as long as we're talking about licenses...

[tla]

I am about to get my UK provisional license, so that I can take the test and keep driving after my first year here is up (I'm licensed in the US.) So. What do I need to know to pass the UK test, apart from "drive on the left" and "left turns on red are illegal" and how roundabouts work? Is there any sort of reference that I can read about the

Comments

[juliann]

Actually the differences are many, including that you get failed if you drive with your hands at ten and two! Also you have to know a lot about how to maintain your car -- you have to show them how to check the oil and other fluid levels, etc. Almost NO ONE passes on their first try, even if they passed their US exam with flying colours many years ago and have been driving since. It's really, really strict on the driving part and the rules vary from the US in lots of niggly ways. (Handbrake always on when at full stop; roundabout rules; it goes on and on...)

I'm sure people will have a lot more experience (as I haven't taken the test, just been scared off by it). You might also ask on brits-americans. But start with the DVLA website: http://www.dvla.gov.uk/ -- that should cover what is on the test and how the system operates.

[tla]

Um. Where are you supposed to put your hands then? And handbrake on at stoplights? Ew, just ew. The fluid level checks don't really bother me though.

[tla]

(Sorry for the double posting.)
I am not seeing on the DVLA website anything about the content of the test. They just say "If you want to know the rules, buy a book from your local bookstore." Did you find something more specific?

[juliann]

Blech, there used to be more stuff, maybe that was just when the test was changing (last fall I think it was). But books are available at Halford's. Normally I'd suggest used ones but since the test did change in the past 12 months I'm not sure how advisable that is.

[gracefruit]

I just went through this myself. After 20 years of driving in the US, I failed my first practical driving test here. I would highly recommend you take a few driving lessons before attempting the test. There are a lot of funny rules, like the steering wheel one mentioned above. Also, the DVLA site listed above is fantastic. I took the practice tests for a week and passed the theory test with 100%. 99% of the questions on it were on that site.

There is a book you can get called The Highway Code. I'd recommend it as well.

Best of luck!

[tla]

Hm, just as I asked juliann, where on the DVLA web site is this stuff? I can't find it. They have thousands of leaflets all saying the same thing, about fees and who can exchange their license and what to do once you have a test pass certificate.

Try this...

[gracefruit]

http://www.2pass.co.uk/

[major_beefcake]

You always used to get a copy of HMSO's "The Higway Code" when you applied for your provisional license.

Hands at 10 to 2 or 1/4 to 3 are both acceptable positions. Not sure where you heard that.

Crossing your hands while turning can cause you to be failed - but it's not always a given. Letting the steering wheel slide through your hands is generally a no-no on your driving test - they prefer to see hand to hand motion (like climbing a rope but you cannot move the lower hand up any further than the higher hand). However, letting the wheel slide through your hands is part of the advanced drivers test!

Also, winding down the window and extending the first two fingers of your left hand and screaming "watch where you are going you blind wanker" isn't part of the test (contrary to popular belief).

[catyak]

If you're in a British car then you'd need to use your right hand, it's a bit of a reach to get the left one out of the window.

In theory everyone is supposed to be fully current with the Highway Code, however long they've been driving. In practice most people who passed 20 years ago probably haven't looked at a copy since they passed their test. It is available on-line http://www.highwaycode.gov.uk/ and is useful in trivia discussions about obscure things.The rules regarding mini-roundabouts has changed since I passed my test so it's always worth knowing that what you were taught is now illegal.

D

[major_beefcake]

God damnit! I've been in the US too long!

[far_gone]

You can buy the highway code at any decent bookstore, for £1 last I checked. The theory test is easy, but I took lessons and still failed the practical twice. I finally took more lessons, moved to a different test center and passed last summer. The main problem was that I was taking lessons in London and taking the test in the country (there are no test centers in Central London) and so the driving was very different. Also be sure to know your national speedlimits since they are not posted. Do not take the test at Mill Hill -- it is very tricky and that's where I failed twice. Actually you can see the fail rates of various centres on the internet. I finally passed in Laughton, near Epping (end of the central line). I think it would be very hard for an American to pass without taking some lessons....

[catyak]

Speed limits in the UK are easy. If it's a road with streetlights assume 30mph. If it's a road out in the country with no streetlights assume 60mph. Anything else will be clearly signed with small repeaters to remind you. Motorways and dual carriageways are 70mph, not 60mph.

I always hate the US system where the limit on freeways (and other roads)bounces up and down 10mph seemingly at random and if you miss a sign then there's usually no clue until either you see the next change or you see the flashing lights of the cop who's pulling you over.

D

[dyfferent]

£1.49 now. Why they couldn't make it an even 1.50 I don't know...

[nellwyn]

The thing that terrified me was roundabouts. Getting comfortable with them just took practice. Roundabouts work such that you yield to the traffic already on it and to anyone coming onto it from the right.. which is much easier in theory than in practice, I found.

The theory test to get your practical license was fairly easy. When I took it in 2001, you had to memorize your braking distances, but otherwise, it seemed straightforward. I did read a current copy of the highway code before taking it, though. Best of luck!

[catyak]

A roundabout is just like joining a one-way street - the traffic on the street has priority. Mini-roundabouts are a bit different, they can develop into the equivalent of four cars arriving simultaneously at a 4-way stop where everyone waits for everyone else.

D

[nellwyn]

Oooh! That's a brilliant way of putting roundabouts. I used to live in Bristol, and to get to the hospital (where I had my son), you had to go through a double mini-roundabout. I used to call it semi-organised chaos! There didn't seem to be any rules about how to just go straight across (which is what I had to do). They didn't even have lanes marked on it, which made it worse. Oh, well. I haven't found any that bad in Cambridge, yet. :)

[catyak]

Double mini-roundabouts are designed to slow traffic right down because most people haven't got a clue. I'm trying hard to think of any doubles in Cambridge and I'm failing miserably. The nearest I can think of is at the top of Trumpington Street where there's one at the Fen Causeway junction and another shortly afterwards but that doesn't really count because there's a sensible distance between the two.

My favourite Bristol(ish) one was at Bridgeyate. Fond memories many years ago of the car transporter that hooked the lamp post in the middle between the ramps on its top deck and brought it crashing down. I think it trashed a car but the occupants were OK. It also caused traffic chaos.