The few, the brave - those of us taking driving lessons right now!

Actually, both my DI's said it was for safety...

And my DH, who was VERY insistent that it was the only way to safely stop at a light.  In the "highway code" book it states that one reason is so you won't blind other drivers with your brake lights, but my husband said it was also because it's not "attention dependent" (for example, if I start talking to him and take my foot off the brake, it won't be a disaster!). When I learned to drive in the US, though, I remember being taught that it was important to use your brake lights as they warn other drivers coming up that you are stopped/slowing down.

Although, I must say I giggled at the section on what to do when there are sheep in the road and the different types of pedestrian crossings! (I now go by and say "that's a pelican" or "that's a puffin" when I walk by. I'm lame.  )

a)  do I focus on the written test first, then start driving?

You can do both at the same time.  You'll be able to sit for the written test most likely a lot sooner than for the practical (driving) test, and the written test is good for up to 2 years (before you'd have to take it again if you didn't pass the practical in that time).

b)  how soon should I purchase a car? 

Well if you have the money, having your own car will enable you to practice a lot more!  You can only drive on your US licence here for one year from the time you took up residency.  After that, before you have the full UK licence, you will need an experienced UK driver (who has had their licence for at least 3 years) to accompany you in the car & you'll need to put the learner plates/magnets on the car when you drive it.

c)  will the driving instructor teach me how to drive a manual transmission too? 

You will probably need to choose if you are going to learn on a manual, or on an automatic.  Bear in mind that you will not be able to drive a manual car here if you only have an automatic licence.  However, having the manual licence allows you to drive either manual or automatic cars.

d)  what else do I need to consider?

Given your time frames, I'd get started if I were you - just to make sure you have your licence by February - and particularly, if you're going for the manual licence & have never driven a manual before.  I don't understand what you mean that your provisional expires in Sept?  Provisional UK licences are good for 10 years, IIRC.  Or do you mean end of Sept marks when you'll no longer be able to drive on your US license?

Or do you mean end of Sept marks when you'll no longer be able to drive on your US license?

Yes, I was using the wrong term for my US license.

Thanks Mrs. R.  I guess I need to jump on in.     I was rather enjoying my denial and procrastination stage.  The hazy distance is so much more pleasant...

Well you'll only be able to drive by yourself, in your own car, from now until the end of Sept - and then you'll have to have the experienced UK driver (as I defined already) with you to practice.  If it were me, I'd make the most of the time left for you to drive on the US licence.

I empathise with the procrastination thing - I put it off for 5 years, and was quite content to let DH do all the driving...but that's gotten old, for both of us.

But then - do you buy an automatic, or a manual - that is the question!

Everyone is different, with a different learning curve.  I started 'getting on it' in late March, with the hopes of having my full licence by mid-May.  I have driven a manual before in the US.  I passed my written exam at the beginning of May, and I'm still taking driving lessons - not yet feeling confident for taking the practical test.  (I'm getting a manual licence because we have a manual car.)

I need to start making moves towards getting my UK license.  I have gotten a job where I will need to drive people carriers  (I guess about 15 people), starting in February.

I would second getting started right away.  I got an automatic license, but think you will need a manual license for your job.  You can start lessons before getting your own car if you want to take advantage of this time before your American license expires, because you can use the instructor's car for your lessons.

Well done for taking on driving as part of your job!  I'm way too much of a fraidy cat!

Actually, both my DI's said it was for safety...if someone rearends you while you're stopped, it's a natural reflex for you to take your foot off the brake.  So if the hand brake's on you don't drive forward.

On most vehicles though, the parking brake is not going to stop you being shunted forward if hit fairly forcibly from behind anyway, unless you pull it on very hard each time.

When I learned to drive in the US, though, I remember being taught that it was important to use your brake lights as they warn other drivers coming up that you are stopped/slowing down.

A valid point if you are the first car stopped at the light when others are approaching from behind. 

Swings & roundabouts.....

There is absolutely no requirement to do so for the test.  It's just that the majority of ADIs in Britain seem to have a fixation with this as being the "best" method for novice drivers to keep the car under full control, and seem unwilling to acknowledge that any other technique is acceptable.

This is a good point.  When I was taking lessons in preparation for the test, I was much more focussed on how to drive in order to pass the test, so I used the parking brake at red lights, even though I haven't since I passed the test because I'm confident in my ability to control the car without it. 

My guess is that when it comes to driving techniques, most people who have a lot of driving experience just need to learn the "UK way" of doing things and demonstrate them for the test.  The system isn't well designed for people with driving experience, but then again I'd imagine the majority of people going through the process are beginners.

Carl

My guess is that when it comes to driving techniques, most people who have a lot of driving experience just need to learn the "UK way" of doing things and demonstrate them for the test. 

But the point is that some of these "U.K. ways" are not necessary for the test; they're just the way that ADIs think you should be driving.   

I have had recent confirmation from both current and retired DSA examiners, for example, that there is absolutely no requirement on the test to apply the parking brake at every stop, when shifting between 1st & reverse on the 3-point turn, etc.   The requirement is to maintain full control of the vehicle - How you do that is up to you.

But the point is that some of these "U.K. ways" are not necessary for the test; they're just the way that ADIs think you should be driving.   

I have had recent confirmation from both current and retired DSA examiners, for example, that there is absolutely no requirement on the test to apply the parking brake at every stop, when shifting between 1st & reverse on the 3-point turn, etc.   The requirement is to maintain full control of the vehicle - How you do that is up to you.

