How I Got My Singapore Driving License as a Foreigner (Part 3): Module 3 and the Extras

Introduction

This is a continuation from Part 2, where I covered my first 12 lessons. In this part, I'll share Module 3 (lessons 13 to 23, from 3 January 2024 to 6 March 2024) and the extras you need before you can book the Traffic Police (TP) practical test:

• The Vehicular Pre-Operative Check (VPC)
• The Learner's Driver Competency Screening (LDCS)
• The Final Theory Test (FTT)

Just like before, this is based on my own notes at ComfortDelGro Driving Centre (CDC) while learning a manual car (Class 3). The info is almost 2 to 3 years old, so please check with CDC or your instructor when in doubt. The step-by-step bits below are what worked for me in the CDC circuit. Your instructor's way is the one to follow.

Let's get started!

Timeline

The extras fit around these lessons:

Module 3: Parking, directional change and test routes

Watch the videos first

All the lessons in Module 3 have videos online. My instructor told me to watch them before each lesson, so I'd have more time to practise and only need one demo.

Directional change (lesson 13)

A directional change (also called a directional shift) is for turning the car around in a narrow road, like at a friend's place or in an estate. You use a parking lot to do it. In the TP test, the tester asks for only one directional change and it's random.

In the circuit, there are different courses for it (I practised 14, 15, 18 and 19). This is the gist:

1. Go in by turning left. When the door knob of the car lines up with the kerb, full lock the steering wheel to the left. When the dashboard lines up, straighten the wheels
2. Stop behind the kerb if another car is inside. Otherwise go in until you can't see the orange sticker on the cone, then stop
3. Change to reverse, signal right, adjust the left side mirror down until you can see the tyre. Check behind and your right blind spot
4. Reverse slowly. When you see the sticker again, full lock the steering wheel to the right
5. Check the side mirror until the wheels are inside. Then straighten the steering wheel and stop when the car is almost in line with the kerb
6. Change to 1st gear, signal left and set your mirrors back to normal. Check your left blind spot, then move off. When the door knob lines up with the kerb, full lock to the left

My weakness here was being too anxious and straightening the car too early. Delay it a bit so the car isn't slanted. Also remember to check behind once more before you fully reverse.

Vertical (perpendicular) parking (lesson 14)

I practised this at lots 23 to 25 and 30 to 34. You'll find the details change a bit in the test, so ask your instructor which lots to expect. The general idea:

1. Position the car about 1.5 metres from the kerb of the lots, with the wheels close to the broken white line
2. Move forward until you cover the next lot, then stop. For lot 25 it's all the way past the white line
3. Signal left, put down the side mirror and change to reverse. Check behind for any cars
4. Reverse until the vertical bar of the left rear window lines up with the rear kerb of the lot, then full lock to the left
5. Quickly check the right side for other cars, then keep an eye on both side mirrors. Aim for a small gap between the kerb and the wheels
6. Straighten the car when it's almost parallel. Reverse until the car is inside but the rear wheels don't hit the kerb
7. Change to neutral and engage the handbrake. Set your mirrors back to normal
8. To exit, signal, change to 1st gear and check the incoming traffic. When your shoulder passes the kerb, then full lock the steering wheel

Some tips:

• Try to centre the car in the lot. Do a correction if needed. You won't lose points for the correction, but you will for steering while the car isn't moving
• If the car is already slanted, just go straight, because that increases the space against the kerb before you straighten the car fully
• If you are too close to the right, don't risk it. Drive forward, straighten the car and try again
• Some testers may ask you to position your car in the centre of the lot. If you need to exit left, extend your sighting point before turning
• In the crank course area, don't go all the way in because there's a yellow kerb

Parallel parking (lessons 14 and 15)

This one is long, so I'll just share the steps I memorised:

