Obtaining your UK driving licence

Essential Reading

One of the more frequent topics on the American expat facebook groups is about driving and obtaining a UK driving licence.  The GOV.UK site does a great job of explaining the process here but it always helps to have a first-hand explanation of how to do it.

A good thing to do before you move over here from the states is obtain a copy of your no-claims history from your current insurance company, the further back the better because motor insurance here can be astronomical! Having a copy of mine saved quite a bit of money--this can also be obtained by contacting their customer service but usually the sooner you obtain it the better that way any mistakes can be corrected.  For example I didn't realise that Geico had shown that I'd filed a claim when we had called in to find out what the insurance would cover when someone had gone on a brick-throwing vandalism spree in our neighbourhood a few years back and knocked out the back glass of my pickup.  We ended up not using the insurance and paying out of pocket but unfortunately someone had clicked the wrong button and I was only able to claim 3 years of no claims versus 7 years which would have saved an additional £200.

You CAN drive in the UK on your US driving licence for up to a year but making plans to get it earlier can save an immense amount of stress. I waited until the very last moment and really wish I hadn't, I was in a near-panic with trying to get everything done in the last two months left.

No matter how good of a driver you are, take lessons! It's not about learning how to drive for most of us but it's about unlearning habits that will fail us on the exam and learning what the examiners are looking for.  Also most of the instructors will be giving lessons on the actual routes used which will help minimise mistakes.

The first step is to obtain your provisional licence by starting here, I obtained the D1 application form from our local post office, filled it out, enclosed the money and appropriate sized picture, and sent it off to Swansea with my passport. It all came back well within the 3 weeks quoted on the site.  As a bit of a segue, if you haven't obtained your NINO (National Insurance Number) do so!

After you have received your provisional you can still drive on your US licence (providing you are still with your year) but it's time to start studying for the theory portion of the test. Don't expect to give it a quick read through a few minutes before the test and pass.  While some of it is common-sense the wording here is different enough that it will trip you up, there are also a fair bit of non-driving related questions from the Highway Code that will be on the exam.  I highly recommend getting a current copy of the DVSA theory test book or software.  There are also lots of practice tests available online, take as many as possible to review/revise.

Book your theory test! Don't forget to take along your shiny new provisional licence. Take and pass your theory test! Keep your copy of this safe because you will need to take it along with you for your practical

Now book your practical, depending on where you live it can be several months before the first opening but you are not limited to taking it at your nearest test centre. Do a search of the surrounding areas to find out if you can take the test sooner at a different place. I ended up travelling to one 30 minutes away in order to get it booked within 2 weeks rather than over a month.  Also you can check the website daily to find out if there are any cancellations to get it done quicker--you can change your appointment up to 6 times without having to cancel and rebook.

L aka Learner Plates

Remember when I mentioned taking lessons earlier? That bears repeating, TAKE DRIVING LESSONS! If you don't gel with the instructor, find a different one.  This driving test is stressful enough without having to deal with someone who you don't get along with, their job is to make you a safer driver for the UK and to do their best to get you through the test, not belittle or demean you.

 If you choose to take the practical in your own car (like I did) there are a few things to be aware of, like having the appropriate insurance, L plates, and a mirror for the examiner are only three.  Again check the gov site for further details.

In the worst case scenario if you fail your practical the first time (like I did), take an hour or three to wallow in it then look at what you need to practise to pass the next and immediately book the next available time after your mandatory 10 day wait (that's to take the test btw, not re-booking).  Again like before you can check daily to change to an earlier time--I ended up changing mine several times to get it booked for 2 weeks after not passing the first one.

Practising!

My tips:  Study!!!!! Practise!!!! Practise your reversing, emergency stops, mirror checks, hill starts, and your show me/tell me items.  Next, relax (yeah, I know easier said than done). Exaggerate your mirror checks, talk through what you are doing as you drive, if you make a mistake, just keep on, you are allowed a few minors and if it's just a one time thing rather than a repeated mistake it probably won't count against you.

Hopefully this helps for those going through the process, please feel free to ask any questions. I wrote about my test experience here with all the gory details of why I didn't pass the first time. One thing I didn't expect was that when my motor insurance came up for renewal after obtaining my UK driving licence was that I was considered a 'new' driver again and had to shop around for a cheaper policy so be aware of that.


Good luck!

The UK driving test experience

The dreaded L plates

Another expat rite of passage is done and dusted finally--I am now in possession of a UK driving licence!  It's been a very stressful (and expensive) process because Great Britain has one of the most difficult tests and I had nearly 3 decades of US driving habits to overcome.  The theory and hazard perception exams required as much studying as the written portions of the CDL and the practical (driving) section was far and above more intensive than my car, truck, and motorcycle tests combined.  

