[supermax]

Hi all,

Glad to be here finally. Unlike many members here with scores of years of driving experience, I got onto the bandwagon rather late. I never owned a car while in India (never even learned to drive, if one ignores a handful of lessons I'd taken some ten years ago), and after moving to Sweden, I fell in love with ultra distance bicycling. I commuted to work on a bicycle, and whenever I had time, I rode multiple century rides on my growing collection of bicycles, thinking I'd never buy a car. Post marriage, even my wife adapted to bicycling, so that was that. It was only when parenthood beckoned that I decided that it might be useful to get a driver's licence, even if I didn't actually buy a car. The only catch was that Sweden is one of the hardest countries in the world to get a driver's licence in, and also insanely expensive.

I read with interest @aditya9567's Dubai driving license post (Dubai Driving License - Guide to procuring one of the toughest in the world), and realized that the Swedish driver's license is equally hard to get, if not harder, so will perhaps write a whole post about my experience earning it, but to put it in a nutshell, in India, one gets a DL with minimal fuss and gets to learn by driving around in the real world, but here, you only get a licence after you have learned to drive like a pro. I'd innocently asked a friend if I needed to hire a car to practice driving, after I'd passed my driving test, to get confident. He laughed his head off and said that it'd never come to that, as I'd never pass the test if I wasn't fully ready, so by the time I passed the test, I'd be 100% confident on the road. He'd also predicted that I'd be so elated if I passed my test, that I'd end up buying a car in no time, and he was right.

I learned to drive, and got my licence at age 37, and within two weeks of passing my driving test, I'd bought my first ever car, a super spacious 2020 Skoda Octavia 1.0 TSI 115 BHP kombi (station wagon), and a stick shift at that, as I'd worked hard and spent extra money to ensure I got a driver's licence that allowed me to drive a car with manual transmission, while the most common option is to take the test in an automatic car, that restricts the holder of the licence to driving only automatic cars). Why the stick shift? I'd always wanted to be able to drive one, and I wanted to enjoy owning and driving a stick-shift, before it becomes extinct. I've seen threads where people have described the great lengths they've gone in researching prior to buying their cars, but I just took the advice of a friend I trusted, looked at a bunch of options that were available in the used car market, and settled on the Skoda, as it simply gave me the best bang for buck, given that I was after a practical car with the biggest possible boot space, and a good fuel economy. My car gives me a humongous 1740 L of space with the rear seat lowered, and an extremely generous 610 L otherwise, and despite all of that size and volume, a fuel economy of around 6 L/100 km (16.6 kpl), and was practically new, so that was it. Within a week of buying the car, my baby son arrived (three weeks early!), and I was elated that things had fallen in place so perfectly. A car with two people had stopped in the hospital parking lot, and the same car had had three occupants on the return journey!

Some stats from my story
Hours driven while practicing for the licence: approximately 100 hrs.
Cost of getting the licence: approximately 6L INR
Start of my journey towards getting a driver's licence: 28 May 2021
Date of clearing my driver's licence test: 2 Sep 2021
Date of car purchase: 13 Sep 2021
Date of my son's arrival: 17 Sep 2021.

[tilt]

Wow, I spent a few months in Linköping in 1995 working at Intentia (the makers of the IBM AS/400-based ERP Movex). Small world. I never thought anyone from outside Sweden would even know of Linköping, let alone live there heheheheh.

Welcome to the forum, and I admire you for having obtained a Swedish driver's licence at this *ahem* ripe old age

Cheers

[RahulNagaraj]

Hello supermax,

Welcome to the forum, great to have you onboard!

That's a very interesting story of how you managed to get the Swedish driving licence, would love to read about the experience in more detail.

Also, check out the bicycle section, I'm sure you will find it interesting. You can share your cycling experience here as well.

Looking forward to reading your posts on the forum.

Cheers
Rahul N

[One]

Originally Posted by supermax

Within a week of buying the car, my baby son arrived (three weeks early!)

