driving in the USA

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Hello all

I was wondering if anyone knows, Is it possible to rent a car in the USA, San Francisco for the weekend/ a few days with out a Irish provisional/full licence? As you can guess I never did the licence test and im heading to san Fran in the summer and it would be a dream if I could drive down to las Vegas. Would it take long to sit the driving test out there or is that not possible.

Any comments/ ideas would be great

Thanks.

Lisapeep

Yes, you need a full licence. Unless maybe you look into the dodgier rental places. All the big names, though, require a full licence and many will not rent to under 21s either.

Vegeta

Firstly you'd be better off flying as its probably cheaper.

Secondly as you don't have a full licence you'll have to sit their test. I don't know how long it'll take but believe me it'd be cheaper to fly. I lived in san diego and we flew to Vegas rather than drive as there is less hassle involved

Gandhi

You might not be able to take the test if you are there under a J-1. My friend was able to do it in Alabama years ago, but they have tightened up a lot since 9-11.

You can check out the exact rules on the California DMV site:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl.htm

As the other lads said, though, you can get flights to Vegas so cheap these days, it would hardly be worth the hassle.

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Cheers for all the advise, im going to sit my driver theory test before I go so at least ill have that + I am 21 so this test thing sounds like a possibility. I know it would be a lot less hassle to fly down but I was thinking about taking a few days and making a trip of it.

thanks again

Lisapeep

It could be fun making a trip of it but you should know that the road out to Las Vegas is very boring. Straight road for hours and hours (eight maybe). There's nothing much between the coast and Las Vegas except muddy desert-like landscape. It's not like you even pass through towns when you're on the freeway.

Last year I flew from San Diego to Las Vegas and then got the bus back. I'd highly recommend flying. If you're gonna do any road trip, stick to the coast.

Tom Dunne

When I was in New Mexico a while back (now that I think of it, it was 1993), I just went into the DMV and swapped my Irish provisional for a New Mexico license. The chances of that happening now are pretty slim.

You could chance your arm and play dumb - some of the smaller places won't be too aware that a provisional is not a full licence. Of course, if you get into an accident, you have no insurance.

As for the others telling you to fly - I would tend to disagree. Yes, it's a hell of a long drive (I've driven around California/Arizona/New Mexico quite a bit) but the scenery is incredible. You go from lush green to mountain to desert - it truly is amazing. If you have the time, go for it.

Salmon

Was over in Sanfrancisco a couple of weeks ago and im sorry to let you know that not only do you need the full licence, you need to have held it for a period of 1 year.

netwhizkid

My own Father Drove from NY to San Francisco with 4 friends there last September and they all had full Irish Licenses. He got an "International drivers license" off the AA for something like €40. I think they asked to see his Irish License though. Driving there is much easier than here...No roundabouts... drools!

gilroyb

If you're driving down from San Fran, there are a good few places you can stop off in. Yosemite National Park is worth seeing.

Ruu_Old

Enterprise Rent-A-Car should have what you are looking for, they have lots of choice and lots of different size cars and SUVs. Good luck.

Tuser

Yosemite is amazing, spent 3 days there, wish i could have spent another week. Most amazing scenery id ever seen..

You will definitely need a full licence and in a lot of states you will need to be over 21 especially for Hertz and avis etc

Have a read of this for example.

Dub13

On a side note,I rented a car in the states when I was 24 and they have a extra charge for drivers under 25.It was about $30 a day.

Yes thats all in the link that I posted-its standard procedure

You also in a lot of cases wont be able to get a decent SUV unless you are over 25.
I've rented a few "prestige" cars from Hertz in the states and they wont let you put anyone under 25 on as an additional driver regardless of whether they have a full licence.


Also remember to have your licence with you at all times as if you are pulled in for speeding without it, you will be hauled down to the local cop station.
The fines are *cough* pretty steep.

Our man in Havana

netwhizkid wrote:

. Driving there is much easier than here...No roundabouts... drools!

Not anymore, California is getting roundabouts now. There is a section in the new California DMV manual on roundabouts.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf I recommend reading it. Nice pic of Arnie included FOC.

There is a massive roundabout going into Albany NY
I got to it a few years ago after driving from the Canadian border in a freeway with loads of lanes and this my first time driving on the other side of the road.

It was almost as exciting as driving around the arc de triumph :eek:

dingding

Try and get a car with Sat Nav, It is great in the states and full coverage. I found it invaluable in Florida last year.

Whiskeytango

Hello Adblock,

I live in Salt Lake City, Utah and I have relatives that live in Vegas. If you have more specific questions about things to do, etc. in the western US (including Vegas of course) you are welcome to contact me at vritnose@msn.com. I would be happy to help. I think you would really enjoy your time over here, people generally really love the Irish here.:)

Cheers,
Russ P.

Our man in Havana

Earthman wrote:

There is a massive roundabout going into Albany NY
I got to it a few years ago after driving from the Canadian border in a freeway with loads of lanes and this my first time driving on the other side of the road.

It was almost as exciting as driving around the arc de triumph :eek:

I thought you might get a chuckle out of this!
http://www.petiteanglaise.com/archives/2005/01/26/driving/