Driving in the UK

I was wondering if anyone could help me out with info on insurance and licensing in the UK. I am a student and I travel home every summer. I was wondering if I can keep my US license for the 4 years as long as I get my departures stamped on my Passport. Unfortunantly I have a 3 year visa stamp on my passport as well. Will this make a differnce? I am going home pretty soon and I need to know if I should get a permit before my 12 months runs out or what. Also I was curious if you can use US car insurance for a UK registered car. Has anyone tried this? I know I would save a lot of money going this way, as I am 19 and have been driving for 3 years, and in the UK insurance companies would most likely treat me as having driven for 1 year. Does anyone know if I will be treated as having driven for 1 or 3 years? Also I have one claim, which was off road and did not include any violations. I was wondering if I have a clean slate in the UK or if I need to report my claim. Thanks for any help you may be able to offer, I greatly appreciate it.

You ask a lot of questions I don't have first-hand experience in, but I do have gut reactions. So while I'm offering some advice, or sharing my feelings, please ask these questions of an insurance company and the DVLA to be certain you're getting the best advice.

I believe that since you are on a temporary (student) visa, you will be fine on your US license. This in effect is an International License, so you shouldn't need anything else. Getting stamps on a passport shouldn't make a difference with permission to drive; it'll just help in your visa cause. I believe the only time you have to get a UK driver's license is when you have established permanent residency here.

You cannot use US car insurance for a car owned and driven in the UK. You'll have to get UK insurance. Unfortunately, they don't  ask how long have you been driving; they more care your age. You may be additionally limited on companies willing to insure you on your US driver's license. I personally found Norwich Union to be more understanding of US licenses...in other words, they had policies in place about insuring US drivers versus those companies that just tell you they won't do it, period. Whether they would insure you in your circumstances, I don't know.

If they ask, be honest about your claims. If they find out and you didn't inform them, then they'd consider you a bigger risk. Many will just shrug something like that claim off. You might not even be asked about a claim...they usually just want to know about moving violations.

I'm not at all sure about the rules, but my gut feeling is that you'll need a British licence 12 months after you first arrive.  Even if you could get away with it from a driving/ traffic cop angle, you may find that the insurance company will get a bit cranky if you haven't got a British licence after 12 months.

All your driving and vehicle questions should have answers here though.

After help from forum members and calls to insurance agencies and the DVLA I have some updated info in case anyone else is in the same boat as me. The DVLA says that the 12 month expiration on an international license starts over every time you leave the country (even for a day to Ireland or France, etc), so no problems with the license. The insurance seems to depend on what company you go with. Norwich Direct knocked off quite a bit for having a license for 3 years, but the other places I called treated me as a new driver. I guess it pays just to call around and get qoutes. Norwich Union didn't have any problem with having insurance on an international license for more than 12 months (The 1 year no claims bonus would cut my insurance in half) so that is great. I hope this information is useful.

You can't book a practical road test until you have been living here for 6 months and then it takes ages to get test appointments for the theory test and practical test so I wouldn't bother trying to get a UK license.

Yikes - I was just asking the same question in another forum.  I have a US license, but return quite often and actually have insurance on my personal car in the USA, so i have to keep my license in the US active.  I was getting worried about having to 'surrender' it, let alone take the UK tests.  I have a company car in the UK, so no need for private insurance.  DVLA does say from the date you enter, so I suppose it's interpretation of 'enter' whether it's visa date or last entry.  I think I'll keep renewing my US license until someone tells me otherwise.  Welcome any other feedback on this!

.... I was getting worried about having to 'surrender' it, .....

I really wouldn't worry about that, even if you did have to surrender it you can easily tell your home state DMV that you "lost" it and get them to issue a new one.

.... so I wouldn't bother trying to get a UK license. .....

I'm sorry to say this, but that is a disgraceful attitude.  You are a visitor to the UK, you have no right to be so dismissive of the British driving licence and British driver education!  

I just would rather not get into the UK license system if I don't have to, not dismissing the fine driving education.  Especially those hand signals.  Very useful.

oh sorry Val, it was only my humble opinion  
I am actually living here and trying very hard to learn how to drive. I have actually passed the theory test, hand signals and all and don't have a 'disgraceful attitude'.
I was only saying that if someone is not going to live here permanently, they should not need to have the hassle of obtaining a UK license but I could be horribly wrong.

I worked for the DSA when I first got my permission to work and I will tell you, the majority of people that take the theory end up taking atleast 3 times. And now they have added (or will be adding) and hazard awareness test to it making it even harder!!   I've been driving for a year and a half on my Florida license and we've found some insurance companies get cranky and some don't care one way or the other.  But, just to be safe, I am going to keep my opinion to myself about whether you should or shouldn't get a UK license.  

..... I have actually passed the theory test, hand signals and all .....

Sorry Mrs K, t'was my interpretation of "wouldn't bother" which in Britain has very dismissive, put-downish, implications.  

I wonder about you having to "learn" the hand signals though? .... It kind of confirms my fears about American drivers as the hand signals per the DMV (in New York, Virginia, and North Carolina that I know of, and I presume that they are typical of all states)  are the same as those in the UK.  :-/

I wonder about you having to "learn" the hand signals though?

Been biting my tongue, but mrs_kev explained well and confirmed that I had interpreted her meaning of why she didn't feel it was necessary for temporary residents to take a test...but I'm going to have to hold out my hand "whoa" on this next one. Don't know why you're picking apart her words. She's not saying things out of line here.

Americans have learned hand signals from the time they've had training wheels on bikes. As far as I know there may be a stricter policy to ride bikes in the US than here. At least when I was a kid I had to have a license and pass a test. Don't know about now/don't know about this country.

The adjustment in driving in the UK is to take signals to the other hand, which might be confusing if it's been engrained to using an extended left arm for a left turn and a bent left arm for a right turn. However, my own test did not include hand signals, so I am assuming that mrs_kev's did...and if that's part of the test, then so be it; it was just another thing she had to pass. I think that's all she's saying.

In the US for driving cars, there's a much more thorough test for vision than what's given here (read the number off that registration). Many in the US are thrilled they passed the eye exam, but that doesn't mean they don't know how to see.

..... The adjustment in driving in the UK is to take signals to the other hand, which might be confusing if it's been engrained to using an extended left arm for a left turn and a bent left arm for a right turn. ....

OK I can see that, ..... and you might end up accidentally slapping your passenger in the face when you meant to indicate that you are going to turn left!  

Pardon undue sarcasm from newbie.  The hand signals are the same, and yes they are on the written US test (heard it's on the practical here).  The hand signal in the US for slowing down is an arm diagonally extended downwards, vs. the bird-flapping motion I'm told is correct here.  Other than that it's pretty much the same.  Worth noting that cars have these newfangled turn indicators now...  

Extending a warm welcome to all of y'all to try and back around a corner onto/off of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, and tell them you're practicing a useful, legal move for your driving test!   You won't need your provisional UK license, just a bail bondsman.