I agree with you, but if the goal is to pass the test, you're more likely to have success using the braking technique that is entrenched in the system as "the way it's done."  Based on my 2 years of dealing with bureaucracy in the UK, I'd say you'd have a much harder time trying to change the DSA examining system than you would learning to use a handbrake. 

I agree with you, but if the goal is to pass the test, you're more likely to have success using the braking technique that is entrenched in the system as "the way it's done."  Based on my 2 years of dealing with bureaucracy in the UK, I'd say you'd have a much harder time trying to change the DSA examining system than you would learning to use a handbrake. 

Very good point!

I agree with you, but if the goal is to pass the test, you're more likely to have success using the braking technique that is entrenched in the system as "the way it's done." 

I agree that trying to change any bureaucracy is harder than accommodating it until the task is out of the way, but the point here is that the system does not demand this method.  There is no provision to be marked down just because you don't apply the parking brake at every 2-second stop.   If the examiner tried to do so, he would not be following his own DSA rules.

And what if you happened to be taking the test in a vehicle where "the way it's done" is either impossible, or at best rather impractical due to the type of brake?

I agree that trying to change any bureaucracy is harder than accommodating it until the task is out of the way, but the point here is that the system does not demand this method.  There is no provision to be marked down just because you don't apply the parking brake at every 2-second stop.   If the examiner tried to do so, he would not be following his own DSA rules.

I'm not talking about the actual rules, I'm talking about what appears to be a widely-held misinterpretation of the rules.  If your goal is to pass the test, use the handbrake like "they" expect you to use the handbrake, pass the test, and go on about your life secure in the knowledge that you never have to use the handbrake again if you don't want to.  You are free.

If your goal is to affect change in the DSA, use the handbrake however you want to, and if you fail the test because of improper handbrake technique, lodge an appeal, take your case to the people and lead a popular uprising against the improper application of DSA rules, resulting in sweeping changes in the way driving is taught and tested in the UK, sparing future generations from having to learn an unnatural handbrake technique just to pass a driving test. 

However, when it comes time to get your ILR or citizenship, you can forget about it because you're already in a file in MI5's Secret Division of Foreign Agitators, and your application will be rejected.  You're going to be separated from your loved ones in the UK and deported back to Indiana.  You may have won the battle over handbrake usage, but you lost sight of the bigger picture and lost the war of immigration.  Foolishly, I'd say.

And what if you happened to be taking the test in a vehicle where "the way it's done" is either impossible, or at best rather impractical due to the type of brake?

What are you doing attempting to take the test in a car with an impossible or impractical braking system?  I'd say that test won't even begin, as the DSA examiner will declare the car to be unsafe, and he or she will be well within their rights to do so!  Impossible brakes!  Whoever heard of such a thing?

What are you doing attempting to take the test in a car with an impossible or impractical braking system? 

Assume manual transmission.  The "proper" method which ADIs try to impose is that when coming to a stop you should apply the parking brake before you shift the transmission into neutral.

Now tell me how you can do that if you have a foot-applied parking brake.

All this comedy is wasted on you, isn't it?  I wrote that whole bit about MI5 and being deported as a foreign agitator for stirring up trouble at the DSA, and all you want to talk about is automotive braking systems.  It's disappointing.

Assume manual transmission.  The "proper" method which ADIs try to impose is that when coming to a stop you should apply the parking brake before you shift the transmission into neutral.

Now tell me how you can do that if you have a foot-applied parking brake.

That's not what we're talking about; we're talking about how "they" want you to control a manual transmission car with a handbrake, and how that applies to people with years of experience taking and passing the UK driving test.

As to your question, I assume if you roll up to the test in a Citroen XM or mid-90s Mercedes with a foot-operated parking brake, the examiner would a) dip deep into his or her well of knowledge and apply the "control the vehicle" standard as it is intended, b) refuse to perform the test in dogmatic adherence to the "gotta use the handbrake" theory of vehicle control, or c) fashion a psuedo-handbrake out of available materials (perhaps the bananna he or she was planning to have with lunch) and make the test-taker "use" the bananna/handbrake throughout the test to prove they understand the theory, even though the theory doesn't apply to the car at hand.

At any rate, as a lot of this well-crafted comedy seems to be going right by you, I'll just restate my initial (serious) position, and then I'm giving the thread back to the folks that are taking driving tests soon, and probably don't want to read 3 pages of your pedantry and my foolishness.

My position is it's better to just use the handbrake the way "they" want you to use it on the test so you can pass.  I agree that "their" method is not the only method that would meet the standard, but it seems ingrained in the DSA and in the various driving schools, and to try and fight against all of that seems like the more difficult path to success.

I like your foolishness, camoscato!  

FWIW, my DI told me that a) you don't have to use the parking brake, as long as you're in control of the car - i.e., no rolling backwards or forwards, and b) you can steer hand over hand if you want to, rather than threading, as long as you're in control of the car.  However, the thinking is that these methods (parking brake, threading the steering wheel, etc) help to ensure you're in control of the car, which is the main thing examiners are looking for...so if there's any doubt of car control, better safe than sorry.  *shrugs*

And yeah - you're right, most of us on this thread AFAIK aren't really interested in a pedantic discussion of what's what, or how to fight the system or whatever.  We just want to pass the bloody test & be done with it!  

I do think the banana idea is the way forward though!