inquisitive40

The roundabout thing for me is funny,,, I like roundabouts MUCH more than STOP SIGNS, the stop sign thing here in the US is just funny, I think in Europe people would be crashing all over the place, as the Italian rules of driving pretty much are "don't hit anyone else".. plain and simple LOL.
Patrick

Bob

I would have to agree, they seem to run more smoothly...
well I guess it doesn't help that the lights always seem to turn red when I get to them...and this is going beyong the odds now *l*

inquisitive40

LOL... there is a street here where I live with 5 sets of traffic lights, if you can get one green then you can get through them all green, if one is red then most likely every light will be red,, totally sucks LOL.
Patrick

Donut

In article <[email protected]> ,
inquisitive40 <[email protected]> wrote:

    > > It says it's an Interim Driver's License (aaarrghhh! with an 's'
    > > not a 'c')
    > >
    > > It expires on 11-28-04
    >
    > I keep wondering about the US driving test. is it really that easy
    > compared to an Irish or UK driving test? Seems a lot of people here have
    > been passed by just doing a very short test VERY unlike the Irish test
    > that I took over 20 years ago.
    >
    > I often think about having to retake a full test here and it makes me
    > VERY nervous.
    >
    > Patrick

Having taken the driving test in Scotland few years ago and in
California, I can say that the California one is a piece of cake. As
losg as you manage to saty on the RIGHT side of the road you should be
OK. Prep for the written test, though, there are some tricky questions
there that do not relate to Europe.

inquisitive40

Yes I have done the written test on several internet sites and at this point normally get about 95%.

When I did the Irish test 22yrs ago there were many places on the 20 minute driving course where the tester would have pass or fail points and so VERY easy to screw up the test, also the test had to be in a manual gear stick car (no automatics were allowed then for the test) and this also was part of the test to make sure you had the car in appropriate gears going into corners etc. Was quite nerve racking.

Patrick

CaliforniaBride

Patrick, the California Test lasts about 20 mins. I had to pull up alongside a kerb, reverse about two car lengths in straight line and pull off. Then after leaving the car park I was just required to drive. You are allowed to make up to 16 mistakes!

As long as you can drive you will pass.

inquisitive40

LOL... well I have reversed trucks with trailers and fo rmany years drove a large van. From my observations of drivers here in the US, a lot of them would not be allowed on the roads in Europe
Patrick

Gigiola

[QUOTE=eimeo]This is definitely scary.
In Tahiti they began building round abouts about 4 years ago, there were absolutely none before and there are some everywhere now !!!

Sounds just like Mallorca .. a roundabout every 100m! Must be an island thingy!

psychobabbler1

Is this the same as a learner's permit? I've never heard of a temporary
license before. What do you have to do at the end of your temp time to
get your "real" license? Congrats! I don't envy you, driving on CA superhighways!

Dawn

CaliforniaBride

Hi Dawn

I took the theory part of the test about a week before. After she marked my test and seen that I had passed she gave me an A5 size printed sheet. She explained that this was my Learner's permit and that I could drive but had to have a qualified driver with me. That didn't apply to me though as I can drive here legally on my UK licence.

I had to call and make an appointment for the driving part of the test. After passing that you o back to the desk and they give you another printed sheet that says Temporary. That means I have passed all the requirements and am now legal to drive. But, the laminated card looks like this....



That card takes a couple of weeks for them to produce so in the meantime I will be able to produce the temporary one if required. The temporary one lasts for 364 days. But in reality my permanent laminated card will arrive way before then.

meauxna

Patrick,
When my UKC husband first got here, I knew a driver's license was one of the first orders of business. I mean, you're not a person here until you have one. So I get him the booklet and point him to the practice test website and tell him to have a study and we'll go down in a week or so. Well, he dragged on with this for *ages*. I couldn't figure out his hesitation and the excessive studying. We'd been living in Greece, so I knew he's comfortable driving on this side of the road. Like you, he'd driven the big rigs comfortably. For Pete's sake, he drove the big rig firetrucks! I just couldn't imagine why he seemed so uncharacteristically unconfident.

After his eventual, brief written and driving exam, even he had to laugh at himself.

I had no idea that in the UK the driving test is so comparatively stringent. As noted above, you basically have to not crash into anything and you're golden. Here my poor DAH is preparing for a battery of difficult maneuvers and safety inspections and ... around the block once!

Anyone's who has passed licensing in the UK can probably do any of the 50 states here with their eyes shut.

Mattias Hembruch

In article <[email protected]> ,
CaliforniaBride <member12142@british_expats.com> wrote:
    >Got it yesterday. Well, my temporary one at least. Waheyyyy. It's
    >official, I CAN drive around the block in a straight line!

Cool! Were you K1 or K3? (can't see signatures on usenet).

What documentation did you need? SSN?

Mattias

Alwyn

    >It is a temporary one, it is just a piece a paper until her actual card
    >comes in the mail.
    >She should get the actual card in about 2 weeks.
    >If the temporary one expires before she gets the actual card she would
    >have to go back to the DMV to see what's up.

It took me close to a year to get my official drivers licence. I went back
about three times to get a new temporary one. No problems just typically slow !

AC

Bob

Making it "harder" in blighty, have to do a saftey perception/priority test now, where they play videos and you have to point out on the screen where hazards are and the like and the quicker you do it, the more points you get, don't know what the cut of is like, but it can't be hard because one of my mates just passed it *l*

Hypertweeky

CONGRATULATIONS!! Wooo you go girl!!

A temporary driving license?, Mine is good for 12 years, I got it while on a J1 visa