rogerpenycate

Hi,
I've searched around trying to find a thread, but no luck.


I'm going back to the UK in June, for the first time since I've been here, 14 years ago.
Just wondering if my US drivers license is enough to hire and drive a car in the UK ?


Thanks for any advice


Roger

Pulaski

Absolutely OK, no problem at all. ..... In fact it's even better than a British licence, because you can't get points on it!

Aside from the fact that if you still have your UK licence its validity is questionable, I wouldn't use my UK licence anyway, and always rent in the UK with my US license, which is accepted without the bat of an eyelid. You may have to sign a special disclosure though if you hire a manual, because they're used to Americans not being able to drive a car with manual transmission.

rogerpenycate

Crikey Pulaski, there's a name from my past !!
Well done, for continuing to help ex-pats for all these years.
I think I'm near you, I've been in Richmond, VA for 8 years
Thanks for your help


Roger

Pulaski

You're welcome, .... and welcome back.

I don't recall ever seeing anyone come back from the dead after such a long time as you.

You're not too far from me, but I am a few hours drive south of you, beyond the Dismal Swamp.

Rete

Hey Rog ... nice to see you here. How's Ida ... give her my best and sorry to have missed you on your last trip north. Will be heading much further south of you in a few months. Gotta join that old probate in his digs in Mississippi. Need to keep him on the straight and narrow.

mrken30

The only difference I found was the insurance coverage is slightly different when using UK or US drivers license. I used budget last year with my US license without a problem. I booked through 121carhire.co.uk and got a great deal.

MidAtlantic

Would you care to explain what you mean?

Pulaski

Use a US credit card and your CDW is covered, saving you a good bit on the cost of rental. The terms for Amex, Visa, and MasterCard vary, with Amex providing the best coverage, and MasterCard the poorest, but all are sufficient. I know that Visa's web site even has a leaflet that you can print out to show the rental company if they push back on you declining the CDW coverage.

MidAtlantic

Got that! mrken30 is saying that which driver license you use makes a difference. Do you know anything about that?

Anian

Weirdly, I got a better car rental deal booking in US$ on Enterprise.com than I did in UKP on the UK version of the site, tax included. It also presented me with a few slightly different options.

Pulaski

No, but I have never tried to use my UK license since I left the UK.

durham_lad

I've rented cars in the UK many times using my US licence and never seen a difference to insurance. Last time I was there I declined the extra insurance payment to reduce the accident deductible from £700 to zero, relying on my VISA credit card coverage as mentioned above.

MidAtlantic

That's exactly what I do, and plan to do again when I go in September.

rpjs

My brother, also an ex-pat, got pulled for speeding on the M6 last year. He showed his CA license.

"Hmm, you know there's not much we can do with you sir, don't you?"

"Yes"

"[sigh] Well try to keep it under 80 then."

Pulaski

I have wondered how that sort of conversation might go for me, because my accent hasn't changed, in fact since I was about eight years old, so having someone who is "obviously British" presenting a US license might cause eyebrows to be raised.