Getting driving license across the world

[MacIntoshCZ]

Maybe not in your contry, but here in CZ its really been affected by Covid 19. If you want to get to driving test you firstly need to pass 28 hours of driving lessons and 14 lessons of theory.
Also worth to notice one driving hour is 45min and you can take only two hours per day.
Well thats not as bad, BUT due covid 19 there is huge queue becouse school was prohibited. If you want to log in to driving school, you will need to wait at least 2-3 month in front. Driving school takes aprox 2/3 month. But there is another problem. We are suffering from lack of examiners(number of ex is thus half). My friend is waiting aprox 3 month for final driving exam. Also our goverment approved now law that everyone has only 3 attempts (then you need to pay and do whole driving school again). I really think someone is dumb. They think i can pass after 3 months of no driving final exam? lol Driving schools are full, they dont like to offer additional hours.
Something like this would be nice to have here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learner's_permit.
Or i think i will drive illegaly on some country road without traffic If I decided to sign up...
is this funny problem in yours country too?

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Back in my day, in the UK, it took months to get a date for a driving test - in fact, many driving instructors suggested applying for the test as you first started lessons, on the grounds you should be ready by the time your test came through. There was no theory test back then, just a practical test and a few questions.

In more recent decades though, it's been MUCH faster to get a driving test, and I know people who have failed their test, and had another within a week.

Covid of course has completely messed it up though - even getting your driving licence renewed is now a matter of months rather than days.

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

And do you think you can pass driving test when you have huge gap without driving ?
Thats what i am scared of. Sign up and when everyone came from holidays covid strikes again.
Arghhh

 

[picbits]

Currently my daughter has up to a year wait before she can take her test in the UK due to the backlog.

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

Currently my daughter has up to a year wait before she can take her test in the UK due to the backlog.

Thats nasty. But UK acording to wiki should has provisional licence. Is that true that you can practice with her on some low frequent roads?

 

[picbits]

Thats nasty. But UK acording to wiki should has provisional licence. Is that true that you can practice with her on some low frequent roads?

As long as she has a car and is insured on it but I live in a different town to her so not practical. I don't think my nerves would stand it anyway

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

As long as she has a car and is insured on it but I live in a different town to her so not practical. I don't think my nerves would stand it anyway

I would pass with this.

 

[rjenkinsgb]

But UK acording to wiki should has provisional licence. Is that true that you can practice with her on some low frequent roads?

Anyone with a full UK licence can accompany someone with a provisional licence, as long as the vehicle is properly insured for them.

The only road restrictions are motorways - learners can otherwise drive pretty much anywhere the accompanying driver could; though it's common sense to stay off major roads with someone just starting to learn.

Learners do have to take a theory test as well as the practical driving test.
Thinking again, I'm not sure if there are any limits to how long after getting a full licence you may have to wait before accompanying a learner - the law has changed over the years. It may be one year??

I don't think lessons are compulsory, as long as you pass the theory then practical tests.

My older brother took his driving test on his 17th birthday and passed first time, some decades ago; long before the theory test was introduced.

 

[ClydeCrashKop]

A friend in school had at least 14 tickets before he got his driver’s license.
He had to pay the fines but they couldn’t take his license away because he didn’t have one.
He didn’t accumulate any points / demerits on a license he didn’t have.
So he had a clean record and got his license as soon as he turned 16 yeas old.
I don’t remember if he got tickets after that.
But that was 50 years ago.

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

Anyone with a full UK licence can accompany someone with a provisional licence, as long as the vehicle is properly insured for them.

I don't think lessons are compulsory, as long as you pass the theory then practical tests.

I envy a lot ...
* Are there any restrictions for cars for learners? For instance in USA almost everyone has automatic gear. But in CZ AG group is minority. Most folks here wants manual gearbox. To be honest i wanted to join driving school last year at the time when covid was introduced. But it was closed... So i texted to some politics here to implement this learner permit in our state. They said its not safe and dumb =D. And few month later they introduces "licence for begginers" -
if you cause an accident as driver in 2 year span, you need to go back to the driving school...

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Anyone with a full UK licence can accompany someone with a provisional licence, as long as the vehicle is properly insured for them.

That's not been true for a good many years - you need a full licence AND to have passed your test a certain number of years before - basically an experienced driver.

It was done to stop youngsters passing their test one day, then taking a friend out with L plates the next.

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

That's not been true for a good many years - you need a full licence AND to have passed your test a certain number of years before - basically an experienced driver.

It was done to stop youngsters passing their test one day, then taking a friend out with L plates the next.

Makes sense. But how those passengers stop colision? They dont have any aditional brake pedal? =)

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

Makes sense. But how those passengers stop colision? They dont have any aditional brake pedal? =)

They don't - but there's no requirement for dual controls - and they can grab the steering wheel of course.

I took my daughter out once - just ONCE - I'm sure I'll recover one day?.

