should i get a license or not?

hi all,
i plan to be in the UK for about two years and i plan to get a car so i can get to and from work more easily. Do you think i should just drive with my american license or should i go ahead and get the brisith license? I started taking a few lessons just to get used to the road system here but i am not sure if it is worth the trouble of going through the test and all (from what i heard, it sounds scary and difficult). i would like to hear what you guys have to say...thanks!

If I'm not mistaken, you can only drive on your American license for the first 12 months of residency here. After that you are going to have to get a UK license.

You can drive on your USA license (provided it remains valid) for a year once you become UK resident. After that you should have a UK license; if you continue to drive on your USA license you're technically breaking the law and could be in trouble if stopped, and if you have an accident you would probably find that you were uninsured.

Have a look at http://www.talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=3192.15 where there's a further discussion - it's hidden on the end of a thread on a different topic 

i thought you can get out of the country and get back in and that will count as another 12 months, is that not true?

I think it probably hinges on the definition of "resident" .... and I would be very suprised if a day trip to France meant that your residency ended and started again.   If you left the country, shipped your possesions out, had all your post forwarded elsewhere, sold your house or gave up your rented place .... then came back and set up all again, then I'm sure you would get another 12 months on the US license.  In between - I don't know where the line is drawn;  you could have a look at the link I left in that other thread to the DVLA site and email them to ask.   And, yes, some people do take the risk of driving for longer than a year on a USA license and get away with it. But - be warned of the consequences if you do, especially if you get stopped or have to make an insurance claim and so I can't recommend this course of action 

If you're here on a work visa, the period covered by that visa is your period of residency.  You CAN'T leave the country and come back and start all over.  I've got a spousal visa (but no ILR), so mine is good until October 2005.  That means my period of residency ENDS  in October 2005, no matter how many visits I make to another country.  The only way to break residency and establish a new one is to actually MOVE to another country, which I assume you won't be doing!   

My thoughts go along those expressed by Graham and Lola.  Residency is residency...you either live here or you don't. 

Ditto here. In a previous post my husband explained that on the insurance front if you find a company that will insure you on a US license beyond the scope of the 12 months then they will have to pay if you cause an accident simply because it was their mistake in insuring you to begin with.  This does not however negate the illegality of driving after the 12 month residency period. 

I mean to be honest I do not understand why someone would not want to get a legal drivers license.  If you don't it's a rish you take. I just hope that you are able to get insurance and that if you get into any legal trouble with your car that they are nice to you being an illegally driving around the UK.

Think about it this way.  You get a student visa for a year.  You leave the Uk to France for a weekend and them come back in for 6 months then you leave again and come back in a week from say a trip to Spain.  This violates the law.  How different is it to leave the UK for the sole purpose of evading the law and avoiding getting a legal license?

if i go and get a brit license, do i have to trade in my US license?

No, you don't turn it in here. keep it updated for when you are back living in the US again. Most states let you renew it online nowadays,, I would definately not let it expire. 

One thing,, the standard UK driver test is for a standard shift car. If you are driving an automatic, and are not staying longer than two years,, I would just arrange to take the test in automatic, altho, then you legally can only drive automatic over here if you are alone in the car.  It wouldn't hurt to take a few lessons with an instructor, to help you get ready for the test. 

A student visa is not considered "ordinary residence" for driver's license purposes.  At least that's how it was explained to me.  If you have a student visa, that is considered an "extended visit" or "temporary residence."  Student visas are generally issued for one year at a time, and my understanding is that because it is NOT ordinary residence, each 12-month student visa entitles you to a year's permission to drive on your US license with no requirement to get a UK one.  However, a work permit or a settlement visa IS considered ordinary residence and the 12-month clock starts ticking as soon as the visa is issued (even if you don't actually move to the UK for several months after getting it).  OBTW, I believe that you cannot even apply to take the test until you have been an ordinary resident for six months.

This is my best understanding of the legality of the situation.  However, in practice, many UK insurers will not touch a foreigner who has been here more than 12 months, if they do not have a British license.  It's a bit of a catch-22.

A student visa is not considered "ordinary residence" for driver's license purposes.  At least that's how it was explained to me.  If you have a student visa, that is considered an "extended visit" or "temporary residence."  Student visas are generally issued for one year at a time, and my understanding is that because it is NOT ordinary residence, each 12-month student visa entitles you to a year's permission to drive on your US license with no requirement to get a UK one.  However, a work permit or a settlement visa IS considered ordinary residence and the 12-month clock starts ticking as soon as the visa is issued (even if you don't actually move to the UK for several months after getting it).

That is interesting - VERY interesting.  I have been wondering why there seem to be two different views as to what the rules are!!

I've been to the DVLA site and picked out the following, all relating to holders or licenses from non-EU and non-designated countries.  In other words - this includes anyone who wants to drive on their USA license.

Visitors

You may drive vehicles up to 7.5 tonnes and with up to 16 passenger seats, provided your full licence or driving permit remains valid for up to 12 months from the date of entering United Kingdom.

Residents

Provided your full licence remains valid, you can drive any category of small vehicle shown on your licence for up to 12 months from the time you became resident.  To ensure continuous driving entitlement a provisional GB licence must have been obtained and a driving test(s) passed before the 12 month period elapses. If you obtain a provisional licence during this period, you are not subject to provisional licence conditions e.g. displaying `L' plates or being supervised by a qualified driver or being precluded from motorways.

However, if you do not pass a test within the 12 month concessionary period you will not be allowed to drive as a full licence holder and provisional licence conditions will apply.

If you do not apply for a provisional licence within the first 12 months you must stop driving and obtain a British provisional licence with a view to passing a driving test. Provisional licence conditions will then apply.

Students

Students who hold a non-Community licence or an International Driving Permit may drive here for up to 12 months.

They will be able to take a test and obtain a full licence once they have been in GB for 6 months.

This does confirm your six month comment, and it does confirm that the DVLA consider students to be a class on their own.  It doesn't confirm (or deny) that a fresh student Visa means a fresh start.  Many thanks for the input, Tholian8 - can  anyone else add any more nuggets to help clarify this?

P.S.  I have only quoted the stuff for car drivers ... If you're looking to drive a truck as part of your work, or a bus .... the rules differ. I don;'t think many of you are bus drivers here, are you 

thanks for all the info! I am here on a work visa, but since my contract is a yearly basis, i get issued my work permit one year at a time. I guess i should just go ahead and get the driving test done and over with. I think i will go for the automatic at first, since i am pretty sure that is what i want to buy anyway, i think i can always get another test at the stick shift, right?

That is my plan webgrrl... to get the automatic first.... since I can barely drive a stick at the moment.  I really do not want to either, but I want to learn just in case I ever need too. 

VNP, I have got to organize taking the test in automatic soon. It will be a year in July that I passed the theory and hazard.    Shall I just wait for you to take it with me? LOL