jasper123

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Hi Jerseygirl,
Nevada licence only lasts for 4 years also, and yes of course you need an address in your state, I have a permanent address in Nevada, I always keep my Nevada address so I can get my S.S. statement sent to me each year etc etc
also any time my U.S. bank needs to send anything to me like for example when my debit card expires, the new one is sent to my Nevada address, and my people at my Nevada address just simply forward my mail onto me,
As with my Nevada drivers licence, that was about to expire a couple of months ago, so 3 months ago I renewed it online, very easy to do on the official DMV site, and you pay for the renewal with your US debit card, its all very easy and takes about 10 minutes, the DMV takes around 10 days to mail you your new renewed drivers licence, and my people just forwarded it on to my address in England,
Nevada DMV allows you to renew on line without a new picture or new eye sight test, but every 2nd renewal or every 8 years you must go physically into your local DMV office to renew in person, and then they take a new picture, and at my age I must take an eye sight test, but this is no problem,
when you reach 70 though in Nevada from then on you must renew in person at the local DMV office, and thats no problem either, a nice little holiday in the U.S. every 4 years will just about be perfect
There are an estimated one million americans living in the U.K. alone, so Im sure most of them keep there american driving licences valid,
The reason that Ive decided not to pursue my UK drivers test is not cause Mum has decided to sell her car, its because she has decided to stop driving,
that was the only reason that I even considered getting my UK licence just so I could drive my Mum around places, but now that problems solved!!! I dont need a car here, and Im sure the little roads and all the traffic in England would in time drive me crazy!!!!

spouse of scouse

The UK has such fantastic public transport, it makes sense not to drive and keep a car unless you need it. Scouse and I are going to try to do without getting a car when we move over - we can hire one if we really need it at any stage but I think most of the places we'd go to can be reached by bus or train, even holiday places.

Where I live at the moment, you're pretty much snookered if you don't drive. In a household of 2 parents and two kids of driving age, it's the norm rather than the exception to see 4 cars parked in the driveway!

dunroving

A colleague and her b/f are car-less. She commutes by rail from Edinburgh and he commutes by bike. When they go on trips or really need a car they use one of these city car club rental thingies. She says it is very reasonably priced, especially in comparison to the cost of car ownership.

One place I lived in the US, there was a "community truck" that about 5 people on the street were part owner of. None of them needed a daily vehicle but all of them needed a vehicle 2-3 times a week for short periods. It worked fine and was very inexpensive when you considered that the costs of ownership were shared among 5 people.

Jerseygirl

Rodney...even though you've renewed your US DL online I doubt very much that it is valid...as you are not a resident of that state. It could be a problem if you were involved in an accident etc. Also now you are a UK resident there is a time limit on how long you can drive using a foreign DL.

lf1

OH is currently working in Canada and does not have a car. He lives downtown and can walk to work, but when he needs wheels he just uses "car2go". It is great for short trips around the city and parking is no problem as you just park it in any city owned parking area and don't have to worry about feeding meters.

cheers

So the cost of a DL renewal for you would be about $1500
Air Fare, passport renewal ect.
Oh and don't forget the 2 hours waiting you have to spend in the DMV

I may ad, if I was in your position I would do the same thing probably.

cheers

So I have heard you are having a heat wave in the Midlands and south east and you have had heavy rain???
As the saying goes "if you don't like the weather wait a couple of minutes and it will change"

spouse of scouse

I really like the sound of a community truck and a car club rental scheme dunroving, and also the 'car2go' scheme If1 mentioned. It just makes so much sense, not only in the saving you'd make but also to reduce the number of cars on the road. There are some clever people around!

