Please help....

What are the steps required to obtain a driving licence in New Jersey? I hold a full UK licence and therefore there must be some exemptions from the tests?

How long is a UK driving licence valid for in New Jersey?

It seems to be very difficult to get Car Insurance too. The whole process appears to be very discriminating.

Thanks.

Hi!

For a Mississippi Drivers License you need a Visa, social security number, your
lease, passport and a copy of your birth certificate. Since I had a German
drivers license, I only had to do the written test. In California everybody has
to do the driving test. With US drivers license and social security number I got
insurance from Geico. Insurance was expensive though, ca. $750 for 6 months for a
1996 chevy cavalier.

Ciao, Elke

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--
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Elke Moritz [email protected]

Engineering Research Center Mississippi State University 2 Research Boulevard
Starkville, MS 39759 USA

Unix-AG Universitaet Kaiserslautern phone: +49(0)631-205-2166
http://www.unix-ag.uni-kl.de/~moritz/

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spatel wrote:
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I lived in New Jersey until three years ago and several times helped overseas
residents get their licenses. It was always fairly easy and straightforward. Your UK
license should be valid for 6 months, but technically if you are a New Jersey
resident, you are required to get a New Jersey license within a fairly short period
(maybe 2 months?). If you are in the US on a temporary visa, you may not be
considered technically a New Jersey resident. However, to register and insure a car,
you need a valid NJ address, and a New Jersey drivers license.

You should be exempt from taking the road test if you have a European license. You
will only have to take the "written" test, which consists of ten random questions
about New Jersey driving laws given to you on a computer console. I believe that
seven right answers are sufficient to pass the test and the test ends when you have
either answered enough questions correctly or given one too many wrong answers. I
recommend going to the Motor Vehicle office to get your temporary ("learners") permit
and then taking the written test immediately. The test is fairly easy, and there is a
good chance you will pass it without studying the booklet they give you. (A young
Italian I know passed it on the spot like this.) If so, you won't have to return
later to take the test and you will be able to get your permanent license
immediately. They will take your photo on the spot and either give you the license at
that time or mail it to you.

Somewhere in the process, you are required to furnish a Social Security number. If
you don't have one, you can get a special number for non-US residents. If you've
opened a bank account or are getting a US salary, you will already have gotten
such a number.

Once you have the NJ license, you can register and insure a car. You should consult
an insurance agent for the proper steps, but once again there will be no problems
related to your UK origin. If you are under 25, you will likely pay a penalty. You
may pay somewhat more (I can't remember) for the fact that you have no safe driving
history in the US, but this will be temporary. Once you have proof of insurance, you
can register the car and then you must get it inspected within a certain amount of
time. For this, you must show the license, registration and proof of insurance. If it
fails inspection, you have a month to make the necessary repairs. If you get the
repairs done by an approved mechanic, he can certify the reinspection.

If you're not buying a car, you don't need insurance. The insurance is carried by the
owner of the car, and covers all others who are allowed to drive the car, although if
they live in the same house as the owner they have to be declared at the time he
purchases the insurance. Insurance is very expensive in New Jersey, but this is not
discrimination, as everyone in the state suffers this.

I don't know why this appeared to be onerous to you. It was much more complicated for
me to get an Italian drivers license, and my US drivers license was worthless here. I
had to go through all the steps as if I were an Italian teenager who had never
learned to drive. The entire process took about six months, whereas most people I've
known who got a NJ license had it within a week or two.

Barbara

spatel <[email protected]>
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You're kidding right? A UK license should entitle you to more tests, not less. You
are now driving on the opposite side of the road. All the instincts you acquired from
driving in the UK now work against your driving in the US.

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Yes, the process is designed to discriminate against bad drivers.

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and you need to be prepared to pay the most outrageously high auto insurance premiums
in the country. if it's possible to live in another state and work in NJ, it may be
well worth your while to live elsewhere because it will cost so much less for
insurance.

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i didn't have any trouble adapting to driving on the other side in the UK, so he
shouldn't have much trouble driving here. he just has to remember to look in the
opposite direction for oncoming traffic.

and FYI, the british driving test is notorious for being the hardest and most
exacting driver test in the world. too bad we don't weed 'em out here like
they do there!

