Driving in the UK

I have a question. I plan to move to England next year and I was told that I should re-take my driving test in a manual in canada first to be allowed to drive a standard in Britain. Otherwise I would only be able to drive an Auto. Has anyone else heard of this?

yes that is true, they have different type of driving license for manual or automatic in England and because on the Canadian driving license this is not specified, you have to do the test here if you want to drive a manual car.

Oh ok thanks!

If you want to do that, you will have to be able to prove that your Canadian test was done on a manual - so you may want to check with the test centre if they are able to provide proof.

Otherwise, you can drive in Britain for up to a year on your Canadian license (and you can drive manuals during that time). When you go to exchange your license, you will only get an automatic license - and then can take the test here.

What she said! I just got my British manual license. What a pain in the butt! Learning to drive the "British way" almost killed me as there are so many things that are in the highway code or you have to do on the test that defy common sense (or at least common sense as defined by a North American).

Yes, you can exchange your Canadian license for an automatic license here.

Yes, you can get a manual license here without the test IF and only if you can prove you passed your test on a manual.

Once you "trade in" you Canadian license for a British one (which only took 10 days, a speed unheard of in the UK), you only have to take the practical driving test to get the manual license.

Good luck!

Another minor point - it's pretty hard to get away with only driving an automatic transmission in the UK. For reasons I have never comprehended, people just don't like them in Europe. The argument is that they have worse performance and use more gas, but really, when you're sat at a standstill on the M25 every morning it makes no odds.

Even if you buy an auto, sooner or later you're going to end up in a situation where you have to drive a manual.

I've been driving an auto here for 7 years! There is a real prejudice against Automatics here though, so there are some negatives to them:

- Renting automatics is harder and more expensive (they just have less of them in stock)
- Buying new automatics is generally more expensive as the base model of car doesn't come in automatic
- Buying used automatics is very dificult - they don't get many in stock and sales people are interested (on the plus side though, they are generally low mileage as the profile of people here who buy automatics aren't heavy drivers)
- It's virtually impossible to find an automatic that takes diseal - and with fuel prices, diseals tend to be much more economic.

On the plus side, when most of your journeys are stop-start in traffic, then it is simpler driving an auto! I just bought my 2nd automatic car, and have never considered taking the manual test!

If you exchange your Canadian licence for a British one, do you have to take the theory test? If you want to upgrade to manual, do you have to do the entire pracitcal test? or do they just want you to demonstrate the ability to change gears without stalling?

It depends on which Province you're from, my Alberta licence does have a code on it that says whether you're restricted to automatics or not. Some Provinces have agreements with the UK, some don't, you have to check the DMV website for your Province.

If there is no agreement, you have to take the test over. If there is an agreement, you can swap your licence. If you have a full licence in whatever your Province you're from and it shows that you are allowed to drive a stick shift, then the DVLA will grant you a full licence.

Ahhhh I just checked the UK government drect.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022562. It seems it is handled the same for all of Canada.

Canadian licences

If you are the holder of a Canadian licence you will receive automatic transmission only when exchanging for a British licence. This can only be upgraded to manual upon presentation of confirmation, from the relevant licensing authority, of a manual test being passed or a manual test is passed in this country.