Driving on the wrong (that is, not the right) side of the road

One of the challenges of office missionaries is that we focus on practicalities--all the necessary things needed to keep a mission running, that are not actually doing mission work. One of these is making sure our missionaries are driving legally.

Driving in the UK, and especially Scotland, is "fun", for a certain kind of fun, that is.

Randomly sprinkled throughout Scotland, though mostly at the exits to parking lots at places that are of interest to tourists, are road signs written in multiple languages, reminding people to drive on the left side of the road. We believe them to be very necessary. We have mentioned before how patient and tolerant the local drivers are of the very strange driving which various drivers commit. We have ourselves endeavored to become equally patient and tolerant on the roads, merely venting from time to time "oh you tourist!" when somebody does something exceptionally strange.

One of the interesting wrinkles in this part of the world is driving privileges. You can drive in the UK (or Ireland) for up to a year on most foreign driver's licenses and then you are required to get a local license. Just think of that. Almost anyone foreign is allowed to drive legally on the roads here, until they finally start working out what they are doing. This takes about a year. After that year, just when they are getting the hang of things, their driving privileges are revoked and they have to get a UK driving license. This, by the way is no easy feat.

First you have to apply for a provisional license (a sort of learner's permit) This involves no proof of competency, you just send in some money, you fill out the necessary forms, send them in with your ID and/or residence permit and a remarkably ugly photo - seriously, with the photo rules, it ends up being remarkably unattractive - and they send you your provisional license, which includes the photo. This is a good thing, as the license keeps you humble. You will keep a very low profile as you learn to drive, because you don't want to have to show that license to anyone, ever. You are then allowed to drive with a licensed driver--plus a few other details.

The provisional license is good for two years. By the end of that time you have to pass the theory test, which includes a hazard perception test, and of course, the practical test, which most people fail a time or two. The hazard perception test is interesting. You not only have to identify road hazards on a video, you also have to read the mind of the person who designed the test. If you identify the emerging hazard a split second before or after the test designer thinks you should have identified it, you fail. The only way to pass this test is to subscribe to some test software, and do the test again and again until you work out exactly when the the examiner decided the approaching ambulance or the speeding car, or the building bursting into flames next to you (yes, really!) was a hazard, or was not a hazard at all. (the burning building wasn't (?) but the fire engine was). You then have to hit the button at that moment, not a moment too soon or too late. Accomplished video gamers may have an advantage here.

We decided that Richard would start the process of getting his license about six months after we arrived, (June) take the tests a month after that, (July) and then Louise would focus on getting her license before our one year free ride (so to speak) expired.  Ho, ho, ho. Suffice it to say Richard now has a UK driver's license, and Louise has decided to just let him do all the driving for the rest of our stay. She has a provisional license if he ever needs a break.

We have realised in the course of all this that it really pays to prepare for the theory test, whether or not you plan to take it. You learn all sorts of interesting and potentially useful things, not only about about the rules of the road, but also what some very strange and esoteric road signs mean. For example a white circle with a diagonal grey bar is a speed limit; the speeds it prescribes depend on the road conditions, and you are expected to be acquainted with the rules.

Driving in this country is different from driving in the States and you have to change some habits in order to drive successfully here. One of the big issues is the "mirror - signal - maneuver" rule. In the States, if you want to change lanes you would signal your intention, look around carefully then move.  Here you look around first. Once you signal your intention to (eg) change lanes, the cars in the lane you are trying to get into will immediately slow down to let you in. If you then dither around instead of moving, you will identify yourself as a foreign tourist and they will heave a big sigh and treat you very patiently indeed.

Something else we had to learn was how to behave at roundabouts. If you plan to take the first exit you stay in the left lane and signal your intention to go left as you approach the round-about. If you plan to take the second exit, you enter the round-about in the left or second from left lane, depending on road-markings. You do not signal as you enter the round-about, but signal left as you approach your exit. If you will be taking the third or subsequent exit, you signal a right turn as you enter the round-about in the appropriate lane (even though you are actually turning left as you signal right) and then signal a left turn as you approach your desired exit. This system works remarkably well, except for those who learned to negotiate traffic circles in the US and who have not yet read the rules.

As a mission that effectively covers three territories with three different sets of licensing rules, things can get a trifle complicated. If you leave the country for six months the clock resets and you have another year of driving on a foreign licence. Northern Ireland is in the UK but not in Great Britain, and has different rules. Getting a licence in the UK is a major hassle, as described. Getting one in (the Republic of) Ireland is effectively impossible for a missionary. The president does not assign missionaries based on driving availability, but rather based on the Spirit and the needs of the mission. However he does want to be aware of what effect moving a missionary might have. Some of our missionaries drive, some ride bikes and some walk and use public transport.

To keep track of all this complexity we have a program written by a previous vehicle coordinator that calculates each missionary's eligibility to drive. This has to be updated every transfer (every six weeks). It spits out an analysis of who has been driving in which jurisdiction and how many more months they can carry on driving there. We (Richard) then has to consult with the president about who he is likely to move and who is likely to need to drive and then contact lots of missionaries and encourage them to get UK licences before their driving privileges expire. Missionaries who are (correctly) focusing on mission work tend to put this off until they are brought face to face with the reality that they can no longer drive, which hinders the mission work; so we also have to track where missionaries are in the process and encourage and remind them to keep moving forward from time to time.

Every now and again the software program throws up its metaphorical hands in horror and gives up. Then Richard has to repair/rewrite bits of it. That happened again this past week, but it has emerged a better, stronger program that gives an additional layer of useful information. Richard emerged from the encounter tired but smiling, and with a few more grey hairs.