Getting a UK Driver's License

So you're from the US and you want to drive in the UK.  It's not as bad as it sounds and you will get used to driving on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road.  It just takes a bit of practice and time.

If you are going to be in the UK for no more than 12 months after first arriving then don't get a UK DL.  You won't need to.  You are legally allowed to drive on your US DL for up to 12 months after arriving.  If you plan on getting a car, there will be a few companies that will give you insurance though some will not.  If you get a quote from Admiral ignore it, they only insure UK license holders... despite what the online quote gives you.  If you plan on being and driving in the UK past the 12 month mark, then pay attention, you need to know how to go about getting one.

1.  Go to the local DLVA office.  You can find them for England, Scotland, and Wales.  You pay a £50 fee for the provisional license.  They will ask you for your current DL and your passport.  The DVLA will take them but they will mail them back to you and they will return to the address you provide about the same time as your card arrives.  If there isn't a local DVLA then you can go to the Post Office and ask them for an application for a provisional license.  Fill out the form, submit your passport and you can mail it off.  Just read the directions.  Fortunately there was a DVLA office just half an hour away so I was able to head there.  If you do end up having to submit your DL have no fear, you can still drive.  If you get pulled over by the police you can show them your receipt (if you went into an office) or inform them that your DL is in the mail and they will probably inform you that you need to show up at the police station in X amount of time to show proof.

2.  Once you have your provisional DL you will now need to take the Theory Test.  This is nothing like the written test we all took ages ago.  This test is £31 each time you have to take it so I suggest you study. There are several apps for the iPhone to help you in this endeavour.  I downloaded the official DSA theory app as well as the AA's theory app as well as a few others that were free.  There is computer software out there you can buy to help you pass but really, I think that these apps are just fine.  Each of these apps has a study section to them.  Learn them and then take the tests for each section.  Once you have done this then take the mock tests.  You will be given 50 questions to answer in 57 minutes.  In your test you will have the option of going back and checking your answers.  Feel free to apply for your exam at the earliest time and then study, study, study, study.  You can't take the practice tests too many times.  There is a second portion to the theory test and this is known as the hazard test.  You will be given 14 clips with a hazard, one clip has 2.  You must mark when the hazard starts.  You will be given 0-5 points depending on when you spot the hazard.  There are apps to help you with this portion of the test as well.  You will be there for a couple of hours.  As I said, it's not easy, so be prepared.

3.  Once you've passed your theory I would advise that you sign up for some driving lessons.  I know that you've been driving for ages and you've gotten a feel for being on the wrong side of the road but the UK driving test is £62 each time you take it and it isn't easy.  It's hard, it's really hard  A driving instructor will show you what you need to know in order to pass the exam.  If you have never reversed into a side road, then it's probably best to hire someone who knows what is on the test and what you need to do, such as put the handbreak on whenever you come to a stop light.  Not doing that could end up failing you.  Once you and your instructor feel as if you're ready then go ahead and book your test.  You will need your Theory pass certificate number so don't lose that piece of paper!  You are allowed 16 faults on your driving exam.  I passed mine with 13.  Do note that you will be asked to sign your exam sheet stating you've been in the UK for at least 185 days.  If you are a US citizen then you don't have to worry about that.  Just let your examiner know that you haven't been and you don't have to have been in the UK for 185 days (6 months).  He'll probably have to double check but all you should have to do is cross out the 185 days.  Although, if you are from the EU then you would have to have been in the UK for 185 days... but then, if you're from the EU and have a DL issued from a country in the EU then you can just exchange your DL for a UK one.

It is important to make it clear that everyone in the UK drives a manual.  In fact, they think Americans are pretty lame for having so many automatics and I can't argue.  It is pretty lame.  If you have never driven a stick before then a driving instructor will teach you.  They have lots of practice with teaching people how to drive a manual so don't fret.  They know what they're doing.  You will have to find an instructor with an automatic if that's the path you really want.  And if it is then do be aware that if you take your driving test in an automatic you will only be legally allowed to drive an automatic.  But if you take your driving test in a manual, you can drive both.  And do make note that not all instructors or companies are the same.  I, personally, would go with the AA.  They are the UK's version of AAA.

