Driver's license - did you wait over a year?

I know that I can use my U.S. driver's license in the UK for one year to learn to drive. After that, if I still don't have my UK license, I would need someone in the car with me who has been driving at least 3 years (and we don't have anyone like that). Meaning it sounds a heck of a lot easier to practice driving while I've still got my one-year grace period.

However, we haven't decided if we really need a car. We've gotten by fine without one for the past six months. BUT that's mainly because I don't have a job yet. I have knee problems, and walking to a bus stop and then from the stop to my workplace is more walking than I can handle. I imagine I could take redi-bus, or, if the job paid well and was within a couple of miles from here, I could take cabs. We just don't know what my needs will be when I start working.

I don't think we really need a car at the moment and sure don't need extra expenses, but if we wait I'm afraid it will be much harder to get in the practice I need to get a driver's license (FYI, I've been driving for 20 years in the U.S., but I'm not an aggressive driver and I'm afraid of roundabouts!). Anyone have experience trying to get a license (and driving practice) after they'd been here longer than a year?

Some people here still learn to drive even if they aren't planning on owning a car in the near future because it's easier to get it over and done with early rather than trying to learn later in life. It's also a lot easier to learn to drive at 17, when all their friends are learning and they don't have a career/family to juggle and take up their time and money.

The drawback, of course is that they don't have a car to practice in, but they are learning from scratch, whereas you have been driving in the US for years. You might need more lesson time in order to keep up with practice, but I think that it's worth getting your UK license within the first year. Even if you don't have a car for a while, it will save a lot of hassle in the future if/when you do get one or if you need to use your licence for anything else (i.e. on application forms - 'a full UK drivers license', etc.).

The drawback, of course is that they don't have a car to practice in, but they are learning from scratch, whereas you have been driving in the US for years. You might need more lesson time in order to keep up with practice, but I think that it's worth getting your UK license within the first year. Even if you don't have a car for a while, it will save a lot of hassle in the future if/when you do get one or if you need to use your licence for anything else (i.e. on application forms - 'a full UK drivers license', etc.).

But how to practice driving without a car? There's no one we can ask to use theirs,and we could maybe practice for a weekend on a rental car, but it would be too expensive to do it longer than that.

But how to practice driving without a car? There's no one we can ask to use theirs,and we could maybe practice for a weekend on a rental car, but it would be too expensive to do it longer than that.

Sorry, what I meant was that your 'practice' would have to be your driving lesson time - that's assuming you'd take a few lessons before taking the test, which I would recommend because the test is difficult to pass. You have to carry out certain manoeuvres in the car which need to be exact and precise (i.e. when reversing round a corner you have to reverse at a certain speed, check your mirrors at particular points and stay a certain number of inches from the curb during the manouevre) and they can fail you if you get them wrong.

You can also fail for not checking your mirrors often enough, driving too fast, driving too slow, not indicating properly before turning, not being in the correct position in the road for turning, steering too early or too late, not turning off your indicator at the right time after turning a corner, etc. etc..

My brother failed the test because he slowed down to let a cyclist pass through a narrow point in the road before driving through himself. The examiner said he should have gone through at the same time as the cyclist, so he failed him!

Definitely take lessons with an instructor before taking the test whether you still have your US license or not, particularly if roundabouts are not your thing. You will need to know how to do them correctly.

My brother failed the test because he slowed down to let a cyclist pass through a narrow point in the road before driving through himself. The examiner said he should have gone through at the same time as the cyclist, so he failed him!

Say what?!   That's ridiculous.   Even the Highway Code (not legally binding, but the accepted standard which is supposedly used) says:

139: Overtake only when it is safe to do so. You should

{...}

    * give motorcyclists, cyclists and horse riders at least as much room as you would a car when overtaking

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/15.htm#139

Say what?!   That's ridiculous.   Even the Highway Code (not legally binding, but the accepted standard which is supposedly used) says:

http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/15.htm#139

I know - it was crazy!!

I think there was a crossing platform with bollard in the middle of the road, so he didn't have much room - but apparently, it would have been safe to go through at the same time anyway.

As much as the DVLA deny it, I'm positive that they have a quota on the number of people they can pass in a day, because the reason he failed was so stupid.

It took both me and my brother several months of lessons and 3 attempts each to pass the test.

As much as the DVLA deny it, I'm positive that they have a quota on the number of people they can pass in a day, because the reason he failed was so stupid.

