Driving in Colorado, USA vs driving in the UK

Hey everyone!

I hope you are well and have had a great weekend! It's time for another blog post, this time it's about driving in the US compared to driving in the UK!

Before I begin, if you read this post and enjoy it, please click the heart button at the bottom of the page to like the post, you don't need to sign in to anything to do this.

Anyway, go grab a cup of tea and a snack...

...and let's begin!

I never really thought about learning to drive and by the time I was old enough, I was living in London and so, there was no need to learn.

However, once I moved back to my hometown and the decision for me to move to the US had been established, I decided it was best to learn.

I started learning to drive on 12th September 2019 and I would say, I took to it quite quickly. I loved driving, I mean ...it scared the crap out of me but I loved it!

I studied hard for the written/theory test and passed it with ease. However, during my practical driving test, I wasn't so lucky... I almost passed on my first try. In fact, I was less than a minute away from the end of my test when I made a huge error. I got confused by the examiner's instruction and well....it caused me to have a major. End of test.

I tried it again. My second attempt was 2 days before I moved to the US. If you have read my previous posts, you will know that I left the UK very suddenly. Due to being stressed about the Covid19 situation, and whether or not I should leave the UK sooner or not, I was not in the right state of mind to take my second test. As a result, I obviously failed.

I wanted a British driver's license because most people in the US drive Automatic cars, I wanted to know manual and to know something my husband didn't ...

...hehe.

It would also make it easier when visiting the UK.

However, obviously not having my British license was no big deal, I'd still have to take the appropriate tests in Colorado regardless.

DRIVING IN THE US/ WRITTEN TEST

During my first months in the US, we were under a stay-at-home order so, it wasn't the right time to get my learner's permit (this is equivalent to a provisional license in the UK).

In Colorado, in order to get a learner's permit, you need to pass their written test (theory test).

Knowing how the UK theory test is, I studied very hard for the Colorado written test. It's a different country so, I wanted to make sure I knew the rules. However, to my surprise, when I downloaded the Colorado highway code I was shocked to see how small it was. Especially when it came to road signs. The British highway code has pages and pages of road signs however, Colorado has less than half a page. After feeling confident with a lot of online practice tests, I was ready to take Colorado's written test.

The whole experience was so unbelievable to me. In the UK, the computers were in a quiet room with barriers so that you couldn't see other monitors. They also body search you for notes or hidden devices.

At the test centre in Colorado, they did not search me, there were 6 computers that were in the same open room with everything else, no shields or barriers...nothing.

I gave the staff all my details etc and went to my computer. The written test asked me roughly 20 questions (in the UK it's about 50 questions). None of the questions were the ones I had studied for but that didn't matter, these questions were common sense. I can't emphasise this enough...I really did not need to study for this test. It was actually pretty shocking how easy the written test was. I may even go as far as to say that it's a joke.

I finished the test within a couple of minutes. I noticed the girl next to me was getting frustrated with all the questions she was getting wrong. I went back over to the desk, and just like that, I passed my Colorado written test. They processed my learner's permit and gave me a temporary one (made of paper), I was ready to go!

To celebrate, my husband took me out for sushi and since I had my temporary permit on hand, I could drive home. No insurance is needed, it's at the owner's discretion to let you drive their car.

I got into the car...on the left side and it immediately felt strange. I hadn't driven in months and was very rusty, not to mention I was driving on the right side of the road instead of the left.

I felt as if I was missing something because my left foot was doing nothing (due to no clutch).

My road positioning was terrible because I was on the other side of the road and it was overall a scary experience.....especially for my husband. I constantly got confused about whether I was on the right side of the road.

Fast forward to the present day and I am getting back to where I was when I left the UK, in terms of my confidence when driving. I am beginning to get used to being on the right side of the road but honestly, I still get a little confused.

The great thing about where I live in Colorado is that there are no roundabouts! Well, there are...but not like in the UK. They are usually in residential areas and can barely be classed as a roundabout.

Since I've already had professional guidance in the UK, it's just a case of getting used to the roads here so, my husband takes me driving and gives me advice. He usually comes home looking very pale...

I plan to take my practical driving test at the end of this month or early November!

From what I have read about the test, the driving test will be 15- 20 minutes long, there will be no testing of skills such as three-point turns or parallel parking. So, it's going to be pretty basic compared to the UK, which is 40 minutes and multiple skills are tested.

I should be able to pass!

I should also note, driving in Colorado is more essential than driving in the UK, which is probably why the test is easier. Everything is so spread out and public transport is so limited that it is a necessity to know how to drive here.

Anyway, thank you for reading and wish me luck!

- Kerry