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Scotland’s former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, who unexpectedly resigned this yr and later grew to become the topic of a police investigation, made one other uncommon announcement on Monday.
“So this occurred right this moment,” she mentioned on Instagram. “On the tender age of 53, I handed my driving take a look at (first time!!).”
The expertise took her “properly out of any notion of a consolation zone,” Ms. Sturgeon added, “however hopefully proves that it’s by no means too late in life to do one thing new.”
For Ms. Sturgeon, getting her driver’s license was little doubt a welcome respite from different current headlines.
She resigned her publish as Scotland’s chief in February, citing exhaustion and her standing as a polarizing determine as her causes. Then in June, she was arrested by law enforcement officials investigating the funds of the Scottish Nationwide Get together, which she had led because it dominated the nation’s politics.
Ms. Sturgeon was launched and has denied wrongdoing.
The driving-test milestone highlighted the sheltered, chauffeured way of life of heads of state who typically journey in well-secured autos. It additionally was a reminder of simply how exhausting such exams are in the UK in comparison with different international locations, together with the US.
Within the U.S., attaining a driver’s license is usually thought-about a ceremony of passage for 16-year-olds, a lot of whom take a considerably easy highway take a look at, finishing easy stops and turns and demonstrating that they’ll reverse and parallel park.
In Britain, nevertheless, the exams seem like extra intensive, and one maneuver sounds notably difficult for any newbie: The motive force is requested to tug up on the right-hand aspect of the highway, reverse for round two car-lengths after which rejoin site visitors.
Rob Harper, the chair of the Affiliation of Permitted Driving Instructors, instructed The Telegraph in 2019: “I believe it’s a harmful maneuver, and so do a lot of my members.”
Throughout the driving take a look at in Britain, potential drivers might be on the highway for round 40 minutes. In California, in contrast, the behind-the-wheel driving ability examination takes about 20 minutes, the state’s Division of Motor Automobiles mentioned in an electronic mail.
The move price for the driving take a look at in Britain was 47 p.c from January to March final yr, down one proportion level from the earlier quarter, in line with information from the British transport division. That passing price prompted a marketing campaign from the division that urged learner drivers to be test-ready or transfer their take a look at dates again.
Driving examiners, the division mentioned, “needed to do issues resembling brake or steer the automotive in 1 in 5 failed exams.”
The division additionally really useful that learners discover an accredited driving teacher. However in the US, it’s not unusual for folks to substitute as de facto driving instructors.
Nonetheless, the US shouldn’t be precisely an instance for driving-test readiness. In California, the passing price for the motive force’s license data take a look at is 41 p.c up to now this yr, and 67 p.c for the driving expertise take a look at.
Stringent necessities to acquire a driver’s license are additionally the norm in different European international locations. In Germany, the driving examination features a part on principle, in line with Inc. Journal. Even the associated fee to get a license in Germany is extra prohibitive, starting from $2,000 to $3,700. In Britain, the associated fee is about 129 kilos in statutory charges, or about $158.
Ms. Sturgeon mentioned her driving teacher had been instrumental in her classes and somebody whom she “may belief and really feel comfy with.”
Ms. Sturgeon’s arrest had deepened the issues which have engulfed the Scottish Nationwide Get together, which is campaigning for Scottish independence. Ms. Sturgeon’s husband, Peter Murrell, the get together’s former chief govt, and Colin Beattie, the get together’s former treasurer, had been arrested in April. They, like Ms. Sturgeon, had been launched with out fees. On the time of her arrest, she wrote on social media that she was sure she had “dedicated no offense.”
She clearly welcomed the change of topic and the prospect to play social media influencer on Monday. Sitting on the wheel with the booklet of a neighborhood driver coaching firm in hand, she posed in a photograph along with her “good” teacher, calling him “somebody I may belief and really feel comfy with.”
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