MoreLetters:
Code 51 Driver’s License Endorsement: Back in T e RV Times Issue #141, of
May/June, 2011, Dennis Lanthier wrote a very interesting article about the Code 51 Endorsement and covered all aspects of obtaining the certifi cation. Ever since we got our new Monty back
in June of 2009, I knew that when we were road ready, our weight was over 4,600 kgs (10,120 lbs). I think reading Dennis’ interesting article was the necessary “B.I.B.” (boot in the butt) I needed to get me going. I picked up the latest study manual
from ICBC and read it cover to cover several times while watching TV. On the 16th of June I went to the Motor Vehicle Branch in Victoria and did the exam on their computer monitors. I got a 93% and did the exam in a little over nine minutes. One does have to read the questions carefully as some of them could have one or more correct answers, but only one is the right one. We had booked three weeks of camping
up here at Seal Bay for mid-July to early August, so I planned to take my road test
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in Courtenay. Part of the reason for this decision was that our good friend Marv did the Code 51 test last year, and he could be my legal supervisor the day I went for the test. I fi gured the worst thing I could do
would be to tell the examiner I drove myself there if he asked me how I got there. So I introduced him to my supervisor, and then began my pre-trip inspection. T at was a piece of cake. I fi gured that
as an ex-Chief Engineer I could make a destroyer move, and a submarine go up and down, this test wouldn’t be too hard. My road test was 45 minutes around
some very pretty parts of Courtenay, with lots of leſt and right turns, lane changes, changes of speed zones and backing up. It was a leſt turn and backing up that cost me two demerits. I ended up at a leſt turn in Courtenay without an advanced green arrow. I stayed back behind the line, sat through one green light, and still wasn’t able to turn. T e examiner, said move out now and when the light went amber, he said turn. Back at the barn, he said “You need to be
more aggressive when making leſt turns, or else you would die waiting for someone to let you turn leſt .” I laughed and told him
I would normally do that while towing, however during a road test I was afraid of being dinged for being “too aggressive”. We both had a good laugh at that. My second demerit was for not getting
out and looking before backing into a lane that he had pointed out to me. T e examiner complimented me on my
driving skills and marked me as passed. He asked about my experience and I replied 32 years of towing, seven trucks, seven trailers, 10 Canadian Provinces, 39 US States, eight trips around the continent and about 250,000 kms. I ended our session by saying, “It really feels good to know that I am now legal to tow.” If your trailer weighs over 4,600 kgs,
it might be prudent to get interested in doing the Code 51 Endorsement. It seems we are all hearing more and more stories of others who are getting pulled over and weighed, and then getting the sad news that they need to get the proper license for the weight they are towing. Bernie Klashinksy, Sidney, BC
klash1@shaw.ca
PS: As a senior you don’t have to pay the $15 fee for the exam and the same goes for the $30 road test. My only cost was my time and $17 for a new driver’s license.
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44085 Yale Rd. (Exit 116), Chilliwack, BC 1-800-667-1533 / 604-792-6646 10 RVT 143 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2011
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