So that's how great car enthusiasts show their excitement ! Congratulations and congratulations

[voldemort]

Originally Posted by supermax

approximately 6L INR

Wow I didn't know getting a license could be that's expensive, but then again it might be cheap with respect to average Swedish income.

I'd love to read more about the licence procurement process in Sweden someday! Also, post some photos of your Octavia.

Welcome to team-bhp; I look forward to your posts and perspectives.

[supermax]

Originally Posted by tilt

Wow, I spent a few months in Linköping in 1995 working at Intentia (the makers of the IBM AS/400-based ERP Movex). Small world.

Hi there! Interesting that you've been here for a while. I moved to Linköping in 2013, and like it here.

[supermax]

Originally Posted by voldemort

Wow I didn't know getting a license could be that's expensive, but then again it might be cheap with respect to average Swedish income.

I'd love to read more about the licence procurement process in Sweden someday! Also, post some photos of your Octavia.

Welcome to team-bhp; I look forward to your posts and perspectives.

Thanks Voldemort, for your response! Unfortunately, even here, it's not considered cheap. Lessons at driving schools are prohibitively expensive, costing around 10k INR per 80 minute class (a double class). A 40 minute lesson costs around 6k INR. The recommended approach is to do a lot of driving with a private tutor, a family member or friend, who has a spotless driving record and has held a licence for at least 5 years, and has registered to be our tutor, and then take a few lessons at the school to fine-tune the driving skills and to be sure that our techniques pass the scrutiny of official examiners. Unemployed people even get special bank loans specifically to pay for driving lessons! Those of us who don't have friends or family who have lived and driven long enough in Sweden are forced to drive more at the schools as that's the only legal option.

[supermax]

Originally Posted by voldemort

I'd love to read more about the licence procurement process in Sweden someday! Also, post some photos of your Octavia.

Welcome to team-bhp; I look forward to your posts and perspectives.

Will post both the pics and the post about licence procurement soon!

[BigBrad]

Originally Posted by voldemort

I'd love to read more about the licence procurement process in Sweden someday! Also, post some photos of your Octavia.

Hey, I'm from Cochin, but living in Sweden now. We have a great thread on Swedish driving licence, where I have just updated my experience as I passed the test yesterday.

Here's the link: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...ml#post5327181 (Back on the road, Sweden Edition | My experience of getting a Swedish DL and Car Ownership)

[supermax]

Originally Posted by BigBrad

Hey, I'm from Cochin, but living in Sweden now. We have a great thread on Swedish driving licence, where I have just updated my experience as I passed the test yesterday.

Here's the link: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...ml#post5327181 (Back on the road, Sweden Edition | My experience of getting a Swedish DL and Car Ownership)

Awesome! I'd half expected that someone would have beaten me to it! Yes, I could identify with many things. Many congratulations on having cleared the test! I know exactly how you must be feeling. You'll have your printed DL in your hands very soon.

[landcruiser123]

Hi Supermax
Congratulations on your two counts: the little one and your new set of wheels.

Question: Do you do winter cycling? If yes, what is your gear and precautions? Would love to see your adventures(winter or otherwise) on this thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bicyc...rips-here.html (Post pictures of your Bicycle on day trips here!)

Cheers

[supermax]

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Hi Supermax
Congratulations on your two counts: the little one and your new set of wheels.

Question: Do you do winter cycling? If yes, what is your gear and precautions? Would love to see your adventures(winter or otherwise) on this thread: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bicyc...rips-here.html (Post pictures of your Bicycle on day trips here!)

Cheers

Hi landcruiser,

Yes, I bike all around the year, and not only do I ride a bicycle in the winters, but also my unicycles! I have five unicycles now, 1x20", 1x24", 1x29", 2x36" It's a lot of fun. I've bicycled/unicycled for multiple hours in temperatures upto 10 below zero, and all night, in temperatures around 0. I use alpine gloves, arm and leg warmers. The trick is not to dress too warm, as you'll end up getting soaked in sweat, if you do so, that that sweat will freeze causing you much more discomfort. Looking forward to sharing more content on the bicycling forum!