Originally Posted by johnwoo

I friend of mine had to drive on an LA freeway as part of his driving test, he worked for BMW in Santa Monica and driving was part of his job. He failed his test for not looking over his shoulder when changing lanes, the tester made him change lanes several times, to rack up enough points to points to fail him.

Originally Posted by Rete

Now that seems very wrong. You look over your shoulder on the freeway while attempting to change lanes and you are traveling at 60 or above and take your eyes off the road in front of you? I find this difficult to believe. The only time in NYS you are advised to look over your shoulder is when you are pulling out of a parking space and when you are making a U turn or a K turn.

Originally Posted by S.Susan

there are few important lessons I have learned in the first week.

1) Never go out without hat , sun glasses, water , sunscreen . I know it is sunny California but I didn't expect this baking hot weather. My husband and children got burnt on the day two . Good thing is At least they are probably not the most palest people in the entire Bay Area anymore. They are dead red now !!

2) indication don't mean anything in this country . It was my very first journey on the bloody freeway 680 . I have indicated and checked, and start changing the lane . The big truck on the other lane dramatically speed up and came for me . Seriously it was that fast and I thought he is going to cash into me.
Second time was yesterday , I was trying to change the lane and I start indicate. Guess what no one let me go .
What's wrong with the drives in this country . They clearly have some issue with indication and no one care about that !!!i m still mad until this moment.

3) 4 way junctions is a joke ! Why they don't do roundabout ? Why?why ? I have to stay on the junction forever because I just don't know if it's my turn or not .....

I am sure there will be plenty lessons and surprise waiting for me . What can I say , keep calm and keep going. The main concern at the moment is my driving. My brain is still making me drive to the right of the road. If you happen to live in Dublin, watch out a red Mazda , don't get too close to that car

From tmr, hubby will go to work and I need to face two homesick end Children alone. I was really surprised when my little one came up to me and told me seriously he wants to go back to nursery yesterday. I thought he won't know but children do know . i have heard there is a Dublin library , is it any good ? I m planning to take children there maybe it will make them feel better.

Hope you all have a great week ahead of you !

Originally Posted by johnwoo

Make an appointment on line when applying to take the test, lines can be very long especially in Pleasanton your nearest DMV office.
I've found Walnut Creek office a better option, less crowded and less wait time for an appointment.

Have you been Downtown Pleasanton yet, a nice downtown area and a farmers market on Saturday mornings.

Originally Posted by malch

Good point. It's more than two months wait for a DMV appointment at Pleasanton. About half that for Walnut Creek.

You can also try the appointment scheduling system very early in the morning. There's a chance you'll find a slot that someone cancelled late the night before.

And, yes, downtown Pleasanton is quite, ummm, pleasant. Very relaxed compared with most other Bay Area cities.

Originally Posted by johnwoo

I recommend you read the California Drivers Handbook.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/web/eng_pdf/dl600.pdf

Also you can find examples of the test questions on line. Where you can practice the kinds of questions you will be asked.

https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcmath:/dmv_content_en/dmv/pubs/interactive/tdrive/exam

Make an appointment on line when applying to take the test, lines can be very long especially in Pleasanton your nearest DMV office.
I've found Walnut Creek office a better option, less crowded and less wait time for an appointment.

Have you been Downtown Pleasanton yet, a nice downtown area and a farmers market on Saturday mornings.

Originally Posted by Rete

Now that seems very wrong. You look over your shoulder on the freeway while attempting to change lanes and you are traveling at 60 or above and take your eyes off the road in front of you? I find this difficult to believe. The only time in NYS you are advised to look over your shoulder is when you are pulling out of a parking space and when you are making a U turn or a K turn.

Originally Posted by malch

Good point. It's more than two months wait for a DMV appointment at Pleasanton. About half that for Walnut Creek.

You can also try the appointment scheduling system very early in the morning. There's a chance you'll find a slot that someone cancelled late the night before.

And, yes, downtown Pleasanton is quite, ummm, pleasant. Very relaxed compared with most other Bay Area cities.

Originally Posted by Steerpike

Huh? it takes only a second to look over your shoulder and is a great thing to do when changing lanes.

Originally Posted by robin1234

I agree, I would never change lanes (or similar maneuver) without looking over my shoulder. I assumed all drivers did this.

Originally Posted by Nutek

Yes. I'm pretty surprised to hear advice NOT to look back to be honest. If people truly are driving like this, relying on mirrors only, it's no wonder there are so many accidents. So many blind spots. Hell, most of the rear of my car is a blind spot.

Originally Posted by johnwoo

Not every intersection in the UK has a roundabout though, and waiting for a gap in traffic coming from the right on a roundabout can be a challenge when merging from a minor road to a busy main road. Not to mention moving over to the center and back the to the outside to exit.
My wife learned to drive in the US, she will not drive in the UK. Driving in Europe can be daunting for Americans, it's a matter of learning and adapting wherever you are.

Originally Posted by Rete

Now that seems very wrong. You look over your shoulder on the freeway while attempting to change lanes and you are traveling at 60 or above and take your eyes off the road in front of you? I find this difficult to believe. The only time in NYS you are advised to look over your shoulder is when you are pulling out of a parking space and when you are making a U turn or a K turn.

Originally Posted by SultanOfSwing

It is standard practice in the UK, at least. There's one stretch of motorway where the M5 meets the M2 heading into Belfast where depending on what exit you want to take, you might have to cross 4 lanes of traffic in one go. Just using the mirror isn't going to help there. As has been mentioned, it's just a quick glance behind you. Assuming you're leaving the correct safe distance between you and the car in front, a second's glance behind to verify your way across is clear is of no consequence, even at 70+ mph.

Originally Posted by Rete

Now that seems very wrong. You look over your shoulder on the freeway while attempting to change lanes and you are traveling at 60 or above and take your eyes off the road in front of you? I find this difficult to believe. The only time in NYS you are advised to look over your shoulder is when you are pulling out of a parking space and when you are making a U turn or a K turn.