Hello, I’m taking the scooter test next week and have a few questions that my Chinese isn’t proficient enough to ask the driving school instructor about:
My dilapidated old driving school-provided scooter conked out in the middle of the 7-second balance test lol. I had to switch it back on again manually If that happened in the actual test, would that count as one of two chances of passing the balance test.
How strict are they about being lined up straight when you finish the hook turn manoeuvre? I always end up slightly askew but never outside of the box. Also, once you enter the hook turn box, is it okay for your feet to touch the ground?
If you pass the written exam but fail the “road” test, do you need to take the written test again? If so, would that change given the written test will be reformed from Feb 1 to be more difficult?
If the scooter/motorcycle stalls on you during the test then you will be deducted 8 points. The exception to this is if you stall on the railroad crossing section then that will be a 32pt. deduction and is an automatic failure as that puts you below the minimum 70 points required to pass. If you stall during the 7-second straight line section that will just take up your first chance, but I’m not sure if you will still get the 8pt. deduction because of the 2nd chance that’s allowed for this part. For other sections when you stall of course you’ll put your foot down as well and so not only will you get the 8pt. deduction for stalling, but you’ll also get the additional deductions for putting your foot/feet down as well, 8pt. reduction for 1 foot, 16pt. for both feet.
Breakdown of the deductions from the DMV website (Chinese)
The hook turn part isn’t too strict. Make sure you turn into it and if you have to take your time to move back and forth to get your scooter in a more comfortable position to be lined up for the next part. Make sure to be mindful of the stop line. Keep in mind the traffic light. Some people will spend a little time getting in a better position in the box and because they feel like they are in a hurry they didn’t notice the traffic light in front of them already changed from green to red and then end up running the red light.
If you pass the written test and fail the “road” test then you only need to come back and do the road test. Only have to pay for the road test too (and rental if you are borrowing from the DMV. Your written test score will be good for up to one year. Same for your attendance of the 2hr. “safety” lecture that you must sit through prior to taking the written test. Make sure you actually show up a bit early. Better to be early than to be rushing to be on time like a lot of people.
Some general tips/suggestions:
Get your health check done before your test date. I saw a lot of people have to rush out their door and run to a place next to the DMV to get a quick health check before they could do the written test and had to wait quite a while.
Here’s the DMV website’s page for all the places you can do the health check at. Just select your city/county and district to find some place convenient for you.
For the hook turns no turn signals are required as it’s considered going straight twice. Remember for out on the roads for hook turns you can only go into the box from the outermost lane that allows you to go straight…but still be damn careful of the right turn only lanes as many people will illegally go straight or into the hook turn box from them.
For the scooter part…it’s mostly recommended to borrow a friends scooter if possible that way you are more familiar with it and less chance of getting a piece of crap from the DMV. Some DMVs have very poorly maintained scooters. That being said I think some DMVs have Gogoros. I used the one from the DMV for my test and if I remember right it was a somewhat newer keyless Kymco scooter.
If you do borrow from the DMV remember to tell them you want to borrow the scooter from them when you are paying for the test. In this case you can also bring your own helmet…recommended for sanitary reasons otherwise you and everyone else will share the same helmet that for obvious reasons is not really sanitary or safe. Some of them can be old and poor fit being essentially useless in terms of actual safety should something actually happen.
Thanks. I subscribed to a riding school that supply the scooters and you use the same scooter for the five lessons and the the test uses the same scooter and is on the riding school course.
The scooter itself just gave up the ghost half way down the balance test portion. It wasn’t a stall. I had to restart it. On the plus side, I didn’t hit the side and by the time I restarted the engine and got to the end, I’d clocked up 14 seconds, which is a pretty decent score…
If your scooter school is approved by the Transportation Ministry ( 監理機關核准), the classes (are supposed to) include the information from the safety lecture so you’re exempt from attending the 120-min gov’t safety class.
You can ask them directly, Google the school and “監理機關核准”, or they may give you a form like this:
