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NY driving license

NY driving license

Old May 18th 2019, 1:48 am
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Default NY driving license

Hi there, I've been here in New York for a few years now but have just decided to go for my driving license. I have had a British one for 35 years so i was just wondering if anyone knows if I still need to do the 5 hour pre- licensing course or if i would be able to take a quick lesson and proceed straight to the test using my own car. Many thanks all
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Old May 18th 2019, 2:23 am
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Default Re: NY driving license

Ouch, you’ve lived in NYS for a few years and have driven on your UK license all that time? Bad move! Get a NY license asap and yes, you have to take the class.
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Old May 18th 2019, 2:59 am
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Default Re: NY driving license

I know, its been on my to do list and I am finally getting round to it !!! Thanks for the info on the 5 hour course, I will just get on with it and bite the bullet ! :-)
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Old May 18th 2019, 2:34 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

It's only a bad move if you get caught ;-)
I kept meaning to get around to it (been here just under 2 years) but drove so infrequently that it never became a priority. I got pulled over by a State Trooper up in Vermont (going a little too quickly), showed him my license and he quickly realized it was going to be too much paperwork so gave me a warning and drove off.

Having said all that, we're moving to Boston and I'll be going from the occasional trip in the car to a daily commute, so I've just started my application process for MA.
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Old May 19th 2019, 1:52 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

You have 30 days after becoming resident in NY to get a local license, and if you are involved in an accident you could find that your insurance is voided, so you would face bankruptcy if sued for damages. So please excuse me for being blunt, but driving without a drivers license valid in New York, far beyond the "using my best efforts to get my local license ASAP" period, or indeed anywhere in the US, is incredibly stupid.

That said, the NY licensing test is a joke, you will need the mandatory 5 hour classroom course, and there is a computer based "written" test, so be sure to mug-up on things like rules for driving near school buses and the penalties for DUI offences, and for speeding.

The road test is a piece of cake, though my test included a parallel parking maneuver which is something I had not been required to do in my UK test. So long as you stop, dead stop, at stop signs and red lights, and don't kill more than one pedestrian during you road test, you will pass.

Last edited by Pulaski; May 19th 2019 at 3:22 pm.
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Old May 19th 2019, 2:39 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by Pulaski
You have 30 days after arriving in NY to get a local license, and if you are involved in an accident you could find that your insurance is voided, so you would face bankruptcy if sued for damages. So please excuse me for being blunt, but driving without a drivers license valid in New York, or indeed anywhere in the US, is incredibly stupid.

That said, the NY licensing test is a joke, you will need the mandatory 5 hour classroom course, and there is a computer based "written" test, so be sure to mug-up on things like rules for driving near school buses and the penalties for DUI offences, and for speeding.

The road test is a piece of cake, though my test included a parallel parking maneuver which is something I had not been required to do in my UK test. So long as you stop, dead stop, at stop signs and red lights, and don't kill more than one pedestrian during you road test, you will pass.
For other posters who read this its a little more specific that that:

“If you move to New York State and become a resident 1, you must get a New York State driver license within 30 days.“

https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/moving-new-york

Someone can arrive for up to 90 days on VW and would struggle to get the require documents to get a local lisence.

But for the OP it sounds like they should have done the local lisence within 30 days of becoming a resident by the NY state definition not USCIS one.

Last edited by tht; May 19th 2019 at 2:42 pm.
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Old May 19th 2019, 2:58 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by MorsePacific
It's only a bad move if you get caught ;-)
I kept meaning to get around to it (been here just under 2 years) but drove so infrequently that it never became a priority. I got pulled over by a State Trooper up in Vermont (going a little too quickly), showed him my license and he quickly realized it was going to be too much paperwork so gave me a warning and drove off.

Having said all that, we're moving to Boston and I'll be going from the occasional trip in the car to a daily commute, so I've just started my application process for MA.
An even worse move if you are involved in an accident!!
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Old May 19th 2019, 3:17 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by tht
... “If you move to New York State and become a resident 1, you must get a New York State driver license within 30 days." .... But for the OP it sounds like they should have done the local lisence within 30 days of becoming a resident by the NY state definition not USCIS one.
Thank you for filling in the specifics.

It is worth noting that the are numerous different definitions of being "resident", all of which have their own rules and are often inconsistent, sometimes wildly so. So there are resident statuses for USCIS and drivers licenses but also for taxes, for college tuition, for firearms registration, for marriage, and (separately), for divorce, and no doubt many others, but it is a falacy to assume that because you are resident, or non-resident, by one definition that the same applies for any other definition. For example you can be non-resident for tax purposes, but resident for the purposes of needing a drivers license.
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Old May 19th 2019, 10:38 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by tht


For other posters who read this its a little more specific that that:

“If you move to New York State and become a resident 1, you must get a New York State driver license within 30 days.“

https://dmv.ny.gov/more-info/moving-new-york

Someone can arrive for up to 90 days on VW and would struggle to get the require documents to get a local lisence.

But for the OP it sounds like they should have done the local lisence within 30 days of becoming a resident by the NY state definition not USCIS one.
I fail to see where the definition you offered from the NYS DMV website differs in anyway from what is normally prescribed here in these forums and what the USCIS definition of resident has to do with the requirement to obtain a NYS driver's license, or any state driver's license.

