My nephews girlfriends been here maybe 10 days now and is loving it,life is good,she is fitting right in.She has a filipino driving licence,can she use that to drive here in the UK? (she is obviously going to take extra professional lessons as she said its confusing on UK roads).
She can drive for upto 12 months in the UK on a foreign licence, strongly advise to check with the vehicle insurers first!
Thanks,thats the info I was looking for we weren't sure because she said her "test" in the PI was just so easy.
Any Filipino who has regularly driven in Manila and kept their No Claims Bonus for 10 years (yeah, I know they likely don't have insurance at all, but you know what I mean) should find Britain a doddle.
She has had her licence maybe a year,drove a few times in the Cebu provinces,but like I said she will do lessons here even though she has a full pinoy licence.
They most certainly do have insurance. Third party insurance is compulsory and is part of the LTO registration process.
When my wife visited UK and we rented a hire car, her Philippines Driving Licence was not acceptable for her to be a named co driver. May vary from different rental companies.
The primary difference in the UK is speed, we generally drive faster even in towns and the consequences of an accident are greater, in Manila there are few roads where you can get up to any real speed because of the insane congestion. But in pure manoeuvring they have wild skills here in Manila. Even in the provinces they seem to take it easy in terms of speed.
my wife tells me of one practice over there--where a driver hits a pedestrian on a quiet road. its not unheard of for the driver to reverse back over the unfortunate pedestrian...to avoid costly hospital bills....
I knew someone who hit an old guy years ago,riding too fast and drunk on his motorbike,the old guy died,the guy I knew stayed in hospital till the kerfuffle was sorted out and he had to pay an amount to the family,this was in Mindanao.
I was in a car once with a Filipino in the UK..We were about to approach a major roundabout in North London when she asked "Left at the roundabout,or right at the round about"? I said "RIGHT". She continued to turn RIGHT STRAIGHT into on coming traffic on that roundabout// I had to grab the wheel and force the car onto the damned island.. Should we allow them driving rights based on their existing R.P licence? A resounding NO!
Unless you are high on it. ‘53 drivers, aides shabu users’ The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency said 53 public transport workers tested positive for illegal drug use based on the results of the “Oplan: Huli Week,” which was aimed at making travel to the provinces during Holy Week safe for passengers. http://manilastandard.net/news/top-stories/292823/-53-drivers-aides-shabu-users-.html
Having had driving lessons here and eventually got a UK driving license, I would strongly suggest that a Filipino driver who never had any formal driving lessons either here or in the Philippines, should NOT be allowed to drive here, especially when roundabouts are involved, even if they have a full Filipino license. UK roads are a different animal. I have been driving since I was 16 but never had formal driving lessons (my Dad taught me how to drive), never had any accidents (touch wood), but I can defo say that driving here is very very different.
