Oh joy.. not again.

[Garp]

I guess it's only reasonable, but half of me hoped I would be able to transfer my UK license to a Hawaiian one. Sadly not.

So today I ambled on down to the DMV office during an extended lunch break, filled out some paperwork and sat the written test.

26/30, passmark being 24. All 4 questions I failed were ones specific to US road stuff, e.g. they have "Reduce Speed: 35mph" signs which mean "35 mph speed limit ahead" and I went for "35 mph speed limit starts here"

Next step, sitting the road test. Need to book a time when Kari can accompany me to the test centre as I have to have a 21+ fully licensed driver with me who's insured on the vehicle in which I take the test (as must I be). Our car, in other words.

[Del Lardo]

Better to be 50% there rather than 0% there.

Bear in mind that the first time I drove in the US I nearly got shot for not knowing you could turn right on a red

[Will]

Originally Posted by Del Lardo

Better to be 50% there rather than 0% there.

Bear in mind that the first time I drove in the US I nearly got shot for not knowing you could turn right on a red

Always a classic.

[leowyatt]

Good luck.

Thankfully I was pre-warned about turning right

[Mohinder]

I've never been to the US, but I've always wondered... if you can turn right on a red, how does any bugger ever cross the road?

[Mark]

With caution!

Done it countless times myself though and never had any bother - you just need to find the buttons for the pedestrian crossing (if there are any) and be careful.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by Mohinder

I've never been to the US, but I've always wondered... if you can turn right on a red, how does any bugger ever cross the road?

Pedestrians have priority. In Hawaii the road laws changed a couple of years ago that means if a pedestrian is in the crossing on your half of the road, not just clear of your lane, you can't cross that line. They're quite pedantic about that one too.

They don't have the right to cross the road whenever they like, though, only allowed to cross at pedestrian crossings, and only when the white man is showing, or a "WALK" sign is illuminated.

[SidewinderINC]

and doesn't jaywalking have quite big penalties?

[Mohinder]

Oh so crossings are activated separately from red lights?

It all makes sense in that case, I never did get that... seeing as we cross at red lights.

[Garp]

Originally Posted by SidewinderINC

and doesn't jaywalking have quite big penalties?

Yes indeed. $130 a pop. But then often you're crossing 4 lanes of traffic, so it makes a certain kind of sense. Combine that with Hawaiian drivers being something like the 4th worst in the US, the crosswalk is rather important to safety!

Originally Posted by Mohinder

Oh so crossings are activated separately from red lights?

It all makes sense in that case, I never did get that... seeing as we cross at red lights.

Crossings can be activated separately from lights. I haven't quite figured out yet how the button press impacts light sequences. It doesn't often seem to have much impact. If it's appropriate to cross the sign always changes to reflect that whether someone has pressed the button or not.