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

and they can grab the steering wheel of course.

and brake with handbrake =D

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

and brake with handbrake =D

There's always jumping out and rolling

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

d to pass 28 hours of driving lessons and 14 lessons of theory.

Actually i was wrong.
Its 34hours of driving and 36hours of theory =D

 

[Pommie]

I taught all my (3) kids to drive. We bought a manual Toyota Starlet (smallest Toyota) which they all learned in and then kept for the first year as their car.
Here in Aus, you can get your learners at 16½ (or 16 if living rural - we were short about 1km to be classed rural) and take your test on your 17th birthday.
Our family cars were both 5L automatics and I could have used them to teach the kids to drive but wanted them to learn in a manual.
Their Mum took the eldest one out once and never again - just no patience.

Mike.

 

[Nigel Goodwin]

I taught all my (3) kids to drive. We bought a manual Toyota Starlet (smallest Toyota) which they all learned in and then kept for the first year as their car.
Here in Aus, you can get your learners at 16½ (or 16 if living rural - we were short about 1km to be classed rural) and take your test on your 17th birthday.
Our family cars were both 5L automatics and I could have used them to teach the kids to drive but wanted them to learn in a manual.
Their Mum took the eldest one out once and never again - just no patience.

I'm with her

I don't know what it's like over there, but in the UK I originally learnt to drive (motorbikes, cars, tractors etc.) off the road as a kid - the first car we bought we actually bought off some older kids, they had it a week and wrecked it - we were 12/13 at the time?.

It was an old 'sit up and beg' Ford Popular, and the body was completely trashed and they had lost parts of the mechanical throttle linkage.

We got a hacksaw and simply cut through the pillars either side of the windscreen - that was it - just two small cuts, and we pulled the entire body off in one piece.

This left us with two front seats, and a completely bare chassis.

Next was the throttle - we tied a piece of string to the carburettor, and the passenger pulled that to work the throttle - it took two kids to drive it

As you can imagine, it went quite well (as there was no weight), and you could spin it round easily as there was even less weight on the back wheels Great fun, and we had some great times in it.

Anyway - back to this century

Driving now is completely different to back in my day, I approach a junction, I slow down, reading the road and change down the gears accordingly.

Driving lessons now (and passing your test) essentially require you to approach the junction at the speed limit, and then stamp on the brakes at the last possible moment - this is to avoid you 'holding traffic up' apparently. I found this style of driving absolutely terrifying - and despite the fact I'd quadrupled my insurance payments to add my daughter, I only ever took her out once - never again.

Once she'd passed her test, I avoided been a passenger whenever possible

To be fair, her style has mellowed somewhat over the years, and most of her driving has been in the Netherlands rather than here.

She did hire a car over here, and drove her in-laws round when they came over - apparently there were screams from the back "we're all going to die" - but I suspect they weren't used to narrow country roads, and had never seen a hill. Her husband Mike (they drive over on the ferry quite a lot) was sent down a road I travel a lot by his satnav - and he got out to take a picture, and named it "the road of death"

 

[Pommie]

When we first arrived in Australia, we filmed some roads as we'd never experience roads so steep and bendy.

One thing that was (very) surprising over here was our normal car insurance covered learners at no extra cost. If I remember correctly, insurance on a 5L Land Cruiser (fully Comp) was around $800 (₤440) and automatically covered learners.

And, learners HAVE to go on motorways. You have to keep a logbook of hours driven such as night time and motorway driving.
All very different but I guess that's true in many parts of the world.

Mike.

 

[MacIntoshCZ]

Driving lessons now (and passing your test) essentially require you to approach the junction at the speed limit, and then stamp on the brakes at the last possible moment - this is to avoid you 'holding traffic up' apparently. I found this style of driving absolutely terrifying - and despite the fact I'd quadrupled my insurance payments to add my daughter, I only ever took her out once - never again.

I agree. Four years ago i did a driving school. After i finished it , i had 6 months to pass tests (but i though i got one year). But actually even 4 years ago, i had a problem with examiners. They took vacations so i was qprox. month without driving, First driving test, not passed probably minute after exam started. Car was on a hill and i though i shifted 1 gear, but it was on neutral. lol gravity...Worth mention that one girl with big tits do exactly same thing and he forgave her... . Second exam after two weaks (i got one additional lesson day before) - Out after 15mins. I remember that examiner told me that i should not use handbrake on flat road, so i realesed handbrake and car backed away so its wasnt really flat... I did not notice it. so i was out. Third time i was really confident. I got some lessons before exam. The examiner was silent whole ride. So i though i passed this time. I experienced some "euphoria" at the end. But he told me i did not notice one pedestrian. Then i had lost trust in this. I had graduation at the same time and I didn't want to deal with two things at the same time. So i gave up for the moment. I finished driving school in september and graduate in may. Surprise awaited me when I called for additional lessons before test. They told me that i need to do driving school again.
I was disgusted.