tilz

Hi All

Wanted to share the experience my wife and I had doing our driving tests !

Quick catch up , me LPR wife US citizen lived in Uk most of life, we have been in CA 3mths

Wife did her test first as I was waiting for my SSN

She booked appointment at Santa Teresa and went in , paid and then got handed the test LOL , we hadn't done much prep so didn't think you could do the test straight away, she did and passed then went home and read the books

I did my written test 6 weeks after and had read the handbook back to front, and believe me you should , you wont know the approved blood content level etc without reading it , so turning up and just taking it isn't recommended at all

Booked her Behind the Wheel test (at Santa Teresa)and quite frankly was treated pretty poorly , the examiner was very blunt and acted and talked to like my wife was 16 (she's 32 and been driving since age 17)! we had read all these stories that its a doddle etc so all this formality threw her off completely . Any way she failed her test and this knocked her confidence

So came home read up and heard that Los Gatos was supposed to be better, she booked her retest there and had a COMPLETELY different experience, very polite people , nice examiners and passed her test with 1 minor fault. She is a very good driver and was told so

So I did my test today at Los Gatos and again had a good experience , you still do the test fully , like turns and reversing etc but they act and talk to you like the adult that you are ! I was glad I passed as my temporary licence expired in the first week of Jan !

Tip I wanted to add is you CAN use enterprise to rent a car to do your test (rented on my UK licence), just make sure you get them to print a letter out that states this and that its doesn't affect your insurance. We used Enterprise on Blossom Hill and in Los Gatos and they were both excellent.

So why did I post

1. Tip about enterprise (lots of other rental places wont let you use their cars) DONT do the whole I just wont tell them as when you show the insurance to the DMV its obvious its a rental and they need the letter, it costs no more and is no hassle at all

2. Don't assume just because you have driven in the Uk or wherever for years that you can just walk in here and do the tests and pass

3. I have been driving 21 years and a lot previously in the USA and I still learned things I wasn't aware of going through this process

4. Prepare, read the handbook get time on the roads and learn the stuff that we dont have/do in the Uk or whereever you are from

I am sure people have had good experiences at Santa Teresa and I am not going to generalise, all I am saying is we didnt and would always go to Los Gatos in the future

All in all it is easy to pass as long as you have done your preparation and dont just assume you will be given a licence because you have one from another country

Hope this helps someone ...

WEBlue

Congratulations & well done to both of you for getting your US DLs!

Though my experience was in CT & not CA, I just wanted to add my recommendation that it *really* helps to ask around first for info on which DMV center treats people better . . . My husband & I had a choice of taking our practical test in a nearby city with a huge, overworked DMV center, or driving to a small, rural center more than an hour away.

We asked a neighbour's high school aged son what he was planning to do when he was eligible for a DL, & he said he & all his friends were planning to book their tests at the small distant DMV. He said everyone he knows says staff there has a reputation for treating people decently & fairly, whereas the nearby city's DMV folks are routinely impatient & sarcastic with everyone.

Husband & I both had good test experiences in the end, but we were sure this was in great part due to seeking out & following this boy's advice.

tilz

Thanks :-)

And completely agree with your comments, we chose a DMV based on the closest one to our house, assuming we could just turn up and pass :-)

Hindsight shows as you say we should have done our homework first ...

NSBlake

My wife and I did our tests about 2 weeks ago in Danbury CT - about 15 months later than we should have done........lol

Anyway - my wife is not a confident driver but she got a nice lady tester that commented on things like, what a clean car, when are due (my wife is pregnant) and all my wife had to do was turn right, right again, right again and then right back into the DMV - 3 mins........

I got the grumpy bast*rd! He was so bad - luckily I'm confident (been drviing for 21 years) and did my advance driving test in the UK. He wanted me to fail - asked me to do a 3 point turn on a hill, reverse round a corner, reverse park between 2 parked cars etc.......I could tell he was p*ssed off when he couldn't fail me! I reckon some good looking English chap had slept with his wife LOL!

Anyway - I think its a lottery re who you get at the DMV's, I was so pleased my wife got the nice lady and not the prat I got or she would have definitely failed.

Orangepants

I did my test in Indianapolis.. after a stop at the gas station to get her lottery ticket and a quick U turn to pick up some milk... she couldn't possibly fail me!

SalopianFunk

I've heard Daly City is on the relaxed side.

kodokan

Hubby and I recently passed our tests in Phoenix, AZ. I second the advice to scout out test centres - he did his at a fairly central one, which was extremely busy and the staff were... well, let's charitably say 'businesslike'. He had a full test for about 20 mins, with all possible types of manoeuvres. The whole process took up a good half a day.

