Wasn’t quite sure how to entitle this thread. Basically what I want to know is this: Can a California license-holder apply for another state’s license without going there or ever intending to?
I NEED to get my Taiwanese driver’s license, but can’t switch because of “reciprocity”. After driving without one single accident and hardly any traffic violations for F-ing TWENTY years, I nonetheless twice had the humiliating experience of failing my damn license test here because of the stupid backwards S-curve test. I absolutely refuse on principle to go through that experience again, or to re-memorize all the useless crap I had to for the incomprehensibly-written English test.
I tried driving around with an international license, but got nailed with a BRUTAL fine, even though the international license is fully valid. That piece of crappy luck has absolutely RUINED my week and will probably completely soil the pleasure of the upcoming weekend trip to Taroko my wife and I had so been looking forward to.
I absolutely MUST circumvent this crappy policy which is based not in the common good but in legal technicality and the corrupt relationship between driver’s license buxibans and the transportation department.
Therefore, my plan is, if possible, to apply for the license of a US state which can be legally switched with a Taiwanese driver’s license. Does anyone know this can be done? Please help. I want to get this frustrating situation resolved as soon as possible - before I get NAILED again!
lol. what? taiwan school of driving, i can’t park, or stay in a lane, or understand how a red light works, but i can make a never to be needed backwards s-curve! that takes cake.
the driving test here is the simplest thing ever. even the backwards s-curve is simple as. my ‘school’ even taught how to cheat to pass the driving test (they had little markers all over the car and the whole test was simple following instructions)…
still… i can already drive, and i thought it was laughable… i used to go to the prac sessions to practice LHD, and i’d be catching all the other learners halfway around the course~ i’d be stopping and waiting for them at each point…
F----ing ream job. If the point of passing the test is to have driving skills, how come there’s not a single F-----ing place in Taiwan to practice for free??? The DMV’s all make sure they gate the whole place up at night, and the “driving schools” charge 800 an hour.
And as for easy… well, obviously not easy enough. Hmm, let’s see:
“The penalty for a lorry carrying a load more than 1 kg over the legal weight limit is A) a fine of 2,000 and suspension of license for 3 months B) a fine of 3,000 and suspension of license for 2 months, C) a fine of 2.5 thousand and suspension of license for 2.5 months D) none of the above”
Oh yeah, that’s TOTALLY self-evident (not to mention relevant to my life!)
So back to my question: can you or can you not get another state’s license without living there (or even going there)?
[quote=“tango42”]Doesn’t the International Driver’s License apply here? Or can’t it be easily coverted???[/quote]IDLs can be used here and, though most can’t be converted, they can be validated provided the holder has an ARC. Not sure what happened in Vay’s case, though.
There’s a thread on IDLs here: forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.php?t=4832
So, anyone know whether Vay will be able to get a license from another state?
I think the only two states left that can offer reciprocity regarding license exchange are Missouri and Arkansas…Are you sure you want a license from either of those states? Besides, you need to show you’ve lived there for at least a year before being able to call yourself a resident of nearly any US state.
Considering how badly the average Taiwanese drives, we should be happy that most states don’t offer reciprocal license recognition. I know Taiwanese people who have never driven a car on a road who nevertheless have a driving license. I sure as hell wouldn’t want them driving back home without a little practice and having to pass our test.
Every year I get my parents to send me an application for an IDL. I fill it out mail it back and receive my IDL. I then take it to the motor vehicle office in Taipei and get it stamped and a little insert put in. Perfectly valid. I’ve been stopped by police and even had an accident and no one questioned the validity of the IDL. IMO it is easier to do this than take the driving test. Those who say it is easy were probably just lucky as many people have failed it repeatedly.
[quote=“Muzha Man”]IMO it is easier to do this than take the driving test. Those who say it is easy were probably just lucky as many people have failed it repeatedly.[/quote]Not sure about that. I think the lucky ones are the ones who passed the test without any preparation. From what I hear, a reasonable amount of time spent with the prep booklet and a few lessons on the exact procedure for the “S” curve are enough for most people. And if people want to be extra sure, they can even take the test at the driving school itself, probably on the exact same course they practised on.
That would seem to be quite easy compared to obtaining a license in most places in the west, which requires serious study, many hours of practice, and most probably a lot of money spent on lessons.
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“Muzha Man”]IMO it is easier to do this than take the driving test. Those who say it is easy were probably just lucky as many people have failed it repeatedly.[/quote]Not sure about that. I think the lucky ones are the ones who passed the test without any preparation. From what I hear, a reasonable amount of time spent with the prep booklet and a few lessons on the exact procedure for the “S” curve are enough for most people. And if people want to be extra sure, they can even take the test at the driving school itself, probably on the exact same course they practised on.
