I’ve been learning how to drive recently, so I’ve been in a car a whole lot in the past two months. It’s been a very refreshing time, to learn something new and to be relatively good at it. The instructors at the driving school have been giving me good tips and skipping me ahead of lessons especially when I get a hang of things quick.
There’s this moment when I’m on the road, with the instructor in the car. I’ve had quite a number of instructors but one of the most fun parts is seeing the scenery in the distance, and being in the herd of cars. Then the red light appears and we all pull to a stop together. Everyone’s waiting, and the lights go green and we’re all off again.
I’m also extremely observant of pedestrians at this point. As a cyclist they affected me the most, but as a driver, I see people attempting the weirdest movements at the worst times possible, and they hope to get away with it. In the driving school, we let everyone else pass us because we’re learning how to drive. But I can imagine the amount of drivers getting upset about being cut off.
I’ve also been thinking about the cost of owning a car in Singapore. It costs a lot for one, the price of my flat. And the car depreciates in value. So why even get a car in the first place? I used to think it was not very convenient, and nothing so far proves its convenience.
The only thing worth in driving a car is actually the experience of driving a car. It is fun, dead simple. It is fun to step on a pedal and have something so huge move in front, and to step on another pedal to stop. It’s fun to manoeuvre, and to find your space on the road. It’s really quite a blast.
Everything else is expensive and inconvenient. You need to pay for petrol, you need to pay for parking, you need the road taxes, there’s vehicle maintenance and servicing, there’s gadgets you need to make driving easier, there’s timings to watch out for, and everything else in between.
Just to put a number for fun: it is about SGD180,000 for a basic hatchback, including COE (certificate of entitlement) to drive a car in Singapore. Is it worth the fun? I don’t know, probably not.
But what I will do when I get a car is to go camping, and to travel out of Singapore on my own vehicle. I think those parts are worth the car. But it will take quite a few trips to “earn back” the cash spent. Honestly, I don’t see it ever being truly worth it, but I have learnt that the process of driving in itself is fun. I also look forward to car conversations, which are priceless.
The expensive cost of life indeed.