[shreeps]

Great write up Anekho. You have pretty good descriptive skills. You have the knack of taking the reader along with you and I could visualize each situation as per your description.

Waiting eagerly for the rest of the saga.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Looking forward to that! It's an area I have always felt week on. My survival of Britain's irregular ice and snow without any bumps caused by it was probably mostly luck. And driving absurdly slowly

OT: Ummm... dont mean to offend or find fault, but I was surprised to see the "oops moment" in Thad's post. Was reminded of all the loose/lose mistakes many people make. Happens to the best of us I guess!!

[Thad E Ginathom]

You are not the first to catch me out recently. I thinking I'm having a weak week. Or a weak week. Or something.

This kind of English spelling, in fact, has been making a fool of me for more than fifty years now

[archat68]

Great writeup anekho. Loving it. Only deal breaker is the long gaps between the posts.

[noopster]

Anekho, do human beings hibernate in Sweden along with the bears and other anmimals? Just asking because you seem to wake up once a year and make entries into this log

Had a question: is the entire process carried out in Swedish or is English an option? I ask because the pamphlet you posted is in Swedish. I assume you are fluent?

[anekho]

Originally Posted by shreeps

Great write up Anekho. You have pretty good descriptive skills. You have the knack of taking the reader along with you and I could visualize each situation as per your description.

Hey! Thanks man

Originally Posted by archat68

Great writeup anekho. Loving it. Only deal breaker is the long gaps between the posts.

Thank you and I apologize for the long gaps!

Originally Posted by noopster

Anekho, do human beings hibernate in Sweden along with the bears and other anmimals? Just asking because you seem to wake up once a year and make entries into this log

Had a question: is the entire process carried out in Swedish or is English an option? I ask because the pamphlet you posted is in Swedish. I assume you are fluent?

Hehe! Of course, long winter ahead...

The entire education can be done in either Swedish or English and all the books are available for purchase in English. However only a few traffic schools offer lessons in English. I did the whole thing in Swedish (I'm fluent!).

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by anekho

Hehe! Of course, long winter ahead...
I did the whole thing in Swedish (I'm fluent!).

Perfect. I'm in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday for business, but I get a feeling you're in göteberg? If youære in Stockholm, we should catch up (and not to discuss your experience getting a driving license).

I live in Oslo, and am visiting with a Norwegian colleague and wanna paint the town red

[anekho]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Perfect. I'm in Stockholm on Monday and Tuesday for business, but I get a feeling you're in göteberg? If youære in Stockholm, we should catch up (and not to discuss your experience getting a driving license).

I live in Oslo, and am visiting with a Norwegian colleague and wanna paint the town red

Would have been fun to meet up, Red Liner!

But I live in Göteborg and getting to Stockholm on Monday would be hard (good ~450 km drive)!

[aravind84]

Wow I seriously wish we had rules like that in India. Most of us would be tested and only the sensible and responsible ones would pass. If that happens we will never have trouble with the auto wala, crazy maniacs and public transport.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Other countries have stupid too, don't forget. In UK, you are the most likely to have your first accident in the first two years after you pass your test, and, the younger you are, the more likely you are to have it.

You are still right, though!

[anekho]

Surprise!

Come mid September and I was back at the traffic school. J’s first question when I entered the school was if I’d read all the pages he’d instructed me too before I left

After I replied affirmative, J said there was a surprise! As we stepped out and headed to the car park, J casually handed over the car keys.

They felt *different*. I looked down at them and they were different! These weren’t the Golf keys! The fob was a little larger, and seemed to be of superior quality, and then I saw the logo. Volvo!

I threw an inquisitive glance at J and he explained that the School had decided to replace their fleet of five aging Golf’s to brand new Volvo’s. And they’d received them just last week!

As we walked around the corner, I saw them. Five brand new, gleaming, black, Volvo S40’s standing side by side! They looked gorgeous - a real sight for sore eyes after the Golf! We headed to the S40 J was assigned to. Being the BHPian I am, I asked J if I could have a look at the car before the lesson started - he agreed gladly!

We spent the next few minutes checking out the S40. I’ve always liked the S40, especially after the 2008 face-lift. Simple lines, great build quality, beautiful interiors and wide spread of engines to choose from. The S40 is marketed as a ‘Sports sedan’ and though it’s not really a scorcher it handles well and has compact dimensions. For lack of better words, everything about the S40 feels *tight*.





