American Explains Driving in the UK || Life in the U.K. Part I: An American Experience || 4K

Life in the UK: An American experience Part1

I sit down and share some of my experience of learning how to drive in the UK and getting my drivers licence. I hope you enjoy the video and please like and subscribe for more.

My experience of living overseas in the United Kingdom and what it is like. The life of an expat and all the issues and fun things that go on.

I plan to make several videos of the experience and differences between the two countries

[GrafindeKlevemark]

I started my driving life in Germany at 16 (military driving licence - I'm 73 now). It was a horrific experience, with the examiner in my beetle, and my father sitting behind us giving bad vibes at every little fault I made. When my parents (military) left Germany and I stayed behind, I had to take a German driving licence, which I passed. I then moved on to France with my beloved and used an international driving licence. We then moved on to the UK where again I had to take the English licence, which I passed in spite of whipping round the roundabout a couple of times before I found the right exit !!! We moved back to France later and thank heavens I only had to exchange my previous licences for a French one which I still have and the full 12 points to keep driving amongst the mad drivers over here - I live near Paris and worked there for many years. If you have ever driven in Paris recently and survived, even as a pedestrian, good luck to you !!!!

[isoney]

Just a tip - many libraries give access to official practice theory and hazard perception so you can study up on those without spending any money.

[mazdaram]

Drove in America and went through a toll booth with my son and looked over at a Police car, 10 minutes later he had turned around all followed us. Then he came to my door whilst telling myself to keep hands on the steering wheel ( which I can understand), but then when I told him we are going the the airport he started kicking off because he never asked me to speak etc, scared my son and was a complete twat … I was being respectful and he kept getting really furious… I honestly thought he was drugged up on something…

[andywilliams]

There's 2 reasons you've never seen any cars pulled over for speeding and traffic offences:

1. They mostly don't need to. For as you mentioned. There's lots of different types of obviously highlighted number plate recognition traffic cameras. Which forcibly encourage good driving, and automatically capture bad driving, with the citation and fine sent to you in the post.

2. For the Police's safety, your safety and other drivers safety. The Police will only ever pull you over on a motorway or busy A-road as a last resort. Nobody wants to be stopped at the side of the road, while other cars are whizzing past at 70 MPH. As it's dangerous.

Therefore, if the police do wish to pull you over for a traffic offence. They'll normally pull in front of you. Then turn on both their lights and a neon sign in their back window. Which reads "Follow Me!" They'll have you follow them off the motorway via the very next off-ramp. And then to the nearest low or no traffic area. Such as a quiet B-road, layby, car park or service station. Then have their conversation with you, safely away from any high speed passing traffic.

There's practically no chance of escape. As your number plate and details, and your face, have already been automatically recorded by the Police car's cameras. If a person refuses to follow them. The Police Unit will then declare a pursuit. Every camera on the motorway will then be trained on and follow the person. Additional backup Police units, including the helicopter, will be immediately dispatched. Then if necessary. They'll force the person to stop by surrounding them with multiple units and ramming them into a stop.

[Tonderai]

Passed my theory and driving test first time lol. But in all seriousness a car is a dangerous machine and it's important that someone with a driving license is capable of using it on the road. In perspective the fact that you had a California License and failed a couple of times in the UK shows the high standard of UK testing...as much as it annoys most of us

[ForCYP]

Exactly, it’s not common for police to actively pull people over. I see it like maybe once a year in the UK. When I was in Kansas it was daily.

[fiatstilo]

Part of your freedom is being allowed to drive on the roads and go about your business legally, without being harassed. 🤷‍♂️. Good video big fella. Policing in the UK gets a bad press at times, but generally, even if you’re stopped for doing something wrong, you will be treated with patience and respect.

[TheAlgoflon]

The reason why it is not 60 mph 70 mph etc is the speed varies on the type of vehicle you drive .I.E. the speed limit might be 70mph for a car but for a lorry it is possibly only 50mph or 60mph so instead a sign denotes that the national speed limit applies and you are expected to know what that is for the vehicle you are driving

[andywilliams]

You'll never see any advertisement billboards on any motorways (freeways) in the UK and other European countries. As pretty much all of Europe places a much greater emphasis on road safety. Therefore, anything that could cause unnecessary distractions to drivers, driving at high speed is prohibited.

[willswomble]

The reason the age being allowed to drive is older in UK/all EU, that there are fairly rigorous driving tests, that there are UNMARKED polce cars on the roads/motorways, that there are 'speed' cameras EVERYWHERE, that there is a strict, comprehensive test of cars 12 monthly after bought brand new, that the signage is virtually standard across all Europe, is to achieve a MUCH lower death/serious injury rate compared with your beloved Cali., or USA, Portugal, Turkey,

[dirtbikerman]

The reason why us bits drive on the left goes back to even before America was discovered.
Our knights in shining armour were predominantly right handed and had their lance in their right hand which made them be on the left to an oncoming charging knight in a duel...
It stayed with us since back then

[brian]

My California driving experience was in 2014. I was there for my nephew's wedding and I had to get from LA to Temecula for the rehearsal dinner on the Friday evening. It's only about 100 miles and I'm an experienced driver in London, so I thought I knew what traffic congestion is like. LA has a whole other level of traffic. 5½ hours from 2pm to 7.30pm! What a mission! If there's ever a next time, I'll leave in the morning.

[boyblunder]

That sign with the black line means it’s the National Speed limit - This means the national limit applies, which is 60mph on single carriageway roads, and 70mph on dual carriageways.

[windsorSJ]

I've been driving in the UK for 50yrs. I always remember being told by my instructor that road markings and signs are like a story that guides you as you drive.

[JakeSpeed]

Dude there are no "Yield" signs in the UK, only "Give Way" i.e. give way to the traffic on the right. Great Video by the way.

[kathrynfoot]

The black line sign means the national speed limit applies which is dependent on the type of road/carriageway you’re on and vehicle you’re driving it does not mean 70 mph each time. It is for the driver to know which speed limit applies .

[DaChaGee]

The 70mph speed limit was introduced in the 1960s and was actually temporary. Before that there were no speed limits on the motorways. That's why we have the line so they can change it.

[scottirvine]

The only time you will see traffic cops pull someone is for speeding to excess or the car is not roadworthy. It does happen of course

[TRzest]

I passed driving tests in the UK, Sweden and USA, first time. My dad tought me in the UK, and no lessons thereafter. However, I think the non-driving tests are now much more challenging than I faced.

[desthomas]

When it comes to domestic road traffic accidents, the UK experienced 181, 384 casualties of all severities in the latest figures from 2016. Of these, there were 1792 fatalities. The US, on the other hand, experienced around 40, 000 fatal motor crashes in 2016 – making it one of the world’s most dangerous countries to drive in.