UK Driving Licence

We call it driver's license, they call it driving licence. Tomayto, tomahto. Not exactly. It's more than a slight difference in word choice and spelling. That's truly where the real differences only just begin. Because in no way is getting your UK driving licence anything comparable to getting one in the US. Whether you compare time spent in study and preparation, expenses involved or the scary pass rates, the quest for a driving licence in the UK is far more brutal on every count.

The law requires you to obtain a driving licence within one year of taking residence in the UK. If you're keeping track, that means I drove illegally for a full year in 2009/2010. Sadly I know a lot of expats in London who have been in the UK longer than that who have avoided getting a driving licence. After hearing a few ugly stories about such people upon our return last summer, I vowed to get legal and get my licence. And for the record my clock started over when we arrived last August.


First one must fill out one of these rather simple applications to receive a provisional driving licence, a licence that basically means nothing more than you're officially on the driving licence quest. Then you slip it inside a small brown flimsy envelope with your passport, slap a stamp on it and drop it in any post box to send it off to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) in Swansea, Wales. Anything about that set of instructions alarming anyone? Yeah, that's right your passport goes in a thin brown envelope and is at the mercy of the Royal Mail and all the well-paid DVLA handlers to make it there and back. And you're without it for two weeks, which is an unsettling feeling when you're living abroad. Once that step is complete and you've got your provisional licence in hand (and your passport back!) you are 1% of the way to achieving your UK driving licence!


Next you book your theory exam online. This is a two-part exam, and failure of either results in an overall fail. The first part is a 50-question multiple choice test, sounds easy enough. But studying can be a time consuming process. First you need to read and study the UK's Highway Code. Not such a big deal, but when you consider that even after 20 years of driving I found much of the material full of new information, rules and expectations that I needed to learn. You begin to see how culturally grounded driving is. In order to pass the multiple choice section, however, you really have to study up on the practise questions. And there are hundreds published. I spent hours and hours reviewing the practise questions, both in the book itself and on iPhone apps. There is no way I'd have passed if I had not studied all I did.


The crazy thing is, this could actually happen to you here.

The other part of the theory exam is the hazard perception test, which is the most ridiculous thing ever, and also very easy to fail. I know a good many people here who failed the theory exam because they failed the hazard perception section. Basically you're shown a series of 14 video clips in which there are hazards, and you must click the computer mouse when you see one. You score a range of 1-5 per hazard based on the timing of your clicks. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. What you don't know initially is that each video potentially contains several hazards, but you have to understand what type of hazard they are testing for AND you must click at the exact right moments. And over clicking yields a zero, so no way to cheat your way through. I failed the first few practise rounds on our study CD that we purchased. It took a lot of practise and even comparing strategies with others who have gone before to get it just right.


So passing the theory exam on my first try felt like a major accomplishment in and of itself!

Then begins the hard part, the practical driving test. Jump this last and most difficult hurdle and you officially have your UK licence! You can't register for your test time until you've passed your theory exam. So after allowing myself a couple days for a celebratory lull in my licence quest, I got online and reluctantly booked my slot for 6 March. When I began this process last fall my goal was to have my licence by 1 April. The practical driving test is the part of the process that I have the most difficult time adequately putting into words. Let's just say passing on your first time is not only uncommon, but also not expected. Most expats that I know that have a licence here had to take it two or three times (or more!). In fact there is a joke around here that when introducing yourself you say your name along with how many times it took you to pass the driving test! The precision driving that is expected on the test is beyond over-the-top. They are watching for a million tiny things as you drive during your 40-minute test route, many things that normal British drivers don't even do during everyday driving. The system is very old-school and resistant to change, so you just have to learn these zillion things they are watching for on top of a new set of traffic rules to jump through this hoop. You're allowed a few minor slips, but one major slip or a repeated minor slip will result in a fail. And what was in my mind defined as a minor slip I learned was most likely considered a major slip here, so I had to completely overhaul my thinking on this to understand exactly what they were looking for. And even though I had been driving for 20 years there is no way I could have passed the practical test without expensive lessons from a reputable instructor. I was amazed at how many things I had to focus on, and not only the ridiculous level of detail they are scrutinising on the test, but just how different these things were from driving in the US even though simply put we are all after the same thing, driving from A to B in safety. For instance when at a traffic light you must apply your handbrake and do so without the clicking sound if you are stopped for longer than about 15 seconds keeping your hand on the handbrake until you release it to proceed as the light turns green. Just one example of so many little things. I also need to point out that your licence is transmission specific, you test for an auto or a manual. Even though I drove a manual in the states for over 7 years, I did not feel like I could pass the test here. So my automatic licence means I am not allowed to drive a manual transmission here. But my car is automatic, and so honestly, I don't care because . . . I passed!


And on my first try too! When I got home I collapsed in joy and then literally did a happy dance all over the house!  With this complete, I feel somehow British now. It's like some kind of rite of passage. And the great thing is . . . it never expires!