UK Driving License

My official UK Driving License arrived today in the post. It's been about a 3 month process to get it, and I am the first of my group of ex-pats to go through the process. Thankfully, one of my supervisors had gone through it a few years back and was able to advise me.

I was able to use my CA Drivers License, but technically after 1 year in the UK, I am required to have a permanent UK Drivers License. After 3 months of residence, I am eligible to apply. So after about 6 months of being here, and the realization that my US license was scheduled to expire on July 2nd, I began the process.

The process runs like this. You send your Passport and US Drivers License to the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority), and as a US Driver, I get a Provisional License which allows me to drive for up to a year with all the benefits of my US license. After that year, I would be limited to the same limitations as the standard provisional license, which are that I would be required to have a fully licensed individual who is over 21 and has been licensed for a minimum of 3 years to be in the car with me. That and I would have to have the big "L" brand of shame plastered on the car. Technically, I would also be unable to rent or use my Streetcar membership.

There are 3 tests that you have to take. The first is a 50 question multiple choice Theory Test. The second is a Hazard Awareness test, which checks your ability to recognize hazards and react within a timely manner. Both are done on a computer at a test center. In preparation, I studied a 450 page book containing questions and the Motor Vehicle Handbook. I also registered with a Website that had mock tests for both. It tracked my improvement until I felt confident enough to take the test. The site did an excellent job in preparing me as I passed both. I even got a perfect score on the Theory Test.

The third and final test is the Practical test. For this, I signed up with "Red", one of the many driving schools around town. My instructor, Vitor, was a patient man, who got that I'd been driving for many years, but needed, as he put it, to learn to drive "like the English". He taught me many things, and corrected a lot of my bad manual shifting habits. Licenses here are given as either Manual or Automatic. If you take the Manual Practical Test, you can drive both automatic and stick. If you take the Automatic Practical Test, you are only allowed to legally drive an automatic car.

I thought I'd be confident in just a couple lessons, but after the first lesson, it was clear that in order for me to drive at the level required to pass the test, I would need more practice, and more lessons. Vitor caught me driving on the wrong side of the road only once.

The biggest hurtle was to learn how to do the roundabouts properly. To be honest, I still don't feel 100% in this area. I'll just have to practice more. After passing the first 2 tests, Vitor signed me up for the Practical Test. Some centers have a small a passing margin as 20%. We signed up at a test center that is just outside central London that had a passing margin of 40%. The difference in margin is a result of the driving conditions in the area. My test was at the Borehamwood DVLA center, which is a little more rural and suburban. For the last few weeks before the test, we had our lessons in that area so that I would be familiar with the roads and areas that the examiners might trip me up.

I took the day off work for the test, and took the train out to Borehamwood, where my instructor met me, and we had a quick and final review lesson. Then it was time for my 45 minute driving test. My examiners name was Burley - a very nice friendly man, who made an effort to make me feel comfortable and relaxed taking the test. We drove around the neighborhoods, and some of the country roads. He had me do a 3 point turn, a Reverse around the corner, and the Emergency Stop. All maneuvers that I'd practiced with Vitor over and over again, so that I knew where the examiners would want to see me stopping and observing to make sure conditions were safe.

In the end, I passed the test the first time out with only 3 minor faults. You can get up to 16 before you fail, so I did pretty good. I'm not sure how much driving I'll be doing in London as public transportation is excellent here, but I'm ready if I want to.