That would seem to be quite easy compared to obtaining a license in most places in the west, which requires serious study, many hours of practice, and most probably a lot of money spent on lessons.[/quote]
Yeah, I meant those who passed the first time without prep, especially the S-turn as it really is all about knowing the exact approach. To early or late on the first turn and you won’t make it. It’s a trick. Nothing to do with driving skill.
[quote=“Muzha Man”]Yeah, I meant those who passed the first time without prep, especially the S-turn as it really is all about knowing the exact approach. To early or late on the first turn and you won’t make it. It’s a trick. Nothing to do with driving skill.[/quote]Right. Though, to be fair, I don’t think one should take a driving test anywhere in the world without preparation and expect to pass, no matter how good a driver one is.
I’ve been stopped three times by police here while driving. Twice I was making right turns on red lights and they had quota-filling ambush stations around the corner. Once it was an illegal U-turn on the main Shilin night market street. All three times I showed my UNVALIDATED IDL from the states. All three times they were pissed but let me go. I guess it really depends on the cop.
In short I failed the S-curve too, so I went to the Taipei AIT, had them notarize my California DL, took it to Shilin, and they gave me a Taiwan DL. Though the Taiwan DL is segmented according to auto/manual transmission, the CDL doesn’t note it so neither does my Taiwan license.
BTW, since I have both an IDL and Taiwanese license, I only took out the IDL when stopped and used the Taiwanese license as a backup.
If you must take the exam here, there are “exam mills” which give you a “driving instruction course” followed by a practical in which they tell you exactly when and how much to turn the steering wheel, so that’s one option.
Taiwan will do a direct swap if you have a driver’s license from the state of Oklahoma. If you have a valid driver’s license from any state in the US, you can go to Oklahoma DMV and swap your existing driver’s license (issued from any US state) for an Oklahoma driver’s license. Take this driver’s license back to Taiwan and show it to the local DMV and they should issue you a Taiwan driver’s license without having to take any exams. If some idiotic Taiwanese front-desk lady makes the generalization that all US licenses are not recognized, then direct her to this page or print it out and show it to her:
It shoud work. I have also heard that in other Taiwan cities (other tha Taipei), where they are not as familiar with the rules, they don’t really care…I heard people just exchanging licenses from Canada, US, etc. for a Taiwanese license without any problems…I think they did it in Hsinchu…
Ermmm…That would be me then.
I really didn’t think passing the test was due to my luck however as I’m not a very lucky person. I don’t win raffles and I often get hit crossing zebra crossings in Taiwan, but I did find most of the course fairly easy. I believe my reversing skills are fairly good from having to pack lots of cars into a medium sized garage at night since I was sixteen and started working my first full time job as an apprentice. The person testing me did whisper a couple of hints at me around the course however and one of them was when at the end of the ‘S’ bend, then I should immediately put full lock on the steering before reversing back through it, and I think that bit of advice helped a lot. I wrote an article on taking the driving test Here for those interested in taking the silly test. For the life of me I have no explanation as to why on earth they would conduct a road test in a large car park with obstacles when it bares almost no relevance to real life. Also in the Taiwan highway code it strictly prohibits reversing up hills, around corners and during busy traffic, so that pretty much kills the need for any reverse maneuvering requirement as part of the test.
[quote=“sulavaca”]I wrote an article on taking the driving test Here for those interested in taking the silly test…[/quote]That’s a very useful article, thanks. Just one thing: the link to the online Taipei City practice theory test appears to be broken. You might like to try one or both of the links mentioned here:
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“adogatwn”][quote=“joesax”]
Did you see the separate lists of roadsigns, multiple choice questions, and true or false questions on the other link I posted before?[quote=“joesax”]There are also some lists of test questions here…[/quote]
[/quote]
I’m sure the info is somewhere, just the sysadmin likes to change the urls to justify his/her job… :happybiker:[/quote]The correct link is now this: tmvso.gov.tw/English/Download.html
The “d” on “download” has been changed to upper case.[/quote]
Oo! THanks for that. Edit: I’ve fixed it now and added the other link to the other test site, so now there are two test sites. The other one was where my link wasn’t working which is here.
[quote=“joesax”][quote=“Muzha Man”]IMO it is easier to do this than take the driving test. Those who say it is easy were probably just lucky as many people have failed it repeatedly.[/quote]Not sure about that. I think the lucky ones are the ones who passed the test without any preparation. From what I hear, a reasonable amount of time spent with the prep booklet and a few lessons on the exact procedure for the “S” curve are enough for most people. And if people want to be extra sure, they can even take the test at the driving school itself, probably on the exact same course they practised on.
That would seem to be quite easy compared to obtaining a license in most places in the west, which requires serious study, many hours of practice, and most probably a lot of money spent on lessons.[/quote]
Just take a really small car. I did mine in a Twingo; easy as pie!
Besides, you need to show you’ve lived there for at least a year before being able to call yourself a resident of nearly any US state.