Anything more we can do to get more signatures on the driving license petition?

The government petition to extend the 12-month period drivers can use non-GB licenses is NOT on track to get 10k signatures by the January 20 deadline.

Is there anything else we can do to publicize the petition to get more signatures quickly?  Are there Facebook or other social media groups that might be sympathetic to the cause?  Any other ideas?  I've sent it to friends and family.

Anyone trying to book an exam in my area is told there are no appointments available and to look at other areas, which are also full.  It seems like the government could do something without compromising safety.

Here's a link to the petition for anyone who hasn't seen it.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/329081

I will post it on my neighbourhood Nextdoor app page... there are lots of Americans and Canadians in my London neighbourhood

I will post it on my neighbourhood Nextdoor app page... there are lots of Americans and Canadians in my London neighbourhood

Canadians can likely just exchange their driving licence for a British driving licence, with no requierment to pass the British driving tests.

Exchange a foreign driving licence
3. Where did you pass your test?

‘Designated countries’ are: Andorra, Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland and Zimbabwe.
https://www.gov.uk/exchange-foreign-driving-licence

The tool is out of date for EEA/Swiss citizens at the moment.
The Brexit transition period has ended and new rules on exchanging a foreign driving licence for a British licence now apply. This tool is currently out of date.

I mailed in my Canadian drivers license on December 18 and received my U.K drivers license this past Monday....as long as you have a Canadian license and passed your original driving test in Canada....it’s reciprocal....if I’d kept my U.S drivers license and hadn’t switched it back To a Canadian one....I would have had to take the drivers tests...

The petition got over 10,000 so the government will respond.  I wrote to my MP this morning asking him to support it and to reach out to the appropriate authorities.

I suggest we all write to our MPs about this so we keep the issue in their minds.

I'm going even further. Why do we even need to take a U.K. test? If my driving ability is of no concern for the first year after arrival, why should it be a concern after a year of driving in the U.K? What could possibly change on the anniversary of my arrival that would make me an unsafe driver? I submit that after a year I would be safer because I will be more accustomed to driving conditions and laws here.

Citizens of many countries are entitled to exchange their license for a U.K. license, but Americans are not. Some of those countries have a higher rate of road deaths per kilometer than the USA and many others are only marginally better. I think the UK should amend that list to include the USA.

I understand that part of the issue may be a lack of reciprocity with certain U.S. states.  That seems petty. Why punish us for government policies over which we have little control?

The government will get its money either way.

The reason people from other countries do not have to take the test and can just exchange their license is because the U.K. has a reciprocal agreement with each of those countries to allow exchange of licences both ways.

However, in order for people from the US to be able to exchange their licences, the U.K. government would need to form 50 separate reciprocal agreements, one with each US state... but that just isn’t possible as not all the US states will agree to it. Therefore US residents/citizens have to go through the driving test process from scratch instead of being able to simply exchange their licence.

Edited to add:
Just realised you are already aware of this... as far as I know, the lack of reciprocal agreements is the only reason you have to take the tests.

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I have heard no more about this from my MP. I signed both petitions, but it looks like there aren't enough of us for the politicians to care about.Plus of course most of us probably can't vote yet.  http://chng.it/7SLrRGXtjC

I also had a motorcycle instructor tell me that my US driving license became invalid once I got my UK provisional license. I had not seen that on any UK website. Has anyone else heard of this?

I also had a motorcycle instructor tell me that my US driving license became invalid once I got my UK provisional license. I had not seen that on any UK website. Has anyone else heard of this?

That was inaccurate information.  The US license is valid for one year from entry and that is meant to give you time to go through the lengthy process of getting a UK license.  If getting a provisional UK driving license invalidated your US driving license, you'd never be able to seamlessly transition from driving in the US to driving in the UK because you'd have to adhere to the learner driver restrictions for months.

JF Kimberly, this is what I thought too. I just don't want to ride or drive to the test center and get rejected. I am going to get something in writing from DVLA.