A resident of Tarnów, Poland, got his fifteen minutes of fame for a rather unflattering reason – taking 139 tries to pass the theoretical driving test, a mandatory step to getting a driver’s license.

In Poland, as in other European countries, aspiring drivers must pass a computer-based before taking the practical driving exam. If one doesn’t pass the theoretical test first, they don’t even get to attempt the driving test. Most people only need between 1 and 3 attempts to pass the test, but in extreme cases, it can take years, and dozens of attempts.

Last week, the Małopolska Road Traffic Centre in the Polish city of Tarnów announced that a local man managed to pass the theoretical driving test after a whopping 139 attempts. They had been trying since 2017 and had spent €1,800 ($2,100) in exam fees.

“This person did not give up taking the exam. It shows that the driving license is very important for him,” Paweł Gurgul, director of the Tarnów testing center”, said. Now he is waiting for the practical exam”.

Gurgul explained that, after the unnamed person failed the test dozens of times, they had a conversation and he learned that the candidate had been using a demo version of the tests that prepare for the exam, which didn’t include all the possible questions.

“After he started using the full version of the program, with all the questions, he was getting closer and closer to a positive result, missing fewer and fewer points, until he finally passed,”the testing center director added.

The bad new for the aspiring motorist is that he needs to pass the practical driving test. If he fails, he’ll have to take the theoretical test again in order to have another go at getting his driver’s license.

While highly unusual, 139 attempts is not even a national record for most attempts at passing a theoretical driving test. Polish media reported that a driver from Piotrków Trybunalski needed 17 years and 163 attempts to pass the driving theory test. You have to admire them for their perseverance!