Getting a UK driving license

tulipz

dacouch wrote: »

The UK test is a bit harder than this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGfLNqjh4j0

Thanks, let me assure you, the test is easy. But driving there is tough. Even if you passed your "UK driving test" in honours, driving in India will send shivers down your spine. Its not about brake and accelerator there. Its about serious skill.

Anyway, this is the last irrelevant topic I am replying to. I'd rather ignore such useless posts than reply to them and waste my time! (creating more useless posts!)

flyingscotno1

tulipz wrote: »

Thanks, let me assure you, the test is easy. But driving there is tough. Even if you passed your "UK driving test" in honours, driving in India will send shivers down your spine. Its not about brake and accelerator there. Its about serious skill.

I think it is more from Clarkson's video in India it seems like luck! Might is right is an interesting rule.

wealdroam

OP, in post #3 an answer to your question...
4. Do we need our own car for passing the practical test?
was give as no.

Whilst strictly true, the driving test centre does not supply the car. It is usually supplied by the driving instructor.
So really the proper answer should be... it is the responsibility of the test candidate to supply the car for the test.

Indeed, this DirectGov webpage tells us...

The vehicle you bring for your test

You must bring an appropriately insured and licensed vehicle, displaying L-plates (except for taxi and Approved Driving Instructor (ADI) part two tests), that is suitable for the purpose of the test.

Gloomendoom

I had an Indian colleague who had an Indian driving licence. He applied for a UK driving test and he asked some of his workmates if they would supervise him so he could get some experience driving in on British roads.

Indians may drive on the left but the 'style' is worlds apart from what is considered acceptable over here. Not one of us agreed to supervise him a second time. He was a menace on the roads!

He admitted that driving in the UK was "much more organised than in India".


Of course, he could just have been a lousy driver. You get them everywhere.
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dacouch

The "Might is Right" theory of right of way would be handy for me in London when I'm driving my van around but not so much fun when I'm on my push bike...

lionelator

I think people jumped the gun with allegations of racism and trolling here. The sort of attitude thats led to even Only Fools and Horses being edited to be more politically correct in the DVD releases.
Honestly, the OP got a good few replies with some decent advice and then went off the deep end prematurely when someone found her comment about driving styles in India and UK being similar to be silly, when it really was quite silly.
Its the same side of the road, yes, but the styles are completely different given most roads in India, including most highways, are single lane, lane discipline and test-passing driving skills will normally be close to zilch from an average Indian driver, unfortunately.
The provisional license takes about 2-3weeks, the theory test can be cleared in a weekend, the practical depends from driver to driver.
I had an Indian license, and a UAE license, and a Canadian license, and it took 4 classes to get my UK car license. The driving instructor had said Id need 15 classes which I thought was a crock so I made my own deadlines, but I felt fairly confident but I definitely needed the 4 classes. My wife has an Indian license, has had about 15 lessons so far and still doesnt feel ready to take the test. So it very much differs from person to person but I would very much doubt anyone could take and pass the UK test with no lessons, particularly having driven in India for any length of time, we tend to pick up nasty habits to compensate for road dangers. Works well when youre used to it but they will fail you for it here as it can be seen as dangerous.
Having said that, if your partner is confident after a few classes he can insist on taking the test when he feels hes happy, the instructors will sometimes try and make sure they squeeze a few more classes out of you.
Oh and I drove here for just short of 12 months on my Indian license, no problems, even had rental cars to go from County to County when I needed to, you dont need anything else within the first 12 months.

bigjl

tulipz wrote: »

whats so funny about the above statement? Anyway, what I meant was, he knows how to operate a car (as a machine). Also, driving in India is similar to the UK in the sense that the driver sits on the right side and cars are driven on the left side of the road. He needs to understand and practice driving rules here.

No thanks for the 'East London' tip. Neither do we live there nor do we have plans to drive without a license



He had an international driving license (its now expired though). He never used it though.

Thanks for the advice

Bit touchy aren't we, perhaps he should have started driving when he arrived.

My 12yr old daughter can work the controls of a car and drive it on private ground that doesn't mean she can drive on the road.

It has now been confirmed that he needs to sit a test, as my wife had to when she exchanged her Ghanaian Licence.

Where EXACTLY did I mention he intended to drive unlicensed?

It well known that the driving standards are poor in India and testing ineffective and in some areas pointless. There have been many factual films about it, not just Clarksons Motorworld.

The road signs are different in a lot if not most cases, as they get changed or updated fairly often.

If you can't see what made me chuckle about somebody comparing driving in India and the UK then you need to get out more. They are nothing alike, SA is fairly similar with a similar standard of driving test, hence you can exchange your licence for a UK one. the ability to exchange is done mainly on the perceived standard of driver licensing and testing. Not on wether they drive on the left or the right, as the EU licence shows.

The reason I mention East London, specifically around Newham, Barking and Ilford areas is that there are a large number of Indian and Bangladeshi people living there, and they do have a very memorable style of driving, they also have a legally verified history round that area of a significant percentage of the population not being insured or licensed. That area was featured near the top of some statistics recently for this reason.

I assume from your comments that you don't get sarcastic humour.

Gene_Hunt_2

bengalknights wrote: »

An indian licence is not valid in the uk once the international permit has expired.

He has 12 months upon entry to drive on his idian licence whether he has 'the international permit' or not. He so called permit is not worth the paper it's written on nor the £80 to get one off the web.

hubert_cumberdale

i saw that program too with the journalist learning to drive out there and you had to start the car up and proceed in a straightish line down a dusty road. it was mumbai then they showed some film of the local drivers in action it was pretty savage

it was someone like louis theroux similar style program


keep ignoring everyone and you will soon be able to talk to your self lol