civilservant

Be prepared for the insurance quotes to be painful. My 19 year old step daughter, on a 2005 Kia Sorento that we bought her for $4k, doubled my insurance.

And that was with a F150 and Fusion already on it, full coverage.

The Kia was liability only.

Pulaski

FIFY.

Auto insurance for new arrivals in the US is already pretty high compared to the UK. Most new arrivals would be lucky to get insurance for $2,000/yr initially. It may be more than that in California, and with teenagers of driving age I could see it being north of $3,000, or even $4,000!

carcajou

Orange County, Florida, is where Orlando is.

Please heed Pulaski. The American mind is very lawsuit-oriented.

JJ06

Wow - thank you all so much. Been such a help. Just disappointed that we'll have to take the tests 😂

GeoffM

That's the least of your worries. The multiple guess takes 10 minutes at most. The driving test maybe a little longer, but more waiting around than actual driving. It's nothing like the UK test.

Worry more about the use of indicators around here. You're waiting to pull out of a side street onto a main road. A car is coming from your left but is indicating right. Does he:
1. Turn right, thus safe for you to pull out
2. Go past you and a couple more right turns, and then actually makes a right turn
3. Doesn't turn at all (forgot he had them on)
4. Turn left.
Option 4 is depressingly common. Moral of the story: don't trust indicators. Or southern California drivers in the rain. The old "I'm driving a bus, therefore I need to swing out into your lane unannounced to make my turn" is a good one too when it's a car the size of a Mini Cooper.

SanDiegogirl

Hubby and I have come to the conclusion that Californian drivers ,when they do actually use their indicators, which is rare, think they assist in the turning of the car; as in come up to a junction, put on brakes, start to turn into junction, and then put on indicator.

Whereas we Brits were taught that our indicators were to a) actually indicate what you were intending to do ie putting on the brakes, slowing down to turn, and b) to do so would provided an extra element of safety for both you and the guy behind, Californians think their 'turn signals' are just that - look I am turning!

Pulaski

It's not that different here (NC) either - often no signals until the turn has started, or no signals at all.

I usually signal first, before anything else, then sometimes I brake (which probably confuses drivers behind me), then I turn. Mrs P (born USC) tells me I signal too soon ..... even though I usually wait until after I have passed the preceding turn on the same side.

GeoffM

Ah, the Christmas tree effect if you have red rear indicators.

Flashing headlights in the dark to hint to the oncoming car that they have no headlights has worked maybe once for me in nearly 6 years. Okay, so not really official, but you'd think the other driver might think "I wonder why he's flashing his headlights at me.... OH headlights!". In a similar vein, flashing to say "you go first" (which is wrong anyway in the UK) doesn't work at 4-way stops, but waving seems to work.

carcajou

Americans normally consider flashing the headlights, as a warning that the Police are up ahead.

Pulaski

Not any longer, at least not in urban and suburban areas, and I would like to take a little of the credit in "training" the locals in my areas as I probably average about three instances of flashing my lights to mean "you go" every day on the way to drop my daughter off at school. Most mornings I see a similar number of instances of other drivers flashing their lights for the same reason.

My experience is somewhat similar to Geoff's, above but with the following variations.

Flashing your lights to mean "you go":

(i) is more widely understood the closer you get to an urban area
(ii) usually doesn't work in rural areas, unless accompanied by a lot of waving
(iii) has become progressively more common over the past 15 years
(iv) becomes less understood the older the driver
(v) is rarely understood by minivan drivers
(vi) is never understood by black women drivers.

GeoffM

I have heard that explanation but no American I've mentioned it to has agreed. Maybe a regional thing?

Rete

Damn, now you are telling me I must be British as that is how I was taught and still use my turn signal?

scrubbedexpat099

I know here often you will get a warning if there is a speed trap ahead, could of course be a warning for something else, accident, slippery patch whatever.

Rete

No, its not official but it is standard that when someone flashes their headlights at you or flashes the high beam, they are telling your that you headlights are off. If at a stop sign, yes it indicates for the other driver to go first.


This usually is only done on major highways where State Troopers/Smokey Bears have speed traps set up. If caught, you can be stopped and ticketed as has happened to several friends in the past.

Pulaski

I thought you used to live in NJ?