Learning to Drive - UK or US??

[Kirsten UK 2]

Hi, we have just filed our I-129F and once it is approved I will move from the UK to NC, USA. I can't drive at all, never had any lessons and will definitely need a licence just to get to work etc once I arrive. My question, should I cough up for the huge expense and learn to drive now in the UK (bearing in mind different sides of road/rules etc??) or wait until i'm in th US to learn the way I will actually need? Also, anyone ever started learning to drive in the 30's?? I know i'm a late starter

[ED*Riza 0]

Hi, we have just filed our I-129F and once it is approved I will move from the UK to NC, USA. I can't drive at all, never had any lessons and will definitely need a licence just to get to work etc once I arrive. My question, should I cough up for the huge expense and learn to drive now in the UK (bearing in mind different sides of road/rules etc??) or wait until i'm in th US to learn the way I will actually need? Also, anyone ever started learning to drive in the 30's?? I know i'm a late starter

I am one of those who learn to drive in my late 30's I have never drove a car or a bike before. I had attended Driver's Ed ( 30 hrs classroom and 8 hrs behind the wheels) with all 15-16 yrs olds...

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Well, Kirsten, I know two who didn't learn driving till they were in their 40's or 50's:

• my late mum, who got her licence @ age 48 in 1986
• Lily Daniel (wife of my "spiritual father" Joshua Daniel) who got hers @ age 50--though her second son had nagged her to do so long prior

Also, is it possible for you to make a trip to Canada and do the driver-training there: it may be cheaper than UK (can't say, I haven't checked driver training prices there since 1981), and you won't need to adjust sides.

[Der Bücherwurm 1]

I would wait til you get stateside. It would probly be cheaper and why would you want to get confused and end up driving on the wrong side. If I ever go to the UK I will use public transport. There's no way I would even risk trying to drive on the wrong side of the road.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

Wait till you get to the States. I am another late learner (mid-30s), so you are not alone! I started taking lessons in the UK when I was in my late 20s) and it was a total, unmitigated disaster. I was trying to learn how to drive a manual car in West Kensington/Fulham and between the speed humps and the London traffic and all the shifting I couldn't figure it out. I assumed I was one of life's non-drivers. I started to learn properly when my husband I would take a holiday in the States, and I'd have access to an automatic. Well fancy that, I could drive! I just drove coast to coast with my husband this summer, having had my licence for about 4 months at that point.

Save your money and wait till you get here. Lessons are much more affordable, and it's amazing how quickly you can pick it up.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

I'm in the same situation. I'm waiting till the USA cos I will want to take some lessons there either way, due to the different rules ECT. Plus you still have to take a driving test there anyhow because there's only so long you can drive on your international. Its been 8 yes since I took a lesson and now I'm 26

[Kirsten UK 2]

Its good to know i'm not the only one, most people look at me like i'm some sort of freak when I tell them I can't drive

I'm just worried how long it will take me to learn if I leave it until I get over to the US.....I may need to drive on the interstate to work and will need to feel confident.

[Hannah+Vito 0]

Its good to know i'm not the only one, most people look at me like i'm some sort of freak when I tell them I can't drive

I'm just worried how long it will take me to learn if I leave it until I get over to the US.....I may need to drive on the interstate to work and will need to feel confident.

Judging by the info I have found and if I'm reading I correctly. You can get your learners permit on k1 status but you may have to wait till green card or when your documentation for residence is valid for more than 90 days to get your full licence.

[HighwayStar 0]

Count me in as another over-30 who may try to get a DL for the first time in the US. Though I took driving lessons for some time when I turned 18, for some reason or the other I didn't pass the driving test, and finally I gave up. I've never been very interested in driving anyway, and driving here in Rome is not for the faint-hearted. I've used public transport all my life, and I know I have saved quite a lot of money because of that! Anyway, I'll be moving to the outskirts of Washington, DC, in an area well served by public transport, which will make things easier for me at least at the beginning. Ah, and I'll turn 48 in December... My late mom got her license at the age of 40, and she was a very keen driver too!

