RTA rant

For those of you who don't know, New South Wales has a very tedious and onerous set of rules for new drivers. First you are on your L plates for 6 months, until you pass your driving test - fair enough. Then you're on your red P (for provisional) plates for a year, whereupon you take a test taken on touch-screen technology that doesn't work. This grants the enormous privilege of progressing from red Ps to, oh yes, green Ps. Great. 2 years later, you can take another computer test to finally ditch the plates, thereby depriving other drivers of an excuse to mutter "bloody P-platers" when they are stuck behind you doing the speed limit on suburban streets.

The whole system is unwieldy and irritating, aimed squarely at 17-year-olds rather than, er, mature types such as me. It's expensive too - each of those tests costs money, and if you fail you have to pay again.

The last stage is the one I passed yesterday, meaning I can finally go at 110kmh on freeways and have a glass of wine before driving - both denied to P-platers. More importantly, a full driving license means I can drive overseas. Finally, my dream comes true! I get to trundle round the M25 in my mum's Peugeot this June. Huzzah!