Currently, in Portugal, a driver’s license costs over 600€ (over $870 at today’s rates). Besides the huge chunk of cash, you need to attend 30 classroom hours, and 30 driving hours to finally take the exam. Not only that, but if you fail the written test, you need to pay 150€ more, and a failed driving exam will set you back over 200€, every time you retake them. [1]
Every time I hear the stats for the number of people driving portuguese roads without a license I can’t help but think that they’re doing a pretty good job at driving and staying away from accidents and cops. Which means they’re probably driving better than those with license. Which means the current driver’s education and schools are failing; which is something everybody always knew about but no one seems to care. It’s one of those cultural things “I went through hell with that, there’s no way someone else should have it easy”.
To put things in perspective, I took my license while in the US. I had a permit within the hour (a document that allowed me to drive during the day, if accompanied by an over-21 licensed driver next to me), having passed the written exam right there on the spot, with 5 wrong answers out of 30. I then had some general driving practice with a friend (no more than 2-3 hours since I already knew how to drive—even a stick). I then passed my driving test… on the 3rd try. I didn’t pay a cent more for retrying twice. Total cost of my license? About $100 (62€).
Why would I care, right?
[1] These figures might not be 100% accurate. They also vary from school to school. In the same way, if you pay a bit more, they might let you out of some of those hours and/or “facilitate” your final exam… illegally.
