Info About Israeli Driving License: Failed Your Exam Twice?

Image from www.freevector.com

Great news! Yesterday MK Dov Lipman succeeded in passing a law through the Knesset that many Olim have been waiting for, for a very long time!

Here's the scenario as things stood until yesterday:

When arriving in Israel, you could (can) drive legally for a period of one year even if you do not yet have an Israeli driver's license. After a year, you must have obtained your Israeli license. You could / can do this by hiring an qualified teacher who will assist you to get to grips with Israeli traffic law as well as get a feel for traffic here. Thereafter once you've done a few lessons to show your competency, the teacher will book a test for you. You go through to the testing grounds, have an inspector drive around with you through various places and thereafter get your license... or not! Sometimes your driving might not meet the standards for Israeli law. This does not mean you can't drive. It means you did not meet the standards. After all - let's not forget, you've already been allowed to drive in Israel for at least a year without any supervision of your competency!

Israeli law is still "good" to one in allowing one to undergo another test! Great! Now you go for the test and finally get your license... or not! Once you fail twice, you must go through the full gamut of licensing. This includes learning the theory, passing that test - and then starting all over again. This might mean further lessons (on average some ₪100 a lesson currently), booking the test and going through it all over again. Let's just hope for the best because nobody wants to go through another two fails to see where things go from there!

The entire law has been set up haphazardly - after all, as Mr Dov Lipman pointed out - how can it be that the law would allow one to drive for a year here without any testing, yet fail an experienced driver - forcing them to have to go through the entire process from beginning to end again?! As a result, the law was passed! What does this mean?

New law: If you fail your test twice, you will no longer have to go through the theory and start from the beginning again. By all means, do another lesson or two to get a better feel. Then try again! Don't forget - you're not incompetent! You've probably been driving for many many years already! It's just that as with everything, there's a system here. Fortunately a lot has been cut out with this new law and there's some room to breathe again!

Now, let's just hope and pray - for those who have not yet made Aliyah - that one day soon, the law will allow for one to simply transfer the license - or if not that - at most to require just a couple of lessons to gain some familiarity with Israeli roads, and thereafter receive one's license based solely on the credit of having done the one / two short lessons!

Fines for using a Cellphone while Driving in Israel

Someone on a social network forum asked about the law and fines if using a cell phone when driving.

I often see such questions and find answering them of little benefit. Mostly the questioner is more interested in finding a loophole in the law than in considering potential consequences to life if / when not following that law.

It's more than the law, it's common sense. Don't use a cell phone while driving! Not if you value your life and the lives of others. If you think I'm being difficult, my introduction to the dangers of cell phones and driving was 20 years ago as an occupational therapist in a hospital. I was on a ward round and sad to hear the cause of a new high level spinal cord injured patient was a selfish driver in the vehicle behind the one that he was a passenger in. The driver had decided that talking on a cell phone was more important than paying attention to the vehicle  in front of him, loaded with labourers on their way to work.

A more recent example was just a week ago of a young woman who lost her life due to texting and taking selfies while driving. In this case it was only the driver, (responsible for her own life), who lost her life. We surely know that the news reports of similar incidents where many others lose their lives or functional ability, ending up in wheelchairs, bedridden, in lengthy coma's etc.

Isn't it amazing what a perverted society we have become where instead of being concerned about the risk to life and quality of life for ourselves and others we are more afraid of breaking the law and getting a ticket.