PAThe day you pass your driving test is the day you can finally put the days of traipsing to the bus stop and getting lifts from your mum and dad behind you.
The weeks afterwards are filled with road trips with your mates or trips to the shops – anything to make the most out of your new-found freedom.
Obviously, this is all hypothetical seeing as though I passed my driving test seven years ago and still haven’t got a car of my own. A girl can dream though, right?
But for one teenager in Germany, this wasn’t the case, as he had his driving license taken off him just 49 minutes after passing his test.
Less than an hour after the boy could finally scrap his ‘L’ plates for good, he was caught speeding by police.
As reported by the BBC, the 18-year-old was stopped by police in the town of Hemer as they checked his car with a laser speed gun.
PexelsJust how fast was he going to have his license taken off him, you might be thinking. Well, there lies the problem as the teenager was travelling almost double the speed limit.
Driving at 95km/h (60mph) in a 50km/h (30mph) zone, the boy was stopped by police as he travelled with four friends.
According to iNews, the regional police of Märkischer Kreis suggested the teenager may have been speeding to show off to his friends.
In a statement, police wrote:
Some things last forever – others not for an hour.
Savage. As a result of his speeding, the teen has been banned from driving for four weeks but will only get his license back after ‘expensive retraining’.
He has also received a fine of €200 and two points on his license, as well as having his probationary period as a new driver lengthened from two years to four.
I guess he’ll be thinking twice about speeding next time…
And despite the extremely short time frame in which the 18-year-old got his license and then had it taken away, it perhaps isn’t surprising as research has found it takes just 10 weeks for a new motorist to become a bad driver.
A study of 2,000 car owners found that one in 10 people forget what they have learned just two weeks – or less – after passing their driving test.
I should probably hold my hands up and admit that I’ve never done a parallel park in the entire seven years since passing my test, so I can sympathise here.
Apparently, the earliest cracks to appear include failing to grip the steering wheel in the correct ’10 to 2′ position (I didn’t even realise that was a thing), as well as neglecting to check mirrors during manoeuvres.
Other mistakes made include travelling without a seatbelt and overtaking in risky situations, which the average driver will do after four months of passing their test, and running a red light, which the average driver will do within five months.
These all-too-common slips do have serious consequences, leading to one tenth of motorists getting themselves into an accident.
Next time you think of making one of these ‘shortcuts’, just remember your safety is so much more important than showing off to your mates.
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