US License versus Provisional Licence

Hello all,

Even though I have my British licence already, there's something I'm very curious about.

If you arrive in the UK on your visa, and you apply for your provisional licence within a year's time, does being classified as a learner driver usurp your right to continue to drive alone on your American license?

Does anybody know?

Laura

If you arrive in the UK on your visa, and you apply for your provisional licence within a year's time, does being classified as a learner driver usurp your right to continue to drive alone on your American license?

I reckon that that would only happen once your initial 12 months is up - until then you are free to drive on your US license.

The way I remember reading it was that once you applied for your provisional, all of the laws that usually go along with it applies to you. I also watched some sort of cop show here once where the police pulled over a guy from some other country (I can't remember which, but he wasn't American) and the cop told the guy that the provisional license overrode his license from the other country so he was driving illegally.

I'm sure most people still drive on their American license after they get their provisional though. I did. I'd imagine the police wouldn't enforce that much. And if you gave them your US license I suppose they'd only find out you had a provisional if they were going to issue you a fine for something else or they actually did a check to see if you had your UK license.

Who knows with the DVLA, but if stopped and I still was under the year on my US drivers license, I would simply show that to the cop and not mention my provisional.  I will admit to pulling the "stupid American" when it works to my advantage.

Needless to say, it didn't work in the Paris Metro when I was out of zone, but then again, my British co-worker insisted I didn't need a carnet for the zone because "no one ever checks".  The bastard didn't even have money on him for the on the spot fine that levied on the both of us.  I had to pay the whole damn thing and then run around Grand Arche trying to find a cash machine that took me card!

No, If you read the DVLA web site about people driving with a forgein lisense, it states that the rules about driving alone and displaying L plates do NOT apply to you. You are free to drive with your US lisense, along with your provisionals for up the the 12 months with no problems. There is another long thread somewhere about it, but it is perfectly fine to drive by yourself, even after getting provisionals, as long as you have your US lisense (and have been insured on your US lisense of course).
look at this link on the second page, in the top right hand column. It is very clear that you do NOT have to display your L plates. http://www.dvla.gov.uk/media/pdf/leaflets/inf90.pdf
I hope this helps! I am going through the same stuff now... going to apply for my provisionals on Tuesday (have been driving a few times already!)

That's my interpretation of the rules too.   Your U.S. license allows you to drive for up to 12 months under the same conditions as a U.K. "full" license holder, even if you also hold a U.K. provisional at the same time. 

Got my provisional Friday. Got my passport back the day before, in the registered envelope I sent for them to send it back in. Started driving lessons today (for an automatic car only). The instructor thinks I'll probably need about 20 hours worth. I don't think that's too bad, though that's going to add up to a wad of cash!

Thanks all who answed. I've had my British licence for over a year now, but I have been driving in the UK since 2002.

I wanted to know out of my own curiousity. Sometimes it's easy to sit back fat and happy and think about what could have happened.

L