The S40 I’d be driving was of model ‘D2’. Equipped with 4-cylinder, 1.6 liter, diesel heart churning out 115 PS and 270NM of torque. It had a smooth, reasonably short-shifting 6-speed box. Power delivery was very linear - petrol like, making it a breeze to drive - especially after the headache inducing turbo-lag that the Golf came with. We stepped inside, greeted by the stitched, black leather interiors. The doors shut with with that *German* thud. Everything oozed of quality. Soft touch plastics. Simple, classy dials. The floating center console was of aluminium, and lent the interiors an airy feel. The steering wheel was wrapped in leather, and the Volvo logo stood proudly in the center. The whole car epitomized Scandinavian design. Simple. Functional. Minimalistic. Beautiful.






The S40 had a decent amount of kit too - to be honest I thought the school would buy the base version. J explained that they bought mid-upper-range models as, 1: The students should have a pleasant learning environment, 2: This was the Teachers-work place! The teachers spend on average about 9 hours a day in the car, and they needed good ambiance!

We began the day’s lesson and since it was my first lesson after my two month break, J said we would just rehearse what we did last time. Basic city driving focusing on foot work and adaptation of the rules learnt so far, as well as getting used to the Volvo.

Driving the S40 was a revelation. I took to it immediately - the linear power delivery was soo much easier to handle for a learner. The engine felt free-revving, it lacked that lethargic, slow throttle response that the Golf had. Really peppy engine, this! One thing that struck me was the silence in the cabin. Firstly there were none of the rattles that the Golf was plagued with and secondly, all other exterior noises were, well, kept out! The box was quite smooth, but had some hints of notchiness, especially when shifting from 2nd to 3rd and 4th to 5th. I guess that’s attributed to the fact that the car was brand new. The car felt planted, stable on the road. To my liking, the steering wasn’t as light as the Golf, it felt heavier and more confidence inspiring.

If it isn’t obvious already, I really love the S40! Also, learning to drive in Sweden in a Volvo, felt like the right thing to do! Göteborg, is after all, Volvo’s home! The city where Volvo’s story began, back in 1927. The apple of every Göteborg resident’s eye! It felt great to get back to my driving lessons like this, in a new car, that I enjoyed driving!

All of my gelling well with S40 paid off as J was pleased with my driving after the two month break. We’d be moving on with the course in my next lesson.

PS: I’d really love to see Volvo sell the S40 in India at Laura/Jetta prices. It may give them a new lease of life in the Indian market with a relatively more affordable product. Maybe a suitable option for them to start their second innings in India?

(All photos are from Volvo’s website)

[spadix]

I'm coming back to this wonderful thread after a long time. Thanks a lot, @Anekho, for taking the time to diligently explain the process of obtaining the Swedish driving license in great detail.

So what happened post-September with the S40? I'm sure there was quite a bit more to learn, especially driving in the tricky Scandinavian winter conditions. I'm looking forward to the continuation of this account.

Regards,
spadix

[raghu230506]

Originally Posted by spadix

I'm coming back to this wonderful thread after a long time. Thanks a lot, @Anekho, for taking the time to diligently explain the process of obtaining the Swedish driving license in great detail.

So what happened post-September with the S40? I'm sure there was quite a bit more to learn, especially driving in the tricky Scandinavian winter conditions. I'm looking forward to the continuation of this account.

Regards,
spadix

Thanks Spadix,

I would be travelling to Sweden this weekend, wanted to check this thread about the rest of the process.

the amount of time/vitamin M involved i dropped the plan of applying for one though, but this thread had been very informative.

Anekho, are there any options of driving with DL or IDL atleast for sometime in Sweden? I wish to drive through

[AlphaKilo]

Originally Posted by anekho

‘Okay. So first, clutch down and start the car up. Then, slot into first. Make sure the handbrake is engaged. Now I want you to start accelerating and easing of the clutch to the biting point - the point where you feel the car trying to move forward. The handbrake is of course stopping it from moving! Now keep your feet *fixed* at this point and carefully release the handbrake. And voila! The car is standing completely still, without any brakes at all! Finally accelerate some more and release the clutch and your on your way! Without rolling back at all!’

