jfathers

Hi All
Im moving over to Syracuse for work in a few weeks.
I'd like to get a car as soon as I get there
as far as I can tell its OK to drive on my UK licence indefinitely.
1. Will this cause a problem for insurance?
2. Is there any benefit of getting a state licence? - the down side to this seems to be that as soon as ai get a NY licence i have to surrender my UK one
thoughts?
Thanks
James

Jerseygirl

Welcome to BE.

You will only be able to drive on your UK DL for a limited amount of time. This varies from state to state...from 28 days to many months. In New Jersey you need a NJ DL before you can get insurance...you also need to have insurance to purchase a car. So DL first...then insurance...then buy/lease a car. Again this varies from state to state. Someone may be along who lives in NY state who can answer your questions. In the meantime try the search engine to search the US forums as I'm sure this question has been asked several times before.

Most of us have not surrendered our UK DL. Tell them it belongs to the UK government...the Queen etc.

Edit: Out of interest have you been to Syracuse?

robin1234

The only good thing I can say about Syracuse is that Liquor City is there.

http://www.liquorcitywineandspirits.com/

And, it's in Wegmans Plaza!

jfathers

Hi Jersey Girl
Thanks, that helps but in someways doesn't...
how do you get around before you get a local licence?
when I went on the NY state DMV site it seemed to say that i could drive indefinitely in my UK licence.
But obviously the inability to get insurance is a bit of a problem.

And yes i have been to Syracuse before...I know its not the cultural centre of the universe but the University is great and thats where the Job is...

thanks again

J

jfathers

Wegmans is great and about a mile from the rental property im going to be staying in...

jfathers

from the NY state DMV site: http://www.dmv.ny.gov/resident.htm
A valid driver license from another country is also valid in NYS. You do not need to apply for a NYS driver license unless you become a resident of NYS.

According to NYS law, a resident of another country can get a NYS driver license. The DMV does not recommend this because:

NYS recognizes your foreign driver license if you remain a resident of the nation that issued the license. You do not need to have a NYS driver license to drive in NYS unless you become a resident of NYS.

robin1234

Is this the page you refer to?

http://www.dmv.ny.gov/license.htm#dr...omothernations

Because if you are going to be working in Syracuse, you will then be a NYS resident, won't you?

jfathers

Just done some more reading - presumptive residency is 90 days or more, so I guess Ive got 3 months...

Jerseygirl

We rented a car...so the rental company insurance covered us. Our second priority after landing was to get NJ DLs...we got them within a few days of arriving. That allowed us to look for a car and get insurance.

Syracuse does have an excellent university. The Dome is visible for miles and miles.

notonuksoil

We are in NY state and have NY licences.

You need to go to the DMV and have the requisite number of points from your forms of ID, can't recall how many you need but social security number, passport with valid visa and a few other things were needed I think (was 2003 when i got my licence). Be prepared for a VERY long wait!

Book to take the written test. Look at the practice written test online its easy and straight forward, we both got pretty much the same questions on our real test and its multiple choice so even without doing any study its easy to pass.

Once you have passed that you get to do the driving test ........ mine was most amusing. Drove myself to the test center (which was a street in New Rochelle) the examiner got into the car and checked my ID. He asked me a few questions about how long I'd been driving in the UK then said to start the car. I pulled away then while driving towards a red flashing set of traffic lights he said to turn right at the lights. I stopped then took the right turn he then said this is a waste of time you can obviously drive just take the next right and go back to the test center. I was in the car with the examiner less than 2 minutes he signed the paper work, gave me a card to say I'd passed didn't ask for my UK licence and my nice new NY licence arrived in the mail a couple of weeks later.

Pretty much a similar experience for OH.

Our first car we organised with international auto prior to arriving in the US and they helped us set up the insurance too.

I can't recall how long you have to get a NY licence sorry, but you can't drive on a UK licence indefinitely.

Jerseygirl

Now you need to find out if you can get insurance without a NY DL. Even if you can you will probably pay over the odds for insurance. I recommend that you can your NY DL asap.

Mouser66

hi we live in syracuse and moved here from canada 7yrs ago...but originally from glasgow...for us we had to do straight exchange for us lic from our canadian ones....I drove there on our US car insurance with my cdn lic for 18 months but our US insurer told us we had to change to US lic in order to continue coverage as there was a time limit on how long we could drive in NY state on cdn licenses with our US purchased vehicle and remain insured......

Jerseygirl

Many Canadian provinces if not all and US states have a 'straight swap' arrangement...but that doesn't help the OP as he has a UK licence.

Bob

A job, means you're a NY state resident, so get the NY license as soon as you can. It's the defacto ID card anyway and will help reduce your insurance, which will already be high on the fact you have no US credit history or driving history.

It's also a piece of piss, so why wouldn't you.

Jerseygirl

Worth checking just what documents you have to produce to get a DL. Since 9/11 many states have strict rules about ID...in NJ it's a points system. One is photo ID ie passport...then you must produce several proof of residency ie bank or credit card statement, utility bill with your address on. You may also need a social security number before you can get a NY DL.