How long for Driver's Licence?

[aikorob]

N. wanted me to ask you folks----how long did it take for your wife to get her licence after she arrived?
She has been talking to a lot of women in the ATL area---some immigrants, some who came on fiancee visas or other methods---and most of those women report not getting a licence until 4, 6, 8 years after arrival. If they drove in FSU, the time was a little shorter, but not by much. I remember from past threads that many posters have reported on the joys of teaching your honey to drive

I had N start practicing as soon as we got her SSN and proof of residency, so she had a little taste before the K1 ran out---then it was a wait until she got her documents in November. Since then, she has been terrorizing the folks in west Georgia as she flies through the countryside at 35 mph.

[Jet]

N. wanted me to ask you folks----how long did it take for your wife to get her licence after she arrived?
She has been talking to a lot of women in the ATL area---some immigrants, some who came on fiancee visas or other methods---and most of those women report not getting a licence until 4, 6, 8 years after arrival.

Liliya waited about 2 years to start driving, but we live in an area that has very good public transportation. She came in '03, got her learner's license in '05 and practiced for the full year of its validity before taking the driving test in '06.

[aikorob]

The only public transportation around here is if you flag down a log truck

I have been pretty amazed at the stories she learns of on the RW forums---she tells of many ladies who come here and are basically prisoners still after 2,3,5 years--no driving, still little English, totally dependant on their husbands

[beachcomber556]

Vika had never driven before our arrival May 31, 2007.  Even though her English is very good, I found her a Russian speaking driving teacher who began working with her in mid-June.  Two weeks later she took the written test and passed the first time.  With learners permit in hand, along with a big smile, she was behind the wheel of our Expedition the same day.  It was nerve wracking, but soon she was tooling around Houston with little difficulty.  A month later she passed the driving test, parallel parking the Expy like a pro who had been driving all her life. A few days later we went to the Toyota dealer to pick up her new car.  She is now a full fledged road warrior, commuting into Houston every day to her job in The Galleria district.  From what I gather, her experience is not normal, but nothing about Vika is normal.  That's why I love her so much.

[Turboguy]

One thing to keep in mind is that for my state and probably most states you can't get a learners permit until you have a Social Security number.   There are also some pretty stiff requirements about residency that some have had problems with.   We skated through that part OK but it worried me a lot.

VWRW says a woman with fairly good English skills but no knowledge of driving would probably need to study the book for a month to be able to pass the written part.   It could probably be done a little faster but VWRW is a perfectionist and really wanted to understand everything and when you can't relate all the complicated situations they talk about to real life and must remember it there is some time and effort involved. 

Find some big parking lots for a while.  Staying off the roads until she is more than ready is a really good idea.  Yes, we learned not to rush things the hard way.

[Jet]

Find some big parking lots for a while.  Staying off the roads until she is more than ready is a really good idea.  Yes, we learned not to rush things the hard way.

One of the best places we found was a local mall on Sunday mornings (the place is deserted before noon). The perimeter road gave her a chance to move at speed and there was plenty of places to practice close quarters skills as well.

Turbo also makes a good point about residency, my wife still has to renew her license every year and it expires when the EAD does.

[AnastassiaAsh]

I started learning in several months after I came here in 2000. We used to go to a local church parking lot and practice every weekend. It took me about 4 months overall till I got my driver's license, but I would say it took me another year or so to completely get used to it and not worry or concentrate that much till it became natural and not 'hard work'.

It is very necessary for a woman to do learn to drive as soon as she can, it will give her freedom and make her feel confident. I remember I couldn't wait till the moment when i could get some things off of my late husband's shoulders - shopping etc...

[Misha]

VWRW says a woman with fairly good English skills but no knowledge of driving would probably need to study the book for a month to be able to pass the written part.

One of the advantages of living in multicultural Canada: the learner's test in my province was also offered in Russian! I helped her translate the book in Russian, and she took the test in Russian a few months after she arrived. This spring, we plan on having her take some driving lessons so she can move up to her next license: the probationary driver's license (the new driver's designation).

[groovlstk]

It is very necessary for a woman to do learn to drive as soon as she can, it will give her freedom and make her feel confident. I remember I couldn't wait till the moment when i could get some things off of my late husband's shoulders - shopping etc...

That depends where you live, my wife and I are just outside Manhattan and the only time we use our car is on weekends. She has been working as an interior designer since November and takes the subway and occasional taxi to visit her clients in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

She has a Russian driver's license but so far hasn't felt compelled to study for her US license. I'm sure one day she'll take the plunge. Once, I asked her to pull out of my dad's driveway and made the catastrophic error of chuckling when she couldn't find reverse on my car -- the look she shot me had the ends of my hair smoking, so when she takes road lessons I'm thinking it would be wise to hire a professional

[beachcomber556]

Yes, those hair smokin' looks were in ample supply during Vika's driving lessons.  It was nearly impossible to hide my anxiety.  Suggestion -- her first car should be reliable, but not new.  Her new little black Toyota of which she was decidedly proud now sports a a big blue hicky on the front bumper from a gas pump guard pipe and the passenger's side was redecorated when she backed out of garage and misjudged how close she was to our Expedition.  I didn't say a word.    It is, after all, only a car.