J sounded exited about all this and commanded me to try it at once.

I tried it, and boy was I impressed! The car really didn’t roll back at all, and the method was so easy to grasp!

We did this a few more times and then J made me do reverse-hill-starts; exactly the same method but with reverse gear.

I cannot believe it! My driving instructor in chennai, taught me exactly the same principle to do hill start albeit the handbrake. Only with clutch and accelerator. Fantastic thread anekho sir. I am sure all that you learned in sweden havent helped you a bit while driving in chennai

Knock knock!Kindly update the thread sir!!

[vineethvazhayil]

Originally Posted by anekho

Thanks for asking, J.Ravi! Sweden is Left Hand drive.

As I mentioned in my post, the Right Hand rule means that when traveling on a road that is not a ‘Main Road’, you need to give way to vehicles that approach from the right.

Rotary Junctions (roundabouts) function differently, and as you have mentioned, in LHD countries, you give way to vehicles coming from the left.

I made two diagrams to exemplify this (excuse my lack of drawing skills ).

I think the US roads substitute this with yield and stop signs. You always yield or stop to the main road traffic. In roundabouts, you always yield to the traffic already on the roundabout. I guess this means the same.

BTW, fabulous thread! Makes me want to go back to classes with some real good instructor again! My wife is joining driving lessons in the US in 2 weeks, hope her instructor is as good as this!

[anekho]

Hmmm, me finishing this write up seems to be taking longer than actually getting the license! I'm sorry for the delay guys, been caught up with a never-ending stream of exams (solid mechanics :|)! But hey, I've typed out the next part and just have a few finishing touches to add. Will be up tomorrow, promise!

Originally Posted by spadix

I'm coming back to this wonderful thread after a long time. Thanks a lot, @Anekho, for taking the time to diligently explain the process of obtaining the Swedish driving license in great detail.

So what happened post-September with the S40? I'm sure there was quite a bit more to learn, especially driving in the tricky Scandinavian winter conditions. I'm looking forward to the continuation of this account.

Regards,
spadix

Thank you spadix, really appreciate the kind words! I think you'll enjoy my write up on 'Risk Education 2' - stay tuned!

Originally Posted by raghu230506

Thanks Spadix,

I would be travelling to Sweden this weekend, wanted to check this thread about the rest of the process.

the amount of time/vitamin M involved i dropped the plan of applying for one though, but this thread had been very informative.

Anekho, are there any options of driving with DL or IDL atleast for sometime in Sweden? I wish to drive through

Welcome to Sweden, Raghu! Yep getting the Swedish License is a very time/money consuming affair. The sense of achievement when you finally get it is awesome though

I think tourists are allowed to rent and drive cars with an IDL for shorter durations. IIRC if you're moving here you're allowed to use an IDL for a year (during which you're expected to get a Swedish driving license). I'd suggest contacting a rental agency to be extra-sure though!

Originally Posted by AlphaKilo

I cannot believe it! My driving instructor in chennai, taught me exactly the same principle to do hill start albeit the handbrake. Only with clutch and accelerator. Fantastic thread anekho sir. I am sure all that you learned in sweden havent helped you a bit while driving in chennai

Knock knock!Kindly update the thread sir!!

Thank you, AlphaKilo! Do try the hand-brake method out sometime, it's very convenient (especially on cars you're not familiar with).

I actually think that I've used many of the things that I've learned, when driving in Chennai. Especially the technicalities, like being in the right gear when turning, hill-starts etc. If anything, I barely honk when driving in Chennai

Originally Posted by vineethvazhayil

I think the US roads substitute this with yield and stop signs. You always yield or stop to the main road traffic. In roundabouts, you always yield to the traffic already on the roundabout. I guess this means the same.

BTW, fabulous thread! Makes me want to go back to classes with some real good instructor again! My wife is joining driving lessons in the US in 2 weeks, hope her instructor is as good as this!

Thank you, vineethvazhayil! Yep, the stop/yield signs give the same result!

I think the Swedish authorities still choose to enforce the right hand rule so that calm lanes in residential neighborhoods with little traffic don't need to be cluttered with signs; one simply follows the rule!

Good luck to your wife for her lessons! Make sure you research online for driving schools with good reviews - that's how I found mine!