new driving license

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

Just searched for this, and sort of found a bit of an answer, but not fully -

 

I know if you have had a license for a few years in the UK you just go in and can pay for a SA one. We were told today by SA state representatives that I will need to take a written test (but can do that there and then) so my first question is

 

a) Anyone done the license thing really recently and can confirm this or not?

 

Secondly -

 

b) is it hard? Or similar to the UK one (When should you not try and remove your car battery? i) when driving at 70mph down the motorway....)

 

And then - my husband is yet to take his test here in the UK, so will (if he ever gets round to it ) have had it less than 2 years when we get there - what does that mean for him in Aus? Will he have to take his test again, and then go onto L plates for a year and then take another test and go onto P plates and so on? In which case, he might as well not bother taking it here before we go....

 

Many thanks

[Guest jonny no cash]

www.sa.gov.au/subject/Transport.../Drivers+and+licences Check on here it looks like you can just swap the licence over at a SA Service centre and learner drivers over here are on a log book system I dont know how many hours it takes but I think you can do it in an auto which makes it easier to pass,I hope this helps someone will probably have the exact info on here,Good Luck

[Willber]

Hi, we changed our uk licences 2 weeks ago. You just fill in a form take your uk licence with you and you can pay for an S A licence, they vary in price depending on how long you want it to last for (1 to 10 yrs). As for your hubby and learning to drive cant help you there.

Andrew

[Guest Anne29]

After I got PR, I just took my brit license with me and filled out a form. They took a photo and got my sa license through within 2 weeks

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

Hi,

I don't know if there have been any very recent changes but the licence was just a straight swap (and you get to keep the UK licence). The only time they retain the UK licence is when it's an old paper licence without the picture (my OH had one and they kept that).

If you don't do the UK test and decide to do it here you have two option...log book or test.

 

Tamara

[Diane]

Go into a licensing office when you get here and double check what you have been told. As has been said by other posters above, these days you don't normally have to take any sort of test (it changed about 6 years agom - I had to do one then OH didn't..grrrrr!)

 

If by some quirk, you have special conditions and DO have to do it, you can practice beforehand here: http://www.raa.com.au/page.aspx?TerID=192

 

I am not sure about the situation for your OH - if he passes in the UK and has a full license to drive there, then I'm not sure they would consider him any differently than any other qualified driver - but again, you can check.

 

The learner rules here in SA are that someone can get their Ls at the age of 16 by sitting the aforementioned theory test and passing it. (My daughter did this on her 16th birthday - she sure knows how to party!!)

 

You are then on your Ls for a minimum of 12 months AND 75 hours logged driving in various conditions. After that you choose to either take a practical test (VORT = Vehicle on the Road Test) with an examiner, or you can go for the Log Book method - you get a series of tasks ticked off in the log book by a qualified instructor. When you have a full house you shout BINGO and get your Ps.

 

You then stay on your Ps - I think for a year - with stricter conditions than apply to full drivers, then go onto P2s - I think for another year (teenager not got to that stage yet!). It may be that with your OH being a newly passed driver, the licensing authorities here may ask him to go onto Ps then P2s.

 

HTH

[Guest Adelaide_bound]

Reading through all the regs, we just couldn't work out if he would be on P1s, P2s or just give him the license, although we thought it was unlikely he would get the full license, generally due to the fact you need to have your P2s for a certain amount of time before you get your full license (and less for him as he's an old man, not under 25 ) - having said that the P2 doesn't actually seem like anything of a problem, the only 'real' difference we could work out is it means he's not allowed to go above 100kmh, but I don't think anything we buy will be able to anyway so not a problem

 

We'll see, think it might be best for him to try and get it out of the way here - its just the stupid hazard test that might take a couple of goes - if only it was a human tested version where you actually had to spot the hazard, not tell them when they want you to spot the hazard....

 

Thanks everyone for the info

[RockDr]

Your license will be a straight swap (thought you get the keep the UK one, but you're not supposed to drive on it).

Your OH will go onto some sort of P-plate, depending on how long he's had the license for. Definitely better to take test in the UK than to go through the learner process here, which takes ages.