Daniel Craig earns his licence to drive
The James Bond actor lives to drive another day on New York's streets
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Secret agent 007 might have a licence to kill. But James Bond is not exempt from American road laws and had to take a course on “responsible safe driving” in order to be allowed on the road.
Or rather the actor who plays the current Bond - Craig, Daniel Craig, - had to. Having moved to Manhattan, New York with his wife fellow actor Rachel Weisz, Craig has had to take driving lessons to obtain a legal motorist’s licence.
All foreigners, regardless of if they are top secret agents on their Majesty’s Service or mere mortals, must pass a road safety test, a pre-licencing driving-safety course and take a written exam.
Richard Fernandez, of the Professional Driving School of the Americas, where Craig took the five-hour lesson, said: “No one is exempt, regardless of who you are.”
Which, given how quickly the DBS Aston Martin which crashed on its way to the Skyfall film set in 2008 became as flat as a pancake (remarkably leaving its driver with minor injuries), is rather a good thing.
But Craig is not exempt from all the special treatment being 007 gets you: “His assistant requested a special class for Daniel by himself. No other students were there. He was such a nice dude, so friendly,'' driving instructor Fernandez told the New York Post.
Luckily, the 44-year-old passed his test on Staten Island with flying colours and lives to drive another day.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments