Getting Your North Carolina Driver's License

One of the inconvenient and daunting things about moving to North Carolina is getting your driver's license, because you have to take the written test along with an eye test. I'm not sure if that's the norm in other states, but when I moved from NJ to NY I just had to provide proof of residency and my current license.

I say "daunting" because although I have been driving for 24 years (and quite well if I may say so) I can't say that I have all of the laws and rules memorized. How many feet away from a stop sign can you park? How many points do you get if you get a speeding ticket for going 20 MPH over the limit? Those kinds of questions. Luckily, you can download the driver's handbook from the DMV website. Here's the link. Definitely spend a few hours going over it. If you're looking for the cliff notes version of the handbook, there's also a handy cheatsheet that has been put together with a collection of questions that have appeared on the actual test. You can check it out at: http://www.jaytomlin.com/NCDMV/2006/09/study_guide.html.

That being said, the process wasn't that bad, and actually quite amusing. They have DMV offices all over town that specialize in driver's tests, so your wait won't be terribly long. I don't want to get anyone in trouble so I won't say which one I went to (Shhh....Monroe), but the people there were quite helpful. My examiner was a friendly woman with a great sense of humor. I had to do a double-take to make sure I was actually at the DMV.

After the eye test, they use the same little optical machine to test your knowledge of road signs. They show you generic signs with no words or symbols, and you have to identify them by shape and color. In other words, you'll see a red octagon without the word STOP in it. I was doing fine until I came to one and drew a blank--it was just a yellow circle. I sat there a minute trying to come up with the answer, and my examiner whispers to me, "Chooooo choooooo......." Railroad crossing! After the sign test she sent me across the room to a kiosk where I would take the written test at a computer terminal. As I was heading over she said to me, "If you have any trouble, just raise your hand and I'll come help you out." Well, that sort of takes the pressure off! As it turned out I didn't need her help and passed the test on my own.

Another thing in North Carolina, is that when you register your car you pay a tax for road usage. I don't remember exactly how much it was, but it was over $100. It serves to take the place of toll roads here, which is fine by me. I'd rather pay all my fees in one lump sum than have to actually go through one of those pesky toll machines that do nothing more than create traffic on the road. The rest of the country should learn a lesson from this smart NC feature.

Happy motoring!