It took both me and my brother several months of lessons and 3 attempts each to pass the test.

Holy cow! That's just ridiculous! And I imagine you have to pay a fee for each test (not to mention the driving lessons)? Makes you wonder if the test is intentionally hard so they can make more money (Not that the gov. cares about the cost of driving lessons, but the rest they get).

My driving test in the U.S. was in a small Southern town (20 years ago) and there was nothing to it. I had to parallel park on a roadside -- with no other cars there! I just pulled into the spot. Oh, I still failed the first try because I messed up the three-point turn (I had only rarely driven a car, as I didn't have one and my parents weren't encouraging me to drive theirs as they didn't want their insurance to go up). I'm a much better driver now, but still nervous!

My driving lessons plus 3 tests and 3 extra pre-test lessons cost me over £1000 when I learned to drive. It took from June '00 - August '01 for me to get my license. I had approximately 40-50 lessons (of 2 hours each) at £28 per lesson!!

Each test (plus pre-test lesson) cost £70 (that was 6 years ago) and in my area, there was a 2-3 month waiting list for the test bookings. I took my first test in April, my second in June and my third and final one in August!!

And I imagine you have to pay a fee for each test

Of course.  And now it's hazard test, written test, and practical test there are multiple fees.

(Not that the gov. cares about the cost of driving lessons, but the rest they get).

Well, more driving lessons equals more VAT collected by the government (assuming a VAT-registered driving school).

I can't even remember how much the test fee was when I took the test 24 years ago, but it was a single fee and a single test appointment, everything done together, no written test, no hazard test.

My driving lessons plus 3 tests and 3 extra pre-test lessons cost me over £1000 when I learned to drive. It took from June 01 - August 02 for me to get my license. I had approximately 40-50 lessons (of 2 hours each) at £28 per lesson!!

Each test (plus pre-test lesson) cost £70 (that was 6 years ago) and in my area, there was a 2-3 month waiting list for the test bookings. I took my first test in April, my second in June and my third and final one in August!!

That's even more than I imagined. Maybe the difficulty is all part of the theme of encouraging people to use public transport. I don't know, but it's off-putting!

That's even more than I imagined. Maybe the difficulty is all part of the theme of encouraging people to use public transport. I don't know, but it's off-putting!

I think that's probably the exception to the rule, groovy-yank. I doubt most people spend anywhere near that amount. I know I didn't. I had about 6 lessons (at £20 a go), then one test which I passed the first time.

I wonder if there are statistics anywhere on how many people pass the first time, how many need two tries, three tries, etc. Anyone?

Well, the good news is that since you've already been driving for several years in the US, you shouldn't need too many lessons to prepare for the test. You'll just need lessons to get used to driving on the left, learn the manouevres for the test and also learn what to do/not to do while driving in order to pass (i.e. you can't cross your hands over each other when turning a corner).

You're probably right, chary - I was starting from scratch at age 17 and was a very cautious/nervous driver at first. Some people do manage to pass first time/within only 2-6 months of starting lessons, but for me, it took much longer and I didn't do anything to try to speed up the process, which I could have done if I tried to.

The low pass rate could have something to do with public transport, although the increasing costs of taking the bus and train are counteracting it - it cost me £7 for a return bus ticket into town yesterday (my car was in for it's MOT). Had I driven instead, it would have cost me only £4 in petrol!

I also think that the DVLA are trying to reduce the number of reckless new drivers on the roads - I know of a couple of kids who have been in accidents and written off their cars within a few weeks of passing the test. One boy died in a car accident on his first time out in the car, just a few hours after getting his license.

I've just had a look online - apparently the national first time pass rate is 1 in 4 and the average national pass rate in general is 43%.

On the same site (it's a driving school website), their normal lesson rate is £19 per hour and £20 per hour after 6pm/weekends (I paid £14 per hour in 2000).

The current average time needed for new first-time drivers is 45 hours of lessons and 22 hours of outside practice and it's recommended they have 2-hour lessons in order to take in more information from the instructor.

Never had a lesson, passed first time in three different countries at 16, 21 & 39.

Me thinks people get affected by all the hype and worry. If you can drive, read a manual and be relaxed, you should be ok. They are a wee bit more pedantic than in the states but the number of crap drivers on the road, I'd say the test is very do-able.

But everybody is different.