HealthCoachLaura

Hi there!

I am hoping to learn to drive here in Spain, but I have a few questions about the process. If anyone can help me to find answers to these I would be very grateful indeed

*I have a UK provisional license; do I need to have a Spanish one to learn to drive here?

*Are the theory and practical lessons available in both English and Spanish? I do speak Spanish and believe that it would be good to learn the laws and signs of the road in Spanish, but I don't speak it perfectly so for the sake of total understanding I would like a bilingual teacher- does anyone know if this is possible?

*My partner has a full license and ticks the UK boxes for teaching a learner to drive (over the age of 21, been driving for more than 3 years themselves....); does anyone know what the protocol is here for him teaching me to drive on the road in our car? I assume that I'll need L plates, but what else?

*Are there intensive courses available? I can actually drive a manual and automatic car, but I've never done so on the roads, so I don't think that I need too many practical lessons, just enough to get my confidence up and make sure that I am a safe driver on the roads

*I've heard that examiners will fail a (pass-deserving) test if they need to reach a certain % of of passes and fails in the month... is that true??

Thanks so much for helping

snikpoh

See above. All I do know is that it's very expensive here.

Rosemary

As Concierge for the Spanish section of BE I would like to say hello and welcome.

BE is a very large expat website, so if you have problems finding your way around we have concierges who will try to direct you. The moderators for the Spanish forums are Mitzyboy and Fred James, moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderador who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge of the issues of living in Spain. At the top of the page you will find a quirkily named thread called Free Beer which is full of important and useful information. Hope you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

amideislas

It's easy, here are a few tips:

• Drive at half the speed limit (or double).
• When turning, first come to almost a complete stop, then turn the wheel, then proceed.
• Never indicate
• Stop in the middle of the street to talk to friends or dig through your handbag at every opportunity.
• When parking, never look in the rear view mirror to see if anyone is coming from behind before you open your drivers' side door.
• Never park straight - always park at some angle to the lines.
• Don't worry about banging your door into, or scraping other cars next to you when you pull out of a parking space.
• Be sure to be on the phone or texting while driving.

HealthCoachLaura

Thank you Rosemary for your welcome to the site. I've been in Spain for about a year now and definitely do not have it all figured out yet so I know I'll be posting a fair bit going forward....

Snikpoh, thank you very much for such a fast, clear reply to my questions. Do you happen to know if there is anywhere that my partner can teach me to drive, i.e. carparks, national parks etc. Thanks again

Rosemary

Amideislas
You forgot a few:

parking on a roundabout
stopping on a roundabout to take/make a call
alcoholic drink with coffee

As for roundabout protocol....well best left unsaid.

Incidently I understand that they are taught to stop totally before turning and not to look and assess first.

Rosemary

HeikeundAlan

they learn to drive over here
I was thinking they get a car and send onto the roads to learn the rest by them selfs.We would never ever want a new car while in span

HealthCoachLaura

hahaha thanks amideislas, I'll be sure to take note. And while we're on the subject, why is it that Spanish drivers, or rather, drivers on Spanish roads, are so ruthless? people were barging in front of us to turn right off a round about from the inside lane the other day, and not the first time it's happened....

amideislas

Mallorca is popular with the Germans, who (in Germany) view their cars as a sort of "religion", much the same we Brits view the NHS.

Anyway, we've seen it many times. Newbie Germans buying a house or summer getaway. They initially pull in with their shiny new Audi or Mercedes SUV, so proud of their holy chalice exhibited in the driveway.

Well, it's as predictable as water flows downhill. Within a year, they've sold off the Audi and opted for an older Golf or Fiesta, complete with pre-scratched and dented fenders.

I don't know but maybe, because they can?

Correction: More likely because Spain is the land of "not my problem".

bxpuser24710519

I have also looked for info on this and my understanding so far is ...

UK provisional licence not recognised here.

Only registered driving school instructor can take you out on the road and ALL roads whatever the state are public highways I was told.

Have a read of this .. http://www.andalucia.com/accounts/driving.htm

and this ....
http://www.english-driving-school.com/

Thing to remember is this is Spain not UK and way they are taught to drive IS different.

mikelincs

No, because there is no such thing as a provisional license in Spain, it all has to be done by an accredited driving school, doing anything else would cause serious problems if anything happened. You go to the driving school, learn, pass the test, then you get your license, then you have to drive with a P plate on your car, I believe that is for a year, when you are driving with a P Plate, then the drink drive limit is Zero.

cricketman

Probably because your partner hasnt read the Spanish highway code regarding roundabouts, it is different to the UK!

My wife passed her driving test in Spain a year or two ago, it costs around 1500 euros so its not cheap, although she did need a lot of lessons

I think you can do practical lessons in English if you find a driving instructor who speaks the language, but the test will be in Spanish. The theory test is actually pretty difficult, much more difficult than the English one. You can take the theory test in English but apparently the translations arent very good

As others have said, you can only drive with the teacher, you are not allowed to drive any other car

Btw, I've only ever driven in Spain although I learnt in the UK and I dont think Spanish drivers or bad or aggressive at all. Probably depends what you get used to. In fact I found UK drivers very aggressive when I was back there a few month ago, probably because the traffic is much worse. When I live in the Costa Del Sol it was the British drivers that were the problem, they drove at 80kmH on the motorway in the middle lane!

amideislas

Yes but you live in Oviedo, where, naturally everything Spanish is far superior to anything else on earth, and the handful of foreigners living there simply "don't get it".

I don't think the OP mentioned Oviedo, so she may be forced to deal with reality.

cricketman

Yes but I also lived in Barcelona and Malaga province and actually dont drive in Oviedo at all because we can walk everywhere

The drivers in Barcelona were great, very calm and friendly. Malaga was a pain in the arse because of the tourists and foreigners who didnt know what they were doing

amideislas

Wouldn't have guessed you'd ever been anywhere.

Naturally, only those pesky foreigners don't know how to drive properly. Do they actually have driving schools in other countries?