The US doesn't have a reciprocal agreement with the UK but you do have one year to drive on your state issued driver's licence without having to display L plates (magnetic or sticky emblems that are placed on the front and rear of the vehicle), being restricted from the Motorways (interstates), and having to have a licensed driver with you.  True to form I procrastinated and didn't apply for my provisional until right before my year was up which made the process slightly more rushed than it should have been (don't do what I did!).  On the plus side, my partner trained as an ADI (approved driving instructor) so I didn't have to pay for lessons--I highly recommend at least taking a couple of lessons so that you know what is expected for the test.  

I would like to say that I passed my first time but alas that wasn't the case...A bad case of test nerves that wasn't helped by a cranky partner resulted in me pulling out of the centre and going on the wrong side of the road, something I hadn't done since the first month of moving here. Yes, that's right I failed my test in the first minute of driving! Muscle memory is a hard thing to overcome.  The most frustrating thing? Knowing I'd failed yet still having to continue on with the test for the remaining 37 minutes and only garnering 2 minor faults after that.  

As soon as I got home from the first practical test I logged onto the DVLA site to schedule another appointment--the time span that you have to wait has changed from 6 weeks to 10 business days--but the earliest date I could get was the first week of November from all the test sites within a 20 mile radius of our location.  Not ideal since that meant I couldn't drive anywhere without a licensed driver with me during that time and my partner is most definitely not a morning person! A trick most people aren't aware of is that you can reschedule free of charge and there are almost always last minute cancellations.  By checking the site 2-3x per day I was able to change my date from November to the 29th, the 24th, and then finally the 22nd which was the 11th day after my first test! I also made sure it was later than my partner's normal wake-up time in order to avoid the 'not enough coffee' grouchiness, lol.  

So that brings us to today...the 22nd, and I'm sure you're asking yourself "Come on, how did it go????" No? Well, I managed to pass this time around and again only garnered two minor faults (minus the one big major that failed me the first time). Whew!!!!!!!! The average pass rate at the centre I tested at is 12 minors so I'm well pleased.  One of the minors was related to my truck driving days--while performing the reverse around the corner maneuver I didn't use the back window as much as I should have.  Fortunately the examiner and I had been having a good chat and he knew that I'd driven a big truck for over a decade and he'd driven lorry in the military so he realized why.  It was a gorgeous reverse other than that--perfectly positioned and smoothly executed--I hadn't done that well on all of my weeks of practice! The second fault came in when I became confused by one sign and markings on the road that offered slightly contradictory (in my opinion) information and positioned myself in the incorrect lane for going straight across the junction.  According to the examiner that sort of mistake happens at least twice per day during their tests so it's no big deal unless you panic.  

There's my UK driving test experience, please feel free to comment if you would like any more information or clarification--hope this has been informative and not too terribly boring :-).  

Busy Busy

Whew, the last two weeks have been busy.  I have to take my practical driving test soon so most afternoons involve getting out and practicing my driving for at least two hours. Tuesday ended up being a very long day of it with 4 hours behind the wheel and most of it being on Sheffield streets--not very fun.  That might not sound like much considering I used to be a truckdriver but imagine spending your entire driving shift focusing on getting the procedure perfect, with big city style traffic, on narrow streets (think Philadelphia), being on the opposite side of the road than you spent 30 plus years driving on, in a car that is less than stellar in the smooth ride department, and having someone next to you judging your every single move down to the most minuscule--yes, I'm stressed, lol.

Hopefully the next pic like this will be me next to the Mini holding my UK licence

In other news, I am now an INWA qualified Nordic Walking Instructor! I attended a British Nordic Walking instructor course last weekend and wow, was it intensive! Very fun though, I loved meeting the others who were attending and hearing about the varied backgrounds and why each was going for the NW qualification.  Part of the course is that you are filmed so that you can see how your form is progressing and there was quite an improvement in mine from when I took the leader course last spring and now. I think I managed to get all 10 steps into my last evaluation even--although the rotation is still hard for me to attain much less maintain for very long.

At the Bristol Challenge Event

Running has been sporadic but I did get myself out for an early(ish) run this morning.  If I hadn't shattered the screen on my phone I could have taken a beautiful pic of the sunrise and a covey of grouse pecking about in a freshly plowed field.  I ended up taking an unexpected detour though, one of my favourite paths is closed for maintenance until March 2015.  A cheeky dog walker was still using it this morning but I suppose I'm too much of a rule follower so I went the opposite direction...which ended up being alongside a major route during morning rush hour. Ugh, how the exhaust fumes burnt my nose and throat, I've gotten spoiled to not having to deal with that very much over the past year.  Today was also my first fasted run in quite a while, couldn't figure out why I was flagging at 4 miles in and then I remembered, no food in over 12 hours! Small issues aside, it was still a good run.  

The current state of my phone :-(