I did mine some weeks later in a different test centre, which I'd heard was quieter, especially first thing in the morning. It was a dream - I walked straight in and was seen immediately; the whole thing with eye test, theory and practical took about 45 mins.

I had to parallel park, but into a great big box marked with tall, easy to see cones (hubby's box had regular cones) PLUS the box was on my left, ie, the 'wrong' side of the street. It was a dream to do as I just had to lean out of the driver's window.

And then for my actual test, I too did the mythical 'right, take a right, and a right, great, now pull into the test centre, you're done, you've passed'. Less. Than. Five. Minutes.

I recommend reading the DMV manual for the fiddly stuff about blood alcohol (and don't skim the stuff about rules for teenagers, as the theory covers these; it's just a computer). I also downloaded a couple of test apps for my iPhone, and these were brilliantly helpful for drilling the road signs.

Oh, and for anyone doing their test in Phoenix, his centre was Chandler, mine was Tempe.

CKB40

Hi tilz,

Really glad I came across your post. I am moving to Los Gatos soon and have been worried about the whole driving test exeperience, so was pleased to read about your positive experience.

Can I ask you about how the system works. Do you register for a provisional licence as in the UK, then choose when to take the written test and driving test?

I have read you must do this within 10 days of your arrival! My husband and I have two children 12 and 10, so that will be our bigger priority!

tilz

Hi CKB40

What happens is the following, make sure you bring your UK driving licence with you ! doesnt have to be the photo one, it can be the old paper one if you are still on that one

1. Book an appointment online (DMV) for an office appointment

2. Fill in the form they give you , pay the fee ($37 ish ) and have a quick eye test

3. You can then do the written test the same day so if you are going to do this download the California driving guide and do some sample tests before you go in for the appointment

The test is 36 questions and you have to get 30 correct, a lot are common sense but some like alcohol level etc you need to read the drivers guide

4. Assuming you pass you will be given a temporary licence that lasts for 90 days, within that timespan you need to do you behind the wheel test

5. So book the behind the wheel and then go in and take it, at Los Gatos there is a few weeks delay from booking to getting an appointment so dont leave it til like day 87 ! my delay was about 2.5 weeks

6. Behind the wheel test was about 10 mins driving and involved left,right turns, and reversing in a straight line ! there is no reversing around a corner or parallel park , to be honest its pretty easy again use the likes of you tube etc to get an idea of what the test involves

This was my experience on a Permanent Resident card, I think there may be some difference depending on your visa but I am not sure on them, eg I had to have my SSN before I could even do step 1. will you have an SSN?

Let me know if you have any questions

Thanks

CKB40

Hi tilz,

Thanks for your great advice.

We will be arriving on a L1 for my husband and L2 visa for me.

Will have to obtain SSN numbers when we arrive, another minfield I assume! Any advice would be handy. So will wait for the SSN and then go ahead and book an online appointment. It will give me time to swot up for the written test.

Thanks

CAdreaming

im in Northern CA and am going to take my theory test next month. I did go to the DMV as soon as I arrived but without a SSN they wouldnt entertain me! I couldve taken my theory test there and then but I do live in a smallish town.
Just got my SSN - there was an issue with my maiden/married name for the SSN but that was unusual so i had to wait sometime
Good luck to you with it all - Im also not looking forward to the driving test having taken my last one oh about 30 years ago!!! My step daughter just passed her test ---I MUST pass mine

tilz

You will be fine :-) yeah the DMV didnt entertain me at all without an SSN either

CKB40 for the SSN , I went down to the local SSA and ordered one there, I had checked the box on the immigration form but something went wrong and the SSA sorted it out, there is one on Cottle Road which is 10-15 mins from Los Gatos (there may be one in LG?)

Its like going to the butchers you take a ticket and sit in line and await your turn , take id etc with you I took passport and stuff , you then get your SSN maybe 2-5 weeks after that (maybe longer)

So you may end up like me where you only have 10 days to get a licence, but the SSN takes ages ! so you end up in a limbo phase , quite annoying

Gives you plenty of time to swat up etc though

Good Luck

CKB40

tilz,

Thanks for the post. Will apply for SSN's as soon as we arrive.
Very new to this, what is the SSA?!

Thanks

tilz

Sorry its the Social Security Administration - the below link will let you find your local office,

https://secure.ssa.gov/apps6z/FOLO/fo001.jsp

Give me a shout if you have any questions with anything !

CKB40

Great, Thanks