Delayed my updates for a bit because I was busy with my driving test. Driving can be said to be an essential survival skill in Australia; it's very necessary for daily shopping and going out for fun. First off, congrats to myself for getting the Australian Full Licence last week 🎉🎉

I'll share some differences between learning/driving a car in Australia and back home.

• Back home, you must enrol in a driving school to learn how to drive on the road. In Australia, once you pass the road rules test and get your L plates (Learner Permit), you can start learning to drive with someone who has a Full Licence, so many locals learn to drive with a family member.

• In Australia, there's no 'subject two', only a road test, lasting 30-40 minutes. After completing a vehicle check, you drive to a residential area (usually with a 50km/h speed limit) and are tested on turning left and right, giving way, stopping, roundabouts, etc., with a random choice between parallel parking and a three-point turn; then you go to a major road (with speed limits of 60/70/80km/h) and are tested on speed control, turning left and right, changing lanes, and U-turns. Finally, you drive back to the road authority.

• In China, you get your licence after passing the test, with the only restriction being no highways for the first year. In contrast, Australian licences have four levels: Ls → P1 → P2 → Full Licence. P plates are red (P1) for 18-21-year-olds, and green (P2) for those over 21. You can move from red P to green P in one year, and from green P to Full Licence in three years. This effectively means Victoria mandates a minimum of three years "on probation".

• Vehicles in China are left-hand drive, while in Australia, they are right-hand drive. Turning left is a minor turn, and right is a major turn. It feels challenging to adjust to, but it's actually quite easy. What really needs learning is the emphasis on right-of-way; a simple example is when driving on a main road, if a car from a side road merges, you don't need to give way or slow down, the car from the side road cannot cut in and must stop and give way.

• Besides checking the left, centre, and right mirrors, blind spot checks are emphasized. This was not taught by my instructor back home. Blind spot checks mean turning your head to look at the positions by the rear passenger windows from the driver's seat, spots that the mirrors can't cover. It's necessary to check these when starting to move or changing lanes. Even though it's not highly likely, cars can appear in these blind spots. I encountered this twice while learning.

• Horn usage is almost non-existent. Being honked at is considered a serious matter. Honking at someone also takes a lot of courage. If you're honked at, it's highly likely you've made a dangerous move or someone is giving you a very important signal. If you get honked at during the road test, you'll probably fail instantly.