which is loud enough for everyone to hear.
This should eliminate any chance of the test result being ‘‘fixed’’ for certain applicants.
The test circuit looks similar to a maze with signs which some will find incomprehensible. On the day of the test, at least three fellow applicants made the wrong turn, prompting field officials to call out to them and verbally guide them back on course.
I failed the tests at the first two stops, but passed the third, which is odd, as the third one − reverse parking − was the hardest.
I had to come back three days later to re-sit the tests at the other two stops before I was able to pass all three and obtain my licence.
Vocabulary
activate: to make something such as a device or chemical process start working - กระตุ้น, ทำให้เกิดปฏิกริยาตอบสนอง
actual: real; existing in fact - จริง
afflict: to suffer from a serious problem or illness - กระทบ
alignment: arrangement in a straight line - การจัดให้ถูกตำแหน่ง, การจัดเรียง
allocate: to officially give something to someone - จัดสรร, จัดแบ่ง
applicant: someone who applies for something, such as a job or a loan of money - ผู้สมัคร,ผู้แจ้งความจำนง,ผู้ขอ
application: a formal request for permission to do or have something - การขอ
apply: to make use of something - นำมาใช้
as they please: to do as they want or like -
assign: to give a person a particular task or position - มอบหมาย, สั่งงาน
attempt: when a person tries to do something or achieve some goal, makes an effort to do it - ความพยายาม
automated: done by machines or equipment instead of people - ปฏิบัติการหรือควบคุมโดยขบวนการอัตโนมัติ
back and forth: from one place to another and back again repeatedly - ไปๆ มาๆ, กลับไปกลับมา
base: a place from where an activity can be planned or controlled - ฐาน, ฐานที่มั่น
book: to buy a ticket in advance; to arrange to have or use something on a particular date in the future - จอง
brief: to give someone instructions or information - แจ้งให้ทราบ, รายงาน, สรุป
briefing: a meeting in which people receive information or instruction - การสรุปแบบสั้นๆ
certificate: an official document or record stating that particular facts are true - หนังสือรับรอง
challenging: difficult, in a way that tests your ability or determination - ที่ท้าทายความสามารถ
circuit: a line, route, or journey around a place - การเคลื่อนรอบ
commence: to start; to begin - เริ่มต้น, ตั้งต้น
communicate: to sending information through television, radio, and telephone signals - สื่อสาร
comprise: to consist or be made up of two or more things - ประกอบด้วย
confusion: a feeling that you do not understand something or cannot decide what to do - ความสับสน
course: the direction, route or path that a boat, ship, storm, etc. travels - เส้นทาง, แนวทาง, วิถีทาง
device: a machine or piece of equipment that does a particular job - อุปกรณ์ เครื่องมือ เครื่องจักร
direct: to tell or show somebody how to get to somewhere or where to go - ชี้ทาง, บอกทาง, นำทาง
eliminate: to get rid of - กำจัด ลดตำแหน่งงาน
equipped: having what is necessary to do something - ครบครัน, ซึ่งมีเครื่องประกอบพร้อม
fellow: of a person that you work with or that is like you - ซึ่งอยู่เป็นกลุ่มเดียวกัน
fix: to dishonestly arrange something so that it has the result you want - ใช้วิธีการอันมิชอบ, เล่ห์เหลี่ยมเข้าคุม
guide: to help somebody to move in a particular direction; to move something in a particular direction; to direct or influence somebody's behaviour - นำทาง, นำไป
identification card (ID card): an official card or a document that can prove who you are - บัตรประชาชน
identify: to specify who someone is - ระบุชื่อ
immediately: happening right after something else with no delay; right away - ทันที
incomprehensible: impossible to understand - ที่ไม่สามารถเข้าใจได้
issue: to officially give out - ออก
maximum: the most possible - ที่สูงสุด ที่มากที่สุด
maze: a system of paths separated by walls or hedges built in a park or garden, that is designed so that it is difficult to find your way through - ทางคดเคี้ยว, ทางวกวน
monitor: a television screen used to show particular kinds of information; a screen that shows information from a computer - เครื่องโทรทัศน์วงจรปิด, จอคอมพิวเตอร์
obstacle: an object that you must move or go around in order to move forward - อุปสรรค, สิ่งกีดขวาง
obtain: to get something that you want or need, especially by going through a process that is difficult - ได้มา, ได้รับ
odd: strange or unexpected - แปลก
perform: to do what is required - ปฏิบัติหน้าที่
precede: to happen before something or come before something/somebody in order - มาก่อน, อยู่หน้า, นำหน้า
prevent: to stop somebody from doing something; to stop something from happening - ขัดขวาง, กัน, กีดขวาง
preventable: able to be stopped (prevented) from happening - สามารถป้องกันได้
prior to: before - ก่อนหน้า
process: a series of actions that you take in order to achieve a result - แนวทางปฏิบัติ, กระบวน, วิธีการ
prompt: to cause someone to take action - กระตุ้น
prompt: to make somebody decide to do something; to cause something to happen บ - อกบท, กระตุ้น
queue: a line of people waiting for something - คิว
reckless: not thinking about the possible bad effects of your actions - สะเพร่า
register: to put your name and other information on an official list in order to be allowed to do something, e.g., vote, study, stay in a hotel etc - ลงทะเบียน
remotely operated: controlled from a distance -
reserve: to make an arrangement so that something such as a room in a hotel or a seat in a theatre is kept for you to use later - จอง
responsiveness: the ability to react quickly and correctly - ความสามารถในการตอบสนอง
reverse: moving backwards - ถอยหลัง
section: any of the parts into which something is divided - ส่วน
sensor: a device that can react to light, heat, pressure, etc. in order to make a machine, etc. do something or show something - อุปกรณ์ส่งสัญญาณที่ไวต่อแสงหรืออุณหภูมิ, ตัวเซ็นเซอร์
session: a formal meeting - ประชุม
set off: to begin a journey - เริ่มเดินทาง, ออกเดินทาง
simulator: a piece of equipment that artificially creates a particular set of conditions in order to train somebody to deal with a situation that they may experience in reality - เครื่องจำลอง
skill: the ability to do something well, usually as a result of experience and training - ฝีมือ, ทักษะ
submit: to formally give something to someone so that can make a decision about it - ยื่น (เอกสาร) เพื่อการพิจารณา
task: something that you have to do - งาน, หน้าที่; ภารกิจ
undoubtedly: certainly - อย่างไม่น่าสงสัย
verbally: using words - ทางคำพูด
vision: the ability to see; the area that you can see from a particular position - การมองเห็น
