Help! I’m Stuck in a Roundabout and I Can’t Get Out! (Part 1)

When we first lived in England in the middle ‘70s, Jake was there as a US Naval officer on exchange to the Royal Navy. Therefore, he was covered by what was then called the “Status of Forces Agreement,” which covered what was and was not required of the military forces assigned to the UK. Among them was that Jake had no requirement to obtain a UK driving license within a year. He could drive in the UK on his US driver’s license as long as he was assigned there. But, Marsha was not actually a part of the “forces,” so she had to follow UK law and obtain a driver’s license before the end of the first year.  The UK government acknowledges the valid driving license for tourists for up to one year from last entry to the country.

Now to be honest, most of the American (and other countries as well) wives would solve this problem by simply going over to Paris for a night, come back the next day and get another entry visa stamp in the passport and keep driving on their US licenses. Marsha decided to get a license from the UK. So, she went for the driving test, passed the written part just fine, but then failed the actual driving test because the examiner didn’t think she looked at the car mirrors enough. (Not surprising, almost all first-time test takers fail, even today.) Now most women would, at that point, chuck the whole project and head to Paris, but Marsha is a determined woman and when she decides to do something, she does it. She signed up with a driving instructor to make sure she was clear about the mirror issue which involved learning a routine to check all the mirrors on a steady rotation much more frequently than she had ever done or had even been taught in the States. On the second try, she passed with flying colors. And, I might add, she also managed to parallel park the car on the left side of the road! To this day she does remind Jake that she is the one who actually took and passed the test, not him.

When we mention to our American friends that we either have already driven or plan to drive in England we usually get some reaction like, “Don’t they drive on the wrong side of the road over there? I could never do that!” or “I would be petrified at the first roundabout, they scare me.” And we must admit that sometimes driving in the UK can be an adventure. But we want you to be able to get out of London, into the countryside, and although the public transportation in UK is excellent, sometimes the best way is just to drive.  So, in this series of posts we will examine driving in the UK and how you might prepare yourself if you are going to give it a go.

First thing up is licensing. As I said, the UK government recognizes a valid driver’s license from the US. Their website will verify that for you, just in case the rules change, but for decades now the UK has recognized valid licenses from Americans for one year from the most recent entry stamp in your passport.  An International Driving Permit can be issued from any American Automobile Association (AAA) store; check online for more information. Two passport photos and a valid license are required to get the International Permit. All it really does is translate your stateside license into foreign languages so that non-English speaking countries can see that you are licensed. So, in the UK you don’t need it, but Jake used to get one, just in case we decide to do something crazy like take the train to France for a day or so.

Renting a car is pretty straightforward, too. The major car rentals all have English centers, and there are unique European rentals as well. We have rented from Hertz, Budget, Enterprise, and National and have had success with all. One very strong caution: when you get your car, before you move it even a foot, go around it carefully with the “previous damage” report in your hand and note every scratch, ding, windshield scar, scrape, everything. If it isn’t on the damage report, get the agent to correct the report before you leave. If you can’t get him or her to document it, take a timed/dated photo of the defect and prepare to make your argument when you are done with the car. When you turn the car back in, you will be hit for everything not on that report. Trust me, I’ve paid (literally) those dues.

As for insurance, do some research before you make the decision. Check with your insurance company to see if your current automobile insurance policy covers rentals in the UK (most do not) and see if you can get a temporary addition to cover a rental (probably not).  I have an American Express card and they offer a program of car rental and damage insurance that charges you a flat fee each time you rent a car and pay for it entirely with your American Express card. Note that last provision. It must be paid for entirely on your AMEX card. In addition, to use the AMEX policy you need to decline all CDW insurance (or similar offering) from the automobile rental agency. As usual, contact AMEX directly regarding registering your particular card in this program and to get the latest details from them. The program can be changed or modified at any time, so you need to do the research, as I said. The same caution applies to your own insurance provider. If you decide not to do anything special and just pay the rental agency, your bill for the car will about double. (UPDATE: AMEX still offers the program for US local rentals but the coverage does not extend to the UK. So ask the agent when you pick up the car what insurance options may be available and select the deductible plan that meets your personal needs.)

One last thing: fuel in the UK is expensive—gas or diesel. Taken from the Automobile Association in the UK, as of today (August, 2018) the price of gasoline (petrol) is 128.9p/liter, and for diesel it’s 131.0p/liter. (UPDATE: In February 2024 petrol averages 140.5p/liter and diesel is 149.26p/liter) Given that there are 3.79 liters in a US gallon, that works out to be £4.89 / gallon for petrol and £4.96 / gallon for diesel. At today’s exchange rate of $1.32/£, those are $6.45 and $6.55. (UPDATE: In February 2024, the exchange rate is $1.26, so a gallon of petrol is close to $7.) That’s expensive. The good news is that gas mileage for most cars in the UK is much better than in the US, on the order of 50+mpg. But for your rental, make sure you bring it back to the lot full or you’ll be paying a premium price, well above those averages, for the rental agency to refill it.

That’s it for now; we’ll cover actually driving in another post.

Photo credit By Andy F [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons