People shouldn't cheat, but they do.
I noticed through an article in the newspaper that the cheats are at it again in the never-ending quest to get the all-important Spanish Driving licence. Having driven all of my adult life I came to Spain only to discover that I had to start from scratch, in Spanish, to study for my Spanish licence. Since I had no skill in the language it was the greatest challenge of my life, but given that I could not live in this country without driving, failure was not an option. Along the way I discovered that not only did you have to know the rules of the road intimately, but you also had to know how the test was administered.
Basically, it was not user friendly at all, to the extent that I concluded that its purpose was to make the applicant fail. Assuming that this was true, one possible reason might have been to try and hold back the tsunami of new would-be drivers and their cars that would add to the already over-crowded streets. My driving school didn’t want to take me on as a client because I did not have a command of Spanish, so it was deemed an impossible task. But I passed the theory on the first try, which is something that most Spanish people don’t do, and I passed the driving practical exam on the first go as well. However, I had been driving for fifty years, although that could have gone against me as bad habits become entrenched by then. Once I had my permit I set about offering a service to other English-speaking people because I had got into the heads of the examiners and I was able to go through the various practice tests papers to point out the traps.
There would be many groups of two questions that essentially asked the very same question, but because of how the question was stated the applicant was set up to answer one correctly and the other incorrectly. I grew to respect the skill of the people who set the questions, but I certainly did not respect the fact that the public were being treated in such a manner. The effect was to penalize perfectly innocent people. So, I understood when those on the inside started working with those on the outside to make money from those who were willing to pay. But sharp-eyed law enforcement types who probably expect this sort of thing took their time until they knew exactly how the scams were being worked, then they busted everybody. The toll was really impressive, and big names went down together with the clients who lost their licences and had to wait for a long time before they could start all over again. The publicity was great and one would have thought that the message was clear. However, a new form of the scam has unfolded with people buying their driving permits. The temptation must be great when in order to obtain your driving permit involves jumping so many hurdles.
However, I have retired from the business of assisting people because the volume of applicants who wanted my service simply didn’t warrant me providing it. The conventional advice when buying a house is, first, find a good lawyer to represent your interests. Most people ignore that because it adds a cost. When they get in trouble, then they seek a really good lawyer to help them, although often it is too late. In my case I suggested a person speak to me first before doing anything else about getting a licence. Far too few took that advice, and paid the price for it. It’s a shame really, but that’s life here in Spain. Try to grin and bear it!
Copyright © 2011 Eugene Carmichael
