thanks southcoast - i've got the book ,and have been diligently learning my stopping distances (odd that they don't seem to have changed much since I first learned them 20-odd years ago.....so much for ABS!!) Was hoping they wouldn't get into the facts and figures on alcohol or ways to lose your licence as there are pages and pages on it...oh well going for the test tomorrow, so see how we fare!
thanks again

Took the written and driving tests today. "Written" one was computerised, with answers input via touchscreen, and it gave you a running tally as you went along so you knew if you had passed or failed. All pretty impressive really. Had to answer 23 questions which seemed odd, but ours not to reason why. Most were on speed limits and road signs, a couple of common sense ones thrown in, and then a couple on fines for DWI etc. Passed that, then had a driving test which took 6 minutes, covered approx three-quarters of a mile, consisted of three left turns, two right turns, and parallel parking, and if I'd been driving a manual, I doubt I'd have got out of second! All a bit farcical really, but I've got the licence now, so no complaints!

The international drivers permit is useless once you are a resident in the USA, i tried every way around the system but at the end of the day if you are a perm resident in the USA you need a state drivers license and in most states insurance too.

NOTE: not all insurance covers foreign drivers (found that out too)

Jan

Congrats on your TEXAS license...

Like I said, the test is a joke. What scares me the most, after a person passes the driving test in Dallas (like you said 6 min drive around the block)
that person can now get straight onto a highway and drive at 60-70 mph.

So the DPS wonders why there are so many wrecks?

Not only that, but there were 6 of us taking the test at the same time - all bar one were foreigners with foreign licences . We all got our results at the same time, and I was the only one that passed. Yet everyone got into their cars and drove home on their own. Huh?

.. the other painful thing is insurance. The US insurers take no account of any good driving record you may (or may not) have in the UK so you
start at square one as if you were 17 and had just passed a test.

Insurance- yeah, we found the same ref no credit for recent driving history (I've got documentation for 21 years no claims!!), but we spent a lot of time phoning round and eventually got someone who would look at the letters we had from previous insurers - maybe didn't get full credit, but managed to get the premiums down by about 30% which is better than nothing. still pricey though!

Yorkie,

You are at a big diss-advantage, because you have only just passed the driving test, that is a big black mark against you ( I had this problem).

I think most insurance companys give much better deals for someone that has had a license for more than 2-3 years.

My wife and I, has just changed ins company, to Eastwood Insurance.
we paid $300 down and $168 a month for a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant.

I was thinking about a cheap little run-about (ford focus), but they wanted $400 down and $280 a month, WAY to much for a pokey little car, so for now we are going to share a car for now.

Tell me about it! We've got a new Honda Pilot, and most of the quotes were around $1000 - for six months!! But the company we have gone with cut us a deal (maybe because the rest of my wifes family insure thru them as well) and we have 6 months at $630, after which they will reassess taking into account the longer no claims record, if we don't have a claim in this first period. So it could be worse, although we still have to get over the 6 month renewal problem, but at least we're now building up a local history.

I am with Mercury Casualty and they took account of my British no-claims letter and gave me a discount for being an engineer too. I asked who else got discounts, "just engineers". May have changed since April 1998 though.

Those quotes are outrageous!!

Are they fully comp? Can you get just 3rd Party F&T? If so I think I'll just buy a cheap run around if we move there.

Mark

Marky B - yes, they're the equivalent of fully comp - not sure what they call it here, or whether you can get equivalent of 3rd party Fire and theft - we've got a brand new car, so wanted it fully covered anyway. We thought about getting a cheapo runaround for a while, but we have a 17month old boy, and a new baby on the way in January, so decided to go for something we knew (fingers crossed) would be reliable. We seem to be hitting a lot of miles at the moment - over a thousand in 2 weeks, and that doesn't include any commuting to work! If you go to edmunds.com there is a link to an online insurer that gives you an instant quote, and how it is broken down - you can fiddle with the levels of cover to reduce your costs. Only problem was it wasn't flexible enough to cover for foreign arrivals with a good driving history, but at least it gives you an idea of how they are thinking.

.... and stop, completely stationary, at STOP signs. They are everywhere here, where a Give Way (Yield) sign would be adequate, but failing to stop is grounds for the police to hand out a ticket, and hand them out they do, in large numbers. :(

Like the UK, it depends where you live, large cities are much more expensive then rural areas. I'd guess that Boise should be relatively cheap. For us Geico gave the best quote, living in New York, (just outside the city), but since we've moved to Virginia we are paying less for our car and a truck than we were just for the car in New York.

Even if you think that insurance is expensive, remember that the price of cars is very low, and gas is also cheap, currently about £1 for an imperial (UK) gallon of regular, which is what most cars take.

If you want a good deal on a car, on credit terms (remember as a new immigrant you have no credit history so the banks and car dealers won't want to give you credit) then I strongly recommend Autosource on 516-496-1816.

They specialise in selling new cars (Ford, GM, and Chrysler only) at dealer prices and standard credit terms (very low rates) to new immigrants to the US.

However you must commit, and pay a deposit, before you arrive in the US. For example, last year I bought a Mustang GT for (at current exchange rates) less than £17,000 on 0% credit over three years, and you will need to give details of your (US) income, e.g you'll need a job.

Pulaski

You were right about Boise. I've spoken to a broker that a realtor I'm talking to recommended. They quoted approximately $800 a year for a Ford Explorer and about $620 a year for a Ford Focus. These are obviously guesstimates but are nonetheless a bit easier on the pocket than the figures that have been talked about above.