Driving Test

I should have had my UK driver's license already.  I had a test on the 20 of January that didn't exactly go according to plan.  I had had a 2 hour session from a qualified AA driving instructor just so I know what would be expected of me in the exam.  I also had him examine the car to make sure that it was okay to take the test in.  He said the car looked fine on the outside and that he sees no concerns about me passing my test.  Cool.  I was ready for it, I was going to kick some serious driving test butt!

Apparently, a faulty light is all that it takes to terminate an exam.  Drat.  I was, to say the least, bumbed for several days.  I really wanted that DL and NOW!

I came home and immediately got another test for the earliest test date, which was today, 2-15-12... joy.  I tried to get in touch with my original driving instructor so I could use his perfectly working vehicle for the exam, but I was unable to get a hold of him via phone calls or text so I asked The Gunton if his instructor wouldn't mind.  Heretofore I shall now refer to Mark's Driving Instructor as The Win.  The Win showed up about 7:10 this morning with the greetings of good evening.  The sun wasn't completely up yet and what little was there, was hiding behind clouds.  The Win hands me the key to the car, verifies I do, in fact, have everything I need for the exam today and tells me to drive off.

Immediately he finds things that I am doing wrong and he tells me.  I'm not steering correctly.  There is a push-pull method that he's been teaching the Gunton.  It's the safest way to steer.  So I had to be mindful of that.  And I wasn't using my mirrors in the correct order.  When turning right, rearview, left mirror, right mirror- or something like that.  I also wasn't using the handbreak properly.  I was using it at a red light, like a good girl, but I wasn't looking around before releasing it and going forward.  For that hour The Win patiently corrected me, told me what I am doing wrong and told me what I needed to do in order to pass this test.

If anyone were to ask either The Gunton or myself, one would know that I was very nervous and anxious about my upcoming test.  I know of an American woman who has been here for ages and while she eventually passed her Theory test, she has yet to pass her driving test.  What would make me think I could pass mine??

I had an hour with The Win.  At one point he told me to reverse parallel park.  I don't parallel park, there's a reason for that.  Little Brother is one of those annoying people who can get into a teeny, tiny space, and do it perfectly, without much manoeuvring.  I am not he.  The Win then had me reverse into a street.  I still don't understand why they test for that but they do.  Apparently this is a skill set that is seen as important here in the UK.  He had a few comments but, as the hour was coming to a close, he needed to get me onto the road and towards the test center.  He then had be back into a parking spot.  Now, this has always been something I have been able to do easy peasy.  For some reason it seems to be a challenge... maybe because the few times I've done it have been trying to prove that I can back into a spot and I do pay attention when I do.  The Win then went over a few items that the Test Man might ask me.

The first thing the Test Man did is to check my eyesight.  I had to read the plates of a car that was about 20 meters away.  My eyesight is obviously good, else I'd have been told I need glasses.  So far, so good.  He then tells me to go ahead and get into the car as he went around it and checked the condition of the machine.  The Win thought it'd be good for the Gunton to be in the car with me, and, as I was allowed to have someone come along for the ride, he agreed. Of course, he had to act as if he wasn't there, could not react to anything I was doing, could not look around and distract me, could not, in fact, behave in any manner that there was a third person in the car.  If he had, the test would be terminated.  The only time I remembered that he was there was when I looked into the rearview mirror.

The second part of the test is what is known as the Show Me, Tell Me.  The Test Man can ask how do can you tell the oil level, the break fluid level, the window washer level.  These are all done under the hood and you point to the appropriate thing and explain how you'd check the levels.  He might ask about horns and break lights... there are a lot he might ask.  This is general information to see if you know anything about cars.  They don't expect you to be a mechanic, just able to determine whether or not you know a few things.  I was asked how to turn the high beams on.  Because this is a Show Me, I had to turn the electricity on show him I knew how to do that.  The Win didn't show me the lights on his car but, as this was a Ford Focus, I figured it out.  Yes, the AA's standard instructor car is the Ford Focus.  He then also asked me how I would tell if there was something wrong with the break and I told them there would be an indicator light on the dashboard.  Where, I didn't know.  And I suppose that was alright because then he told me to head out when I was ready.  I took a deep breath and tried to remember everything The Win tried to get me to change in just 60 minutes.