1. Wait at the yellow line for the instructor or tester to tell you which lot
2. Signal left and turn left, as near the kerb as you can (about 0.5 metres)
3. Stop at the lot in front of your target. For example, if you're parking at 38, stop when the left side mirror lines up with number 39
4. Change to reverse, put down the left mirror until you can see the rear tyre and signal left
5. Check behind and your right blind spot, then reverse
6. When the door knob lines up with the left kerb, full lock to the left. Don't do it too early. Reverse a little more than you think
7. Check the right side for other cars. Once you see the black colour of the kerb, straighten the car and stop
8. Adjust the right mirror, check behind and reverse. When the rear wheels touch the yellow line, full lock to the right
9. Check the left mirror as the car goes in. When the tyre nears the kerb, quickly straighten the car and stop
10. If the car is slanted, move forward in 1st gear then reverse again until the car is parallel to the kerb
11. Change to neutral and engage the handbrake. Tell the instructor or tester that you're done

More tips:

• During the test, you have 5 minutes to complete the parking
• Turn the steering wheel only while the car is moving. Steering while stationary is called dry steering and you lose points
• If you hit the kerb while entering the lot, change to 1st gear and move forward a bit, then straighten the car. Change to reverse again, check behind and reverse
• The lots I practised on (35 to 39) won't be used in the test. The test lots (41 to 43) are near the slope course and the road is narrower. For the last lot (43), stop at the white line and full lock as soon as the car moves
• To move off, change to reverse, release the handbrake and reverse until the wheels are very close to the kerb. Change to 1st gear and reset your mirrors. Signal right and check for traffic. Move forward slowly and immediately full lock to the right
• Don't reverse too much, or you may hit the kerb

Test routes on the main road (lessons 16 and 17)

These were the lessons I enjoyed most, because they felt closest to the real test. A few things I wrote down:

• Always keep to the left lane unless the tester asks you to turn right or do a U-turn
• When changing lanes, maintain your speed and don't slow down. Stay in your lane while you look for a gap
• Stay behind the yellow box and the pedestrian crossing
• At a green light with no right arrow, inch forward and watch for incoming traffic (especially motorbikes) before you turn
• On bends or humps, change to 2nd gear. Always check your speed and follow the posted speed limit. The test routes I drove were mostly 50 km/h roads
• At a stop sign or white line, always stop before turning. If you don't, it's an immediate failure. Change to 1st gear after stopping
• If you forget whether to turn right or do a U-turn, check the sign. If it says KPE or an expressway, don't go there. Or just ask the tester again
• When you exit the circuit onto the main road, the tester may ask you to do a U-turn right away
• Don't get confused by the traffic light when doing a U-turn on a wider kerb. That light is for the straight lane
• Double the usual distance on a wet road. It doesn't have to be raining for the road to be less grippy
• When you are turning right on the 2nd lane, stay on the 2nd lane
• Always check your blind spots before you move off, change lane or turn. In my notes, an early or late check cost 6 points while a missed check cost 4 points, but safety comes first. The habit matters more than the points
• Bus lanes have hours (when I learned it was 7:30am to 9:30am and 5pm to 8pm). Check the signs
• When you change gear, keep checking the road ahead every now and then, especially when you are looking at the side mirrors

Emergency brake (lessons 16 and 17)

In the circuit, the emergency brake exercise is only done when it's safe, with no car following behind. The tester signals by hitting the dashboard. You react right away by braking firmly first, then pressing the clutch. Your instructor will teach and supervise this, so don't try it on your own. If the engine dies, restart it, change to 1st gear, signal and check your blind spots before moving off.

Final evaluation and revision (lessons 18 to 23)

Lesson 18 was a final evaluation, a review of all the previous subjects. After that, I just did revision. Here are the tips I picked up:

• Before moving off, remember to release the handbrake. Always check your blind spots before moving off
• Signal and change gear first, before adjusting the side mirrors, because you will often forget
• If you forgot to reset the side mirrors, reset them at the next safe opportunity, like the next parking
• Slope: find the biting point first before you press the accelerator
• When you come out of the car park and you are near a cone or kerb, wait until your shoulder passes before turning the steering wheel
• When the tester is panicking because of time, just stay calm and check for safety
• Don't think too long when changing lanes. If you really can't, the tester will ask you to go straight

The three extras before the TP test

You need to finish these before you can book the TP test, so do them early. I booked the VPC and the LDCS after my 12th lesson. Book the FTT as early as you can too.