[Jumper]

Where we live,  driving is a pretty fundamental nessisity, to
leading any *normal* life.

My wife loves to drive, and i made sure she had plenty of time behind the wheel while in the FSU in driving instruction and taking a full course as well as getting her international drivers licence before she relocated here.
(yes, we were already married)

One thing i wanted ,was for her to NOT feel trapped in anyway, and to be able
to go to the gym ,grocery store, shopping,or wherever  as soon as she felt ready. (almost amusingly, she wanted to drive home from the airport lol)
anyway she had a car waiting (no ,nothing new ) for her ,and was driving the day after her arrival..
by the end of a week ;leaned modst of the common local roads..
and pretty much going wherever ,
so  she has been driving  every day for the last 4 or 5 yeas,,
from the day after her arrival.

she took her local state driving test , maybe a month after arrival..
and passed it easily ,both written and driving parts.
Prior  she had been driving on the international licence,which is allowed for
a certain time frame.


every situatio nisdifferent, whee we live there is noimmediate public transport, so that had to be take nint oaccount..
(as thats how she was used to getting around in her city )

some of the best money i spent in this endeavor, was making sure she
had *good * drivers training.. in a major FSU city, and after passing the international exam, to STILL  continue the drivers training ,
simply to have as much real *behind the wheel time* in traffic situations,
 with a good instructor (and NOT me! lol )

in our situation-  her initial confidence ,and comfort here,
 was directly proportional to her decent english, and abilty to get out and
around whenever , and whereever  she wanted to.
Both our lives where much better for it.  

She had a hard enough time with cultural adjustments in those first 6 months ,
to have also been *stuck at home*..
or dependen ton me for simple transportation , would have been unbearable
(at least to my mind anyway ,in that situation i know i would go completely looney )
 Driving is an example-
but i did everything I  possibly could , and had her to do all she could,
before, and after, her arrival  to assure she *could* be
as independent as possible, or as much as she wanted.
 Driving and language are of course big things.. in western cultural adjustment.

[aikorob]

I tried to get N. interested in driving lessons there in Odessa, but she wasn't too keen on the idea---in retrospect I should have pushed harder. 
I found a 96 Explorer in good shape---I figured it is sturdy enough to keep her safe, and old enough to not worry about scuffs. I was also fortunate in that there were several new subdivisions under construction in the area---roads paved and with signage, but not with any residents. Also, the DMV office keeps their cones setup where they do the backing and parallel parking---we go by after hours and she works on that part.

[JayB]

It took Tanya about 3 months after she arrived to get her VA drivers license.  She spoke little English when she arrived, and not very well when she took the test.  She found a Russian translation of a U.S drivers test book online.  It was not specific to VA, but it helped her a lot.  The people at the DMV actually let her return home after she had started the test, get her Russian-English dictionary, and return to retake the test.  She passed it first try.  As soon as she passed the test she began ESL classes at the community college, and unchaperoned visits to the shopping mall of course.

[Blues Fairy]

DL is my sore spot.  DMV here wouldn't let me drive with my Russian DL and wouldn't give me the learner's permit without an I-94 valid for at least 1 year.  Which means that I'm grounded until I get at least an EAD from the immigration service.  So, there's 5 months of not driving right there.  Otherwise, I would have taken the driving tests on the next day upon arrival and bought myself a new car on the same day.   

[ScottinCrimea]

My wife was able to drive on her Ukrainain International drivers license for six months in our state but we felt it a good idea to get her state license sooner.  She had been driving in Ukraine so was already a pretty good driver, but she needed to learn some of the differences.  We got another state's manual that was available online in Russian and that helped her understand the English manual when she was unsure.  In our state, if you ask, they provide a different written test for those with limited Engllish that is composed of pictures and you choose he one that shows the correct scenario.  It seems the Russian community here pass around a paper that has all of the pictures on it that might appear on the test, so that also helped tremendously.  for her driving test she got a copy of the check off sheet that the tester uses to give points and we spent time with her driving and me checking her on these points.  She passed with flying colors last week but I'm still recovering from her response to the drills I put her through.

[Ronnie]

I'm going to be a bad boy and tell you that my wife is coming up on 4 years in the states and only now is approaching the point where she might be able to pass the driving test.  She passed the written test which is given in Russian on the third try.  Actually, she failed the third time too, but the DMV agent gave her two follow-up questions and told her if she got those two right she would pass her.  So now she has a learner's permit.

She got her license in Ukraine after taking driving school but still not being competent on the road.  A bottle of champagne sealed the deal at the Ukrainian DMV (what else is new).