I have a problem with crossing my arms when I'm turning the wheel, and I had to remember not to do that.  I caught myself several times about to do it then I corrected myself.  The Win told me that it would be a fault each and every time I crossed my arms over.  I musta done something right because the Test Man only marked me down once for it.  Yes!  The next part of the test was independent driving.  This is to test whether or not you can follow street signs.  The Test Man had me pull over to the side, when it was safe to do so.  It didn't seem safe to me as there were cars trying to get to work but, he insisted so I stopped.  The Win told me I needed to make sure I was obvious in my use of mirrors as I was pulling over.  And I needed to stop, pull up on the handbreak and then put the car in neutral.  This was an indication that I had completed a manoeuvre.  He wanted me to drive towards Cottingham.  So I followed the signs towards Cottingham.  On the first roundabout I made a mental note that I needed to turn right.  On the second round about, I voiced that Cottingham was the 4th exit and then I counted each exit, and, on the fourth one I looked around, checked my mirrors (not necessarily in the proper order), indicated and moved out.  I did get us to Cottingham.  Another part of this is that you have to remember a set of directions.  Mine were to turn right at the end of the street, right at the end of that street and left at the roundabout.  That was the conclusion of the independent driving.

The next thing he tested me on was the reversal.  This could be one of three things: reverse into a parking spot, reverse parallel parking or something else.  The Test Man had me reverse parallel park.  I mentioned before I don't parallel park, and I certainly don't reverse parallel park.  I don't like it, I don't do it.  Again, I am not Little Brother.  Maybe if I had more training with it I could it with more comfort.  The requirements for this are, you have to reverse parallel park in front of another car reversing no more than two car lengths.  I did it, came to a stop, put on the handbreak and he looks at me and says, are you finished?  And I said, yes?  And he replied, are you sure?  And I replied, no.  So I reversed some more and he was satisfied with this and then he told me to go off whenever I was ready.  I did the panoramic sweep, checked the mirrors, placed the car into first, got to the biting point (when the car is perfectly balanced between the clutch and gas) and a car came, looked about again and a car pulled out a driveway.  Finally I was able to go.  A second part of this was to pull up behind a car.  That I could do.

And then we were back on the road and he takes me to an intersection and I see Beverly Road!  Hey, I know where that is!  I live just off of Beverley Road!  He gives me directions and I realize that it's getting quite late and he is sending me back to the test center, as is confirmed when he has me turn left onto Clough Road.

I pull into the parking lot and Test Man wants to know if it's okay for Mark to be there and if I would like to have The Win there as well.  So I say, sure and I indicate to The Win that he should come forward.  Test Man was running late so he went through what he needed to go through at the end of the test.  You are allowed 16 faults and he said that I need more practice.  I said, yeah, I know.... there are things I need to work on.

But ya know, don't care.  Have license.

Had I taken the test on the 20th, I realize now that I would have failed.  The other guy never corrected me with my steering, never told me I needed to correct my behaviors when coming off of the break.  All these things The Win told me to correct to pass my test the other never told me.  The Win suggested to the Gunton that when in the car, he politely remind me that I am not steering in the correct, proper and safe manner.  I dunno if I am going to be overly fussed about that to be honest.  I will, however, probably continue to put the hand break on when at a red light.  It is safer, it's not a big deal and it does allow one to take one's foot off the pedals and relax for a few minutes until the light turns green... or rather, yellow then green as it does here in the UK.

So yeah, that's why he's now called The Win.  Because if he hadn't insisted on that hour before the exam, I'd have failed it.