[Ian + Anne 0]

OK, lets get some prospective here -- UK tests are much harder than that in the US, but there are a few things that are different.

In the UK if you take your test in an automatic you are limited to an automatic only, you can not drive a manual (stick as it's known here in the US). Now this is different here, if you take the test in the US using an automatic you are not restricted, you can drive either an automatic or a stick, now here comes the bit that I find strange -- if you pass the US test in an automatic, how on earth can you drive a stick if you have not had any lesson on how to change gears etc !

Anyway, the test in the US is easy, take it from me, I was a motorcycle instructor in the UK, and found that the UK has the hardest test for any type of transport.

If you plan on learning to drive (never driven before and still live abroad), hold it off and do it here in the US, it will be a walk over.

Once you have passed your test in an automatic (these are more common here) and you find your going to need to learn to use a stick, it should not be a problem.

Edited September 7, 2008 by Ian + Anne

[Welshcookie 17]

I am 42 and will learn to drive for the first time once I get Stateside....I thought about starting here but decided just to wait.

[samantha_lou 0]

I would definitely wait until you get the US before learning to drive, it will be so much less confusing! I learned to drive in the UK and passed my test at 17 (my uncle is a driving instructor, so not much choice on the matter in my family! LOL) and then moved to the US and got married at 24 - it was a very confusing experience having to start driving on the "wrong" side of the road! The US test is sooooo much easier than the UK, didn't even take ten minutes - just a quick trip around the block really!

Good luck!

[antda 13]

Hi KirstenUK,

Personally, I would recommend you learn to drive in the USA instead of the UK, as it would be less confusing for you as you wouldn't need to learn a new set of rules and driving on different sides of the road once you are here. It's too bad though in your situation, that the UK doesn't offer an exchange with the US as if that were the case I would recommend you learn in the UK first. Despite that, you can always read up on the rules of the road here in the USA, so you'll be more prepared when you do learn to drive here.

"And if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"

For more information you can start here: http://www.dmv.org/

Just find the state that you're moving to in the USA to find more specific info about your local dmv.

Besides, it's a lot easier to drive here in the USA and from what I've heard, easier to pass the driving test here. Wish I had took the driving test here in the USA instead, as it took me forever in Canada to pass the driving test on their bureaucratic graduated licensing system up there. Luckily, when I came to the USA, they automatically transferred my Canadian license to the US one, so that saved me a lot of worries there.

"It's never too late to learn or start anything in life!", so you shouldn't have to worry about learning how to drive later on in life. If it makes you feel any better, I knew/know of many people who learned to drive later on in life, and even I learned a bit later than the minimum age of 16.

Actually, I think older drivers are better drivers, as they are able to make more informed, safer, and non-peer pressured decisions on the road.

Good luck with your future driving in the USA and your immigration journey.

Ant (Driving in the USA...)

Hi, we have just filed our I-129F and once it is approved I will move from the UK to NC, USA. I can't drive at all, never had any lessons and will definitely need a licence just to get to work etc once I arrive. My question, should I cough up for the huge expense and learn to drive now in the UK (bearing in mind different sides of road/rules etc??) or wait until i'm in th US to learn the way I will actually need? Also, anyone ever started learning to drive in the 30's?? I know i'm a late starter

Edited September 7, 2008 by AntandD

[ginger1981 0]

I was taught in the local high school parking lot by my parents. Study your state's driving manual and have your USC teach you how to drive.

As for driving with a stick Ian + Anne...well you just tool around a parking lot until you figure it out! My first car was a stick, and believe me for the first week of driving it I must have been a frustration for anyone following me as I killed the engine at almost every stop. But you just catch on...I actually prefer driving a stick to an automatic...it gives me delusions of being a race car driver!

[Kirsten UK 2]

Well, I guess its worth waiting until I get there to learn, you have all pretty much stated what i've thought - it'll be easier and cheaper to do it it NC - just means I have to pass before I can start work, the hospitals I could possibly work in are 20-45mins away in the neighbouring areas, thanks everyone for your advice!