Yesterday, she was backing out of a parking stall and I had to grab the wheel as she had the wheel turned to where it was about to hit the car next to us.  For some reason this set her off emotionally and she began screaming at me for what I'd done.  I had done the same many times before without repercussions but I think some days she's on edge emotionally and those are not the days she should be behind the wheel of a 4,000 lb car.  Actually, the screaming enlarged into her frustrations with not being able to speak English (despite years of lessons) and consequent lack of meaningful employability.

I do believe that we are on the verge of breaking through for her as her driving, as I said, is near passable and her English is slowly by steadily improving.  Hopefully she'll have fewer outbursts when that happens.  98 percent of the time she's an angel.

[Misha]

There are two things a man should never try to do in my opinion:

1. Teach his wife his language;
2. Teach her to drive.

I am helping my wife with the first and doing my best with the second. When possible, better to get professionals to teach both language and driving. In the long run, hiring a driving instructor is cheaper than paying for a divorce lawyer 

[Ronnie]

Aaaaamen, Amen, Amen!

[KenC]

Lena arrived with a Russian DL but with no driving experience.  Michigan allowed drivers to use their foreign DL for a year.  I got Lena's butt behind the wheel of my Caddy a couple of weeks after she arrived.  After a couple of close calls, we had to correct some of her problems driving: she needed glasses to see in the distance!

Teaching your spouse to drive is a tough row to hoe for sure.  Especially if they're a little stubborn.  Hmm, a RW stubborn?  No way!
 

Lena has been mobile since the end of her first month here.  Not without mishaps I might add.  But such is life.  She is a darn good driver now.
KenC

[Voyageur]

My sweetheart took some driving lessons while she was waiting for her K1 interview in Russia.  Then she got her international drivers license. Both were relatively useless once she arrived here.  Her driving lessons were in a manual transmission Volga  which have almost nothing in common with American automobiles.

When she arrived here I was living in Pennsylvania, and like TurboGuy we had to get her a social security number to even get a learners permit.

Buses and public transportation were not an option where we used to live, so obtaining a drivers license became a priority for us, as I did not want her to sit at home all day while I was at work. We bought a new car that she really couldn't drive, as I only had a manual transmission truck.  Every night after work we drove - first in vacant school parking lots working our way to back roads and eventually highways.  There were some near misses to be sure  but now we look back on these times fondly. I wish I had bought her a Garmin or GPS system back then. She has one now and it really makes her life easier. I really recommend buying this to help your FSU woman navigate your city.

She studied the Pennsylvania DMV manual and took the on-line tests and had no problem with passing her written exam about 3 months after her arrival, to get her learners permit. She passed the practical test a few weeks later.  he biggest issue was the parallel parking test, which I am not sure that she has mastered yet, 2 and 1/2 years later  .  There were some hair-raising times for sure but it helped us increase our bond and understanding of each other. She is a very safe and cautious driver now, and she even tries to improve my driving skills sometimes  .

[Jet]

There are two things a man should never try to do in my opinion:

1. Teach his wife his language;
2. Teach her to drive.

I am helping my wife with the first and doing my best with the second. When possible, better to get professionals to teach both language and driving. In the long run, hiring a driving instructor is cheaper than paying for a divorce lawyer 

It can be done, and without hiring a divorce lawyer. I paid for the the professional language instruction but Lil wanted no parts of any pro driving instructor, even though we had a Russian speaking driving school available locally. My hair is a lot shorter and a lot grayer than it used to be, but she's turned out to be a fine driver. I never worried about her taking off on her own once she had passed the test. She was fully ready to "fly solo" at the time she took the driving exam, as we never rushed the training phase. She used virtually the whole year her learner's license was valid, to practice.

[edit to add]
Since she made it through her first year accident free, how could I object when she asked for this for her birthday? 

[Zhena]

Nice present,Jet,your wife is lucky.
It took me almost a year to get a license. I arrived with ukrainian one and it allowed me to drive for 3 months. And I did constantly-with my husband in the car. I adjusted to the car pretty fast,but the road system was somewhat unfamiliar to me and that took a time to get familiar. So I actually drived all that year without a license but with the husband together. Of course I expierenced his yelling when he taught me and I made some accident-dangerous situations. To be honest,I was just lazy to take a test. I took it being very pregnant because realized that I ll need to be able to drive myself anytime with the baby.

[rusexplorer]

Lena arrived with a Russian DL but with no driving experience.  Michigan allowed drivers to use their foreign DL for a year.  I got Lena's butt behind the wheel of my Caddy a couple of weeks after she arrived.  After a couple of close calls, we had to correct some of her problems driving: she needed glasses to see in the distance!

Teaching your spouse to drive is a tough row to hoe for sure.  Especially if they're a little stubborn.  Hmm, a RW stubborn?  No way!
 

Lena has been mobile since the end of her first month here.  Not without mishaps I might add.  But such is life.  She is a darn good driver now.
KenC

Thanks so much for this piece of intelligence. While my friend and I have not made any formal plans for the future, she and I are beginning to think about the little details like driver's licenses. I will encourage her to learn to drive in Russia and acquire a driver's license there.