Yes, the OP should have gotten a NYS license within 30 days of becoming a resident of the State of New York. They are going to do so at their earliest convenience. As Pulaski has noted, the most difficult part of the NYS testing is sitting through the 5 hour boring classroom lecture and learning all the statistics and punishments accorded driving infractions.
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Old May 20th 2019, 11:23 am
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by Rete
I fail to see where the definition you offered from the NYS DMV website differs in anyway from what is normally prescribed here in these forums and what the USCIS definition of resident has to do with the requirement to obtain a NYS driver's license, or any state driver's license.

Yes, the OP should have gotten a NYS license within 30 days of becoming a resident of the State of New York. They are going to do so at their earliest convenience. As Pulaski has noted, the most difficult part of the NYS testing is sitting through the 5 hour boring classroom lecture and learning all the statistics and punishments accorded driving infractions.
Good luck arguing that being there "a few years now" (as the OP says) is at their earliest convenience!
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Old May 20th 2019, 12:18 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

One thing to note: you cannot drive yourself to the road test as it’s illegal for a learner to drive on roads designated as a road test area. Most NYS driving schools will sell you a package of an hour’s lesson to brush up on required manoeuvres such as parallel parking and three-point turns and then will drive you to the test area where you use their car for the test.

As Pulaski says the actual road test is a joke. My examiner kept telling to slow down but still passed me with no points deducted!
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Old May 20th 2019, 12:21 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by kjw1
I know, its been on my to do list and I am finally getting round to it !!! Thanks for the info on the 5 hour course, I will just get on with it and bite the bullet ! :-)
I really need to use the button. I was referring to the above.
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Old May 20th 2019, 2:21 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by Rete
I fail to see where the definition you offered from the NYS DMV website differs in anyway from what is normally prescribed here in these forums and what the USCIS definition of resident has to do with the requirement to obtain a NYS driver's license, or any state driver's license.

Yes, the OP should have gotten a NYS license within 30 days of becoming a resident of the State of New York. They are going to do so at their earliest convenience. As Pulaski has noted, the most difficult part of the NYS testing is sitting through the 5 hour boring classroom lecture and learning all the statistics and punishments accorded driving infractions.
Since you are not the OP I am not sure how relevant your ability to understand my post is unless you are also looking to get a NY lisence?

I was pointing out that it is NOT the USCIS definition that matters but the NY one:

”Definition of Resident per Section 250 (5) of the NY State Vehicle and Traffic Law: "As used in this section, the term 'resident' shall mean domiciliary, that is, one who lives in this state with the intention of making it a fixed and permanent abode. It shall be presumptive evidence that a person who maintains a place of abode in this state for a period of at least ninety days is a resident of this state." To live in a house, a home, an apartment, a room or other similar place in NY State for 90 days is considered "presumptive evidence" that you are a resident of New York State. A police officer can use this as evidence to issue a traffic ticket if you drive in New York State without a NY State driver license or vehicle registration. A judge considers the law and the evidence of your intent and decides if you are a resident of New York State. If you pay taxes or your children attend school in another state, a judge considers these facts to decide if your intent is to make NY State a "fixed and permanent" residence. According to this law, students from other states or from other nations who attend school in New York State are usually not considered residents of NY State. DMV does not decide if you are a resident of New York State, if you must get a NY State driver license, or if you must register your vehicle in New York State.”

As to the 5 hour video, I am not sure why you think it’s the “most difficult”. Not sure if you have completed it? But you just show up and watch it. As someone who has actually been through the whole NY process I would say the most “difficult” part was getting a test date that worked and getting an instructor to drive out there with me so I had a car for the test.
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Old May 20th 2019, 3:00 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

Originally Posted by tht
…. I was pointing out that it is NOT the USCIS definition that matters but the NY one: ….
Maybe if you had said (precisely) that, it would have been clearer?
…. I would say the most “difficult” part was getting a test date that worked and getting an instructor to drive out there with me so I had a car for the test.
The further north and west you go from NYC, the easier it is likely to be to get a test date. I was told by a snooty women sitting at a desk outside the room where I had dozed through five hours of mandatory classroom training, that the "earliest possible date" was 10-12 weeks later. That appeared to be true for local tests, in White Plains, near where I was living, but my wife looked at test centers further and further away until she found a date the following week, in Herkimer. So that is where I did my test. …. My wife drove me to the test site, and I did the test in the SUV we had rented.

Last edited by Pulaski; May 20th 2019 at 3:03 pm.
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Old May 20th 2019, 3:02 pm
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Default Re: NY driving license

You truly need to learn to read and comprehend. The 5 hour course is the most difficult of the entire licensing process. Which is a tongue in cheek way of saying the rest of the process is easy peasy. I see that you didn't pick up on that. Please note how the word license is correctly spelt. I had a New York State license for over 45 years. I've had a driver's license since the age of 20. I now have a driver's license for the State of MS.

Your post is irrelevant as nowhere on this thread nor on any driver's license thread in the recent past has anyone equated the term resident for the sake of obtaining a driver's license to be that of the USCIS rather than their State's definition. You muddied the waters by even bringing that definition into play.

Hooray for you having gone through the process. Since you never took the time to 'know' me and I have postings here since the group's inception, you would know my background so there is no reason for you to have a snippy and superior attitude with me.

Last edited by Rete; May 20th 2019 at 3:05 pm.
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