Take a nice trip with the camper when you are retired. Rita Popken-Reuvekamp from Sleen dreams of it together with her husband Evert. She is now 64 so her retirement is getting closer. Time to take action to make that journey happen.
Rita needed seven lessons, but today she is taking the practical exam for her camper driving license, or the C1 driving license. “People sometimes say: ‘Why would you do that? ‘Your husband has a driver’s license, right?’ But something could happen to him if we’re somewhere he can’t drive back. Then someone has to be able to drive that camper, so I said: ‘We’re just going to do that’.”
And husband Evert, who already has his large driver’s license, just thinks it’s nice. “Yes, and she drives very nicely, so I’m happy to be wrong.” Because in recent years the couple has already gone on holiday in a smaller camper. One that you can enter with your driving license. But they would like a large camper.
“We love traveling and riding motorcycles,” Rita explains. “With a small camper you can’t take the motorcycles with you, and with the motorcycle you can only take very few things with you and the dog has to stay at home. With a larger camper you can take the motorcycles and the dog with you.”
And so a C1 driver’s license should be issued. “Sensible,” says driving instructor Andre Rozendom of Dibo traffic training. “It is a common story that most campers overload their small camper too heavily. And then you are no longer allowed to drive it with your car license, so you drive with an invalid driver’s license. If you have an accident, you are in serious trouble.”
Today Andre goes over the last things with Rita before she leaves for her exam. Just a quick reverse bend and a slope test, Rita executes it neatly. She doesn’t suffer from nerves. “No, I never actually suffer from nerves,” she says on the way to her exam.
An hour later, a radiant Rita returns. “Accomplished,” she says happily as she receives Evert’s congratulations. “Now you don’t have to be alone anymore,” she says jokingly. Although it will still be a while before they travel, because that new large camper that Rita can now drive, it still has to be purchased.
You can see it in this episode of Expeditie Nederland.
