[Part 5] Getting My Driving Licence : Ujian JPJ Bahagian III

Please read this post, which is a summary on how to get a driving licence, as well as the previous part(s) before reading this one if you haven't already.

        I'm just going to merge the topic of QTI Test and JPJ Test into one post because honestly, I haven't much to talk about when it comes to the QTI Test. It's basically the same thing as the JPJ Test but it's a trial test run by your driving school's instructors. If you pass the QTI test, you'll be able to book for the real JPJ Test.

        Just as a refresh or for those of you who for some reason don't know what it is, the JPJ Test is the final test you'll be facing when you're obtaining your driving licence. It covers Bahagian II (litar) and Bahagian III (jalan raya) of your learning process. Actual JPJ officers will assess you on your driving during the test. If you pass, you'll be able to apply for a P licence. If you fail, well, you can opt for a retry.

        I'm pretty sure different driving schools and states have different ways of running the JPJ Test, but the fundamentals remain the same. JPJ officers will usually be holding sheets of papers which act as a marking sheet for the candidates. Several first-time candidates might be freaking out internally while retry candidates might be chilling out like it's a hangout. Some poor guy got the luck to be on the receiving end of a JPJ officer's attitude in front of everyone else. You get the drill.

        Let's start with my experience on this challenge.

        I had to wake up pretty early for the test. My driving school usually holds the JPJ Test every Tuesday, and 8 AM is usually when everyone arrives at the driving school to register themselves at the office. Once I finally registered, I had to wear a lanyard with a tag of my number. Since there were many of us on that day, we had to split the group into 2 to 3 sessions. Thankfully, I was in the first session and was probably around the 35th person in turn. We all sat down on chairs lined up for us and waited until the JPJ officers arrived at the driving school at around 9 AM.

        It's pretty strange, but for today they decided to do the Bahagian III test first. Perhaps they wanted to avoid the usual 5 PM rush hour traffic jam. Where we were seated, we could see the road and learning cars all prepared for the test. On top of their roofs were attachable orange siren lights in order to let other road users that the driver in said car is being evaluated. We could even watch every candidate get in the car on their turn and drive off. We all quickly understood that a candidate failed the test if the JPJ officer drove the car on the way back.

        The morning sun was shining down upon us and I, being a natural heat-sensitive person, had a hard time trying to not doze off from the loss of energy. When it was my turn, nearly half of the area was empty due to the finished candidates going off to the cafeteria for a drink. I was shy and afraid of the JPJ officer, but I still kept my cool and stayed emotionally numb/neutral. I placed my bag at the back seat and got into the driver's seat while the JPJ officer, who I think will be named Sir from now on in this post, got into the passenger's seat.

        I gathered the courage to greet Sir and ask him if I could start the RSM. I guess I ended up being too nervous about the test that I speedran everything. I muttered everything to myself while I tried not to mess up on the toggles. This punched me in the back because I lost points in not "determining my hand positions on the steering wheel" and "correctly adjusting my side and back mirrors". For Axia users, you're supposed to adjust your mirrors using that button on your right.

Do you see that square button on the right with two toggles? That's the one.

        I got the instrument panel symbols right, which is a relief. Oh, how I despise being a wreck when talking to strangers. Every other things like signal lights and horn were checked properly. I guess I didn't make it obvious that I checked Sir to see if he was wearing his seatbelt because I lost a point for that on my assessment sheet. Remember to wear and check your seatbelt, and that includes tugging on it to make sure it's working, or you might find yourself getting out of the car without ever having driven it.

        Sir told me to go Route C, which is considered one of the shorter routes taught at my driving school. Off we go. It has been ingrained in my head to stop at every junction and look left and right before proceeding, but I didn't make it a habit to pull up my handbrake every time that happens. This, ladies and gentleman, is where you see the catalyst for my upcoming downfall. Anyway, we got out of the driving school compound and got onto the main road. Here's another friendly reminder to use your signal lights properly every time you want to make a turn or switch lanes. Remember to check your blindspots too, unless you don't mind getting marked down for that every time you're tested on one section.

        The road was alright on that day. Not many cars when it was 11 AM, but still enough to make me nervous as usual. I see red traffic light on my lane, I shift the gear to neutral and pull up my handbrake. I had to put my foot down on the brake pedal too despite all that for "safety purposes". I did my best to smoothly switch lanes whenever needed and give my signal lights every time it's necessary. According to my assessment sheet, I only had problems with my hand positioning on the steering wheel when I turn the wheel, checking my blindspots, and "checking for hazards using the correct mirror".

        Welcome to today's documentary on the Fall of the Roman Empire Velvet During Their JPJ Test. Everything was going well, no complaints so far by Sir, and the road was surprisingly empty when I was driving through the housing area. I handled the numerous road bumps dotting the road with ease and was driving at the acceptable speed of 30 km/h. Then, it appeared. Its gleaming red face decorated with white alphabets. A deadly viper hidden in the bush, waiting to strike its next unsuspecting victim. The "berhenti" sign.

Seeing this signboard after the incident made me experience a brief flash of agony and suffering.

        I was approaching a T-junction so I kind of stopped as usual and lightly checked left and right for any oncoming vehicles. No other car was around, so I proceeded to my turn. Unfortunately, that junction was also where that stop sign was located at. My heart sank a la the Titanic (but much faster) when Sir told me to stop at the side of the road. Stopped at the side of the road I did, and he simply told me to switch seats. When I got onto the passenger seat, Sir started to explain my mistakes and how I can fix them. I automatically failed the test because I didn't pull up my handbrake at the stop sign. But, I was so lucky to have Sir as my assigned JPJ officer for the test because he was actually really nice and friendly.

        For the entirety of the trip back to the driving school, Sir explained to me how to ace my retry test next time and how to fix the mistakes I did earlier. I slowly start to become less nervous thanks to his friendliness and was kind of smiling, despite being utterly shocked and unresponsive because of my sudden failure. The rest of the candidates looked at me when we arrived back at the driving school and I got out of the car to collect my results at the counter. It's kind of upsetting to informally do the "walk of shame" but I didn't want to have a massive breakdown in public so I numbed it out.

        Skipping the boring details, I basically failed the Bahagian III of the JPJ Test. No biggie, I can still continue to do the Bahagian II part of the test after the short break. I think I'll explain that part in the next post, as well as a summary on my retry test and what I did to get my P licence. Peace out.

🔆 ~Thanks for reading my post and have a nice day~ 🔆