[usenetquote2]>> However, to register and insure a car, you need a valid NJ address, and a New[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> Jersey drivers license.[/usenetquote2]
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this is just not true, try insuring a car in brooklyn ny and compare those rates to
NJ rates. NJ is an urban state with urban problems and prices

[usenetquote2]>> However, to register and insure a car, you need a valid NJ address, and a New[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> Jersey drivers license.[/usenetquote2]
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For information about being licensed to drive and many other aspects of living in New
Jersey, I suggest the original poster take a look at NJ's official web site at
http://www.state.nj.us/

As far as auto insurance cost is concerned, on a state-by-state comparison, NJ is
tops. This is also true (or close to it) for real estate taxes. NJ is not a cheap
state in which to live. I know, because I live here, although I am considering moving
to PA. Auto insurance rates are not only high now in NJ, but most auto insurance
companies that do business here are seeking authorization from NJ's government for
substantial rate increases.

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Not when I converted my Illinois license to CA. I think I had to do the written test
but I did not have a driving test.

Can't speak for German licenses.

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Price is based on amount of liability as well as deductible on collision.

To understand your price one would need to know the figures.

[ snipped ]

--
Binyamin Dissen <[email protected]> http://www.dissensoftware.com

On Sat, 29 Dec 2001 00:22:55 +0000 (UTC) Elke Moritz

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[usenetquote2]: :>For a Mississippi Drivers License you need a Visa, social security number, your[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]: :>lease, passport and a copy of your birth certificate. Since I had a German[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]: :>drivers license, I only had to do the written test. In California everybody has[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]: :>to do the driving test.[/usenetquote2]
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right. There are just so damn many people here we don't have the time to road test
everyone. Newbies HAVE to be tested, and I expect the law may different for people
coming from out of country.

Karen

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unfortunately, price is also based on your credit rating, even though it may have
nothing to do with your driving record or the car itself.

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Sadly, the lower ones credit rating, the less one needs liability insurance to
protect oneself. That is why most of us have to pay for uninsured motorists.

--
Binyamin Dissen <[email protected]> http://www.dissensoftware.com

[SNIP]
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But they don't test for parallel parking, and once you have your licence, they don't
test your eyesight again as some US states do. In the UK we've got some drivers who
are legally blind!
--
Doug Weller member of moderation panel sci.archaeology.moderated Submissions
to: [email protected] Doug's Archaeology Site:
http://www.ramtops.demon.co.uk Co-owner UK-Schools mailing list: email me
for details

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Why? You shouldn't automatically expect another state's driving licence to be ok when
you move to a new state, let alone another country's. Some states will give
exemptions, some not.

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Um, getting car insurance is discriminating. Your age, sex, previous driving history,
etc. is all taken into account.

This should help:
http://www.state.nj.us/transportatio...es/121401a.htm MVS Amends New
Rules For Permanent Resident Aliens

In order to reduce backups at regional offices, Motor Vehicle Services will allow
foreign nationals with permanent resident status to go to any MVS agency to apply for
or renew driver licenses.

“About half of the foreign nationals coming to us for driver licenses have permanent
‘green card’ status,� acting Motor Vehicle Services Lino F. Pereira said. “These
people qualify for permanent licenses.�

In making the announcement today, Pereira said that since MVS recently changed its
procedures for foreign nationals, an average of 325 people a day have presented
documents issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Since Nov. 19,
applicants presenting INS documents have been routed to the four MVS regional
Services Centers.

The Regional Service Centers are in Wayne, Eatontown, Trenton and West Deptford.

Those applicants who have been granted permanent status in the United States (holding
a “green card�) or are waiting to receive their permanent status (have an I-551 stamp
in their passport), can go to any of the 45 motor vehicle agencies to apply for a
driver license or non-driver identification.

Pereira said that the three changes initiated on Nov. 19 still apply.

1) Anyone from a foreign country whose Immigration and Naturalization Service visa
status allows them in this country for less than a year must use their license
from their home country for that period.

2) Licenses issued to people with non-permanent INS status will be marked with the
expiration date of that status and that date will be stored as the expiration date
of the driver license.

3) Anyone applying for a driver license and using an INS document – other than those
with permanent status as described above -- as proof of identity and legal status
in this country will be required to apply for their license at one of the four MVS
Regional Service Centers.

--
Doug Weller member of moderation panel sci.archaeology.moderated Submissions
to: [email protected] Doug's Archaeology Site:
http://www.ramtops.demon.co.uk Co-owner UK-Schools mailing list: email me
for details

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Can anyone cite any proof that auto insurance rates are tied to a customer's credit
rating. I admit that there's always something yet to be learned, but after being a
licensed motorist in the United States for some 25 years, I have never heard of
such a thing.