Quickly Driving in the US

[kris&me 572]

Many states have the "uninsured motorist clause"  she may fall under this 

 

[Boiler 48,352]

7 minutes ago, kris&me said:

Many states have the "uninsured motorist clause"  she may fall under this 

 

Totally different.

[SusieQQQ 11,590]

52 minutes ago, yuna628 said:

 I'd think it'd be pretty difficult for her to obtain insurance until she has DMV documentation and not just her foreign license. Travel insurance won't cut it.

 

 

 

We live in California, like the OP, and we had no problem at all buying and insuring cars on our foreign licenses.  We asked 3 insurance companies for quotes, all offered us insurance, 2 of them loaded it highly for the foreign license (promised to drop it when we got our CA licenses) but geico gave us a good deal right from the start - we did have our “no claim” certificates  from our home country insurance, not all companies will look at these though.

[SusieQQQ 11,590]

33 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

We live in California, like the OP, and we had no problem at all buying and insuring cars on our foreign licenses.  We asked 3 insurance companies for quotes, all offered us insurance, 2 of them loaded it highly for the foreign license (promised to drop it when we got our CA licenses) but geico gave us a good deal right from the start - we did have our “no claim” certificates  from our home country insurance, not all companies will look at these though.

Sorry I misread OP”s profile, he’s not in CA - so not sure he can get the same kind of deal,  but that said I’ve never seen anyone on my home country forum unable to get auto insurance between landing in the US and getting their US license. Most of them do pay more until they get a local license though.

[Londonergirl 133]

3 hours ago, SB5130 said:

 

 

I think it will be different for PH Driver's License Holder. Canada and UK have DL reciprocity agreement with US. 

In most states, DPS doesnt acknowledge a valid PH DL and doesn't automatically convert it without passing a road test. 

 

2

Being from the UK won't help you to get a state drivers license. Where on earth have you heard that?

[SB5130 88]

2 hours ago, Londonergirl said:

Being from the UK won't help you to get a state drivers license. Where on earth have you heard that?

typo. acknowledging mistake after going over the list of countries but too late to edit. 

[Sarah&Facundo 623]

Related to this topic, what about a driving permit? My fiance needs to learn how to drive. When can we start to do this?

[Chris Duffy 1,257]

I am in Texas. We insure the car not the drivers of the cars.

 

I have about 15 vehicles, and some are used for work. I talked to my insurance agent and they told me as long as the person has a valid Driver licenses then it should be ok if they had a wreck and had to use insurance.

 

I wouldn't worry about adding them to insurance until you get a her a US DL.

[AshMarty 360]

This will depend on the state Laws.

 

My husband was able to get a temporary license for 10 months WITHOUT his EAD. You will have to specifically ask about the residency laws in the state and whether that state allows a drivers license without an EAD or CG during AOS. 

[Ben&Zian 4,399]

Good advice all around. Key thing is checking your individual states laws.

 

For Texas, my husband had never had a license before. He did an online defensive driving course, with that, and because he was over 25, only had to take the driving test itself for his license. Without the DD course he would have had to do the written.

 

Insurance is main issue and it definately will vary upon company. I have Geico, when he got his permit first they insured him fully on my policy no issue even with the car we bought him.

[Maggie wallace 4]

I just got my local driving license last week . In the State of Missouri I was able to drive also with my international license that I got from Egypt . But still no insurance company approve to insure me without local driving license . I got my insurance with AAA . I  got the driving book from the DMV because I failed the written test on the computer the first time as I didn't know about the book and how different driving laws are . They gave me the book I read it and scored 100 .and got the driving test all in the same day.

[shumway1756 304]

My insurance company (in Georgia) told me that even though my wife has been driving in her country for years, they will consider her a brand new driver from the time she gets her Georgia license, and she will always be in a "new driver" status for as long as she drives under her foreign license, so the rates are going to be super high. On one hand it's frustrating, she drives better than most US drivers, but on the other hand I understand that drivers from other nations need time to adjust to US driving, as it is drastically different from other countries.

 

Where I live (I know this varies by area), the drivers are generally courteous and we allow each other to merge, turn, etc. Where my wife has lived, you have to drive like it's the Indy 500 if you expect to get anywhere in traffic.

[ddtenor2 80]

When my husband came to the U.S. I was able to add him to my auto policy with only his Brazilian license and an international driving permit.  We lived in New Jersey and were insured with Liberty Mutual.

 

He was able to get his NJ license once he had his EAD--only required that he pass the written test.

[SusieQQQ 11,590]

29 minutes ago, shumway88 said:

 

 

Where I live (I know this varies by area), the drivers are generally courteous and we allow each other to merge, turn, etc. Where my wife has lived, you have to drive like it's the Indy 500 if you expect to get anywhere in traffic.

Laughing because this is kind of the change we had to do too.

....then we drove down to LA and when we got there...we said ok we need to revert to how we used to drive

[Paul & Marina 53]

Sign her up at a driving school for class and driving instruction. Get her off to a good safe start.