Seniors set out on road to new horizons

Driving dreams

Beijing native Liu Fugen fulfilled his youthful driving dream when he decided to learn last year.

To his delight, he passed one of the exams in January. "I always wanted to drive when I was young. But back then I was a soldier and the army only drove Liberation trucks, which were used to transport materials," the 69-year-old said.

When he left the army and began working at a State-owned factory in Beijing's Chaoyang district, he was 23 but he never had an opportunity to drive.

"If you wanted to drive in those days, you needed an introductory letter from your workplace or you would have to find someone influential to explain why you wanted to enroll on a course," he said. "It wasn't easy to learn to drive back then."

During the years of China's planned economy (1953-78), the allocation of resources was decided by the government, and the authorities formulated policies to guide and adjust the direction of economic activity.

Liu recalled that cars didn't become popular in the capital until 1996, while driving schools didn't emerge until about 2000.

In 1992, as the reform and opening-up policy developed, the nation's rapid industrial development put it on a fast track to greater use of private automobiles.

At the end of 1995, the number of registered private cars exceeded 10 million, but by the end of 2017, more than 300 million motor vehicles were registered, and about 150 out of every 1,000 people nationwide were drivers.

Last summer, when a neighbor told Liu that he could learn to drive at a school in the suburbs, his youthful dream was revived.

"I am in my 60s, but in good health," Liu said. "Now, there aren't extra things for me to worry about with my family or work. When I receive my full license and buy a car, I will be able to drive wherever I want, taking my wife along."

Liu signed up with the Eastern Pioneer Driving School in a southwestern suburb at the end of July. He passed the written driving exam in September and the road test on a driving range in November. In October, he drove on a public highway for the first time when he started training for the road tests.

"I felt pretty good during the training for the road tests. The instructor guided me to perform a 90-degree turn into the parking lot, the same maneuver in reverse, and parallel parking. I spent three days practicing in the parking lot and passed the exam without a hitch," he said.

He said he paid 5,300 yuan ($770) for the course — about a month's pension. He is scheduled to complete all the courses in about six months and get a full license.

"It's really good that I have an opportunity to learn at my age," he said.