Fish n Chips 56

OK Cheers, I have to know, Did you ever take a drivers test in the UK?

jasper123

jerseygirl Im afraid you just dont get it do you? I dont know what the rules are in Canada where you live ---- but most people in Nevada these days do not like to wait hours at a DMV office, so they renew there drivers licence on line --- the easy and smart way, I have renewed my Nevada drivers licence on line for many years,
as they do also when they renew there registration for there car, ------ all done on line,
and yes indeed my Nevada drivers licence is very much valid, with no endorsements and Im looking at it now and it shows the expiration date 2018,
and you say that there could be a problem if Im involved in an accident, well that would be kind of hard for me to do ---- I mean have an accident in the States as Im no longer living there!!!! but when I go back there for holidays and of course my valid Nevada licence will be as valid and legal as any Nevada resident,
You say that one has to be a U.S. resident living in the U.S. in order to renew there U.S. D.L. on line or otherwise, ----- well think about it for a moment, what about all the millions of British expats living permanently around the world in different countries who do not wish to let there British licence expire, Im sure they get on line and renew there UK licence before it expires, even though they are not living in the UK at all, but one day they May want to return home, Im sure there are many like that on this B.E. site,

Jerseygirl in regards to being able to drive in the U.K. with a U.S. driving licence ----- well thats a completely different story, as I have said a couple or so pages ago one can only drive in the U.K. on a U.S. drivers licence for a maximum period of one year, ------- I have been home for almost 4 years, I DO NOT DRIVE IN THE U.K. ----- NEVER HAVE ----- NEVER WANT TO!!!!
But I do love my free bus pass!!!!
PS I'm a U.S. citizen and it is my right to still hold my U.S. drivers licence!!!
It would be a lot different if I just had a green card ---- in that case the G.C. would already have expired, and I would not be allowed to reside in the U.S. again, but as it is I can go back to live in the United States any time I wish!!!!
there are two things U.S. citizens should always make sure they do when they are living outside America, #1 always make sure there U.S. passport is valid, and #2 always make sure there U.S. drivers licence is valid and up to date!!!!

jasper123

No cheers my D.L. renewal will cost me $17.50 ------ but yes my wonderful 4 weeks holiday in Nevada will be fantastic ---- and yes it may easily cost me $1500 ----- but I think everyone who has come back home to live needs an excuse at least every 4 years to fly to the U.S. and have a nice break and visit friends

Mallory

A NV license is useless if you are not a legal resident. Don't play games with state law, it could end up in tears.

Jerseygirl

Yikes Rodney...it wasn't my intention to upset you.

I have lived in the US for 18 years and am also a USC. That doesn't give me the right to a US driving license...just as being British doesn't give me the right to a UK DL. What is it they say in the US...driving is a privilege not a right. It is most certainly illegal for a non UK resident to renew a UK DL...I know this because I wrote to the DVLA and asked. It is also illegal to have a US state DL in most if not all states...if you are no longer resident in that state. If you move to a new US state you usually have a grace period (usually 30 days but it differs from state to state) to obtain a new DL for that state.

According to the Nevada DMV you must be a resident of Nevada to have a state DL. In the second link it quite clearly states that if you are no longer a resident you must return your state DL to the DMV.

http://www.dmvnv.com/newresident.htm

http://www.dmvnv.com/pdfforms/dmv204.pdf

Derrygal

The UK driving test is waaaaaaaaaaaaay harder than any driving test in the US. That's why the standard of driving there is so much higher. A trained monkey could pass the test some of the states have here. I've lived in a few different states. The hardest test I took was in Illinois (I had to take both the road test and theory test). That said, it was easy peasy compared to the UK test. I believe the standard of driving here in the US leaves a lot to be desired. They may not drive as fast as the Brits do, but they weave in and out of lanes and I would say only about 50% of American drivers use their signals!! It can be scary sometimes - especially on the freeways and even worse when the weather is bad!

Jerseygirl

Very true. The daughter of one of our members took her driving test in Illinois a few years ago. She past first time even though she ran a red light. Within a week she had totaled her car.

My daughter's test was in an empty DMV car park. She had to drive a couple of hundred yards...then parallel park between two cones. You could have parked two eighteen wheelers between the cones they were so far apart.