Peter L

Pulaski <[email protected]>
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Swtiching from right handed drive to left handed drive is not that easy. I guess you
have experience in that. I have experience in the opposite switch, and I can tell you
that he'll need the luck, unless he can spend at least a couple of days to a week
practicing.

licrimlawyer

[usenetquote2]>> > Hi.. I have just relocated to the USA (florida) and want to obtain a US[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> > Driving licence. Someone told me that it was better to apply for one within[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> > 30 days of arrival. Is this true, and if it is, why??? Any help is much[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> > appreciated.[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>>[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>>[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>>[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> So long as you can get an appointment for the road test (look for a test centre in[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> a rural area if there is a long wait where you live) you should have no problem[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> getting a licence within 30 days. The tests here are embarassing. I spent 7[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> minutes drving round a housing estate where the speed limits were 15 or 25 mph,[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> did a three point turn, a parallel park, a left turn onto a main road (three[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> hundred yards at 35 mph, and Bob's your uncle! That was in New York, and I hear[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> the test is easier in Florida.[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>>[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> I'd wish you good luck, but you won't need it![/usenetquote2]
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May I respectfully disagree. I drove a rental car in Ireland in November. I had had
previous experience driving a standard shift, albeit that was over twenty years ago.
Nevertheless, my biggest problem was "automatically" trying to use my right hand to
shift. (I guess "muscle memory" lasts for a long time.) My second biggest problem was
looking up and to the right for the rear view mirror and seeing open sky. (The
driver's side here is the passenger side there and vice versa.) But, driving on the
other side of the road took all of five minutes to get used to.

Other people with whom I have spoken say basically the same thing. As a matter of
fact, while in Ireland, I spent some time with distant relatives whom I had never
met before. We spoke about the difficulty, or lack thereof, in driving on different
sides of the road when one is used to one or the other. All agreed that it was not
really a problem.

After all that, I got used to driving on the left side and had to fly home. Really
hated turning the car in at Shannon Airport.

John

Evelyn C. Leeper

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[usenetquote2]> >Pulaski <[email protected]>[/usenetquote2]
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[usenetquote2]> >Swtiching from right handed drive to left handed drive is not that easy. I guess[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> >you have experience in that. I have experience in the opposite switch, and I can[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> >tell you that he'll need the luck, unless he can spend at least a couple of days[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]> >to a week practicing.[/usenetquote2]
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The one big problem I would have had would be parallel parking. Luckily, I never had
to parallel-park a rental car in the UK, Ireland, or Australia.

--
Evelyn C. Leeper http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper "Behold, this was the iniquity
of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her
and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy."
--Ezekiel 16:49

Pulaski

Looks like you have just confirmed what we
Brits think about American drivers! Joking apart, I think that most of the problem is psychological - switching sides is as hard as you think that it will be.

Marcus Holmes

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Wow! You had to parallel park? How extensive!

I made a couple right turns, a couple left turns, a "K" turn and that was that.

Marcus

Doug Weller

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Not every country requires parallel parking as part of their test. The UK doesn't,
and anyone who hasn't done it before would do well to practice it first.

I always found the hard part making sure I was looking in the right mirror at the
right time, not the maneuvering.

Doug
--
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

Pulaski

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Doug Weller
Not every country requires parallel parking as part of their test. The UK doesn't, ....

Not sure where you got your info Doug, but the UK does require a parallel park - it was introduced in the early-mid '90's.

Doug Weller

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Ah, haven't checked recently, glad to hear that. My test was a bit longer ago
than that!

Doug
--
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

Miguel Cruz

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[usenetquote2]>> When I re-located from Alberta to BC, if I hadn't obtained a BC license within 30[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> days, I would have had to take a new driving test, both written and oral. This is[/usenetquote2]
[usenetquote2]>> another good reason to apply asap. JOHN[/usenetquote2]
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I moved from NY to DC and only got a DC license after 3 years. I was not required to
take any sort of tests other than a very quick eye exam.

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Miguel Cruz

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Isn't Maine the state where you can't buy alcohol without one of their state ID
cards?

miguel
--
Hit The Road! Photos and tales from around the world: http://travel.u.nu

Matt Conrad

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I believe so. Some stores there have signs saying "Maine ID only," and I recall
reading something to that effect in their alcohol laws. Pretty dumb law for a state
with a lot of tourism, huh?

I'm told that Massachusetts has a similar law, but in practice, I've never had
trouble using an out-of-state ID in Massachusetts.

Matt