LDCS (19 January 2024)

The LDCS is a short drive of about 15 minutes outside the circuit, with a video recording of your driving. Afterwards, the instructor shows you the video and gives you advice. A few things to know:

• The video has a main screen of the front view and smaller screens of you, the view from behind the gear stick and the rear of the car
• The car is an older model, so the clutch and brake can feel different. If you're on One Team, your TP test car will be the newer model, same as your lessons
• After the drive, you return to the circuit and park the car (reverse parking)

The advice I got:

• Avoid hard braking
• Be aware of your surroundings, especially at filter lanes and when turning left at junctions. Check for pedestrians
• My steering was a bit slow. Try the hand-over-hand motion
• Don't release the clutch too early because the engine will stall
• When turning right at a junction, my instructor had to brake once. In the test that's an immediate failure. If your view is blocked, don't proceed and wait. Stop with your car straight when your shoulders pass the dotted line, or inch a little to the right without blocking the incoming traffic lane

VPC (20 January 2024)

The VPC is held in a classroom, not in a car. If you're early, just go in and wait. If it's raining, put your umbrella in the bin near the door. The instructor collects your booklet and takes attendance, then plays a video about FLOWER, a checklist to do before you drive:

• Fuel
• Lights (front, plate, brake, signal and reverse)
• Oil
• Water
• Electric
• Rubber (the tyres)

The things I remember:

• To open the front boot, pull the lever below the side mirror controls on the driver's seat. For the back boot, there's a lever near the floor of the driver's seat
• Check the engine oil with the dipstick: pull it out, wipe it, put it back and pull it out again. The oil should be between the two dots. If it's too low, buy oil from a petrol kiosk and refill. Let the engine cool down first
• Don't drive if the oil is too low, because the engine can suddenly stop. That's dangerous at junctions
• The older the car the faster it uses oil. Remember this when you buy a car
• Tyre age is printed on the side as a four-digit code. For example, 2813 means week 28 of 2013
• Check the tread depth with the tread marker. Check that the tyres aren't flat. Pump air at a petrol station and if it's still flat, there might be a cut
• You also learn how to change a tyre with a jack. The key points I noted are to loosen the nuts slightly before lifting the car and to tighten them fully only after the car is back on the ground. Practise it with the instructor. Always do it on level ground

If you can, book the VPC on the same day as the LDCS or a lesson, so you don't waste a trip to CDC Ubi. I had a lesson that morning and the VPC at 10:20am.

FTT (25 January 2024)

The FTT is almost the same as the BTT, with 50 questions and 50 minutes:

• Arrive 15 minutes early. Bring your ID or work pass. Your password is your birthday in DDMM format
• It's taken on a touchscreen monitor with 2 Traffic Police officers as proctors
• The result shows immediately. Green means pass and red means fail

I took the FTT internal evaluation on 22 January and the actual test on 25 January 2024. I scored 46/50.

Booking your TP test

Once you pass the FTT, wait a few hours for it to reflect in the CDC app before you book. Here is what I learned:

• Book the warm-up and TP test after you've learned the directional change. The waiting time can be up to 2 months
• Pick a non-peak time slot. Avoid rush hour traffic. A warm-up at around 10am to 12pm means your TP test will be around 12pm to 2pm
• My instructor suggested booking lessons in the days right before the test, including one on the morning of the test (around 10am) and the warm-up at around 12pm or later. That's about 3 lessons close to the test, which helps

I booked mine for 6 March 2024, which was around 6 weeks after my FTT. I did revision lessons on 28 February, 2 March and 5 March, then one on the morning of the test. My instructor said there was no need to take lessons earlier in February, because it was too far from the test date and I'd forget.

What it cost in this part

All amounts are in Singapore dollars (S$) and include GST, taken from my own spreadsheet. The lesson rates changed in 2024, so there are two sets of rates this time. According to my spreadsheet, lessons up to 28 February 2024 were charged at the 2023 rate. Lessons from 2 March 2024 were charged at the 2024 rate:

Here is what I paid in total for these 11 lessons and the extras:

The 2024 cancellation charges are in Part 4, because the sheet only has the total.

What's next

In Part 4, I'll share my warm-up and TP test day, the first attempt that I failed, the second attempt that I passed and how I got my physical license. I'll also share the full cost breakdown from start to finish.

Thanks for reading!