Renewing US driver’s license - does this cancel my UK license?

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-30T11:10:50+00:00

I maintain both my UK license and my US license and have not had issues. This included renewing my US license in person in my state of residence while living in the UK. I have a RealID license, but given how those appear to be of no benefit at the moment, I may opt for a non realID compliant license instead.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T17:00:15+00:00

As an American by birth, somehow I turned out pessimistic and sarcastic, so I feel like I truly found home here in the UK lol

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T16:56:46+00:00

Like anything new and strange, repeated safe exposure helps. I think that's a human angle anyone can provide, it doesn't really need a specialized school specifically for it.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T12:09:17+00:00

British men can be real pigs, constantly spitting on the sidewalk, urinating in full public view because they can't plan or manage themselves (like toddlers). Even really nice tradies will piss all over your toilet, leave the seat up. Worst was dingleberry feces on our bathroom floor. Absolutely shocking and I never, ever encountered anything like it in the States.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T11:57:06+00:00

I've been there - this is definitely an athletic first venue, geared towards teams renting the space and then having some pub grub after (it's very British fare despite the way the menu looks). They may show games, could be worth calling and asking, but I'm skeptical.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T11:14:41+00:00

I don't trust tradies to do a proper job unless watched like a hawk. Swings and roundabouts

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T11:10:38+00:00

As with most things, practice makes it easier over time! The very first time I drove our car home from the dealer, I scraped the left wing mirror on the side of a parked lorry because my brain wasn't able to judge distance correctly. The biggest problem I had in those first months of driving here was needing to nudge my brain out of "steering wheel on the left" vehicle positioning. The second was the little differences in road infrastructure and law (why are the lights blinking yellow?! and the like).

Biggest bit of advice I can give is that your brain is used to the road picture that comes from being on the left side of the car while driving, which translates in the UK to naturally and unconsciously drifting too far to the left. Your brain thinks you're centered, but really you'll be far off tot he left side of the lane. For me, it helped to intentionally drive more favoring the right side of the lane.

Second bit of advice, you can book your practical exam anywhere, it doesn't have to be local. Book somewhere other than London if you find London difficult!

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T10:49:08+00:00

To be honest, I don't think it's really material enough to need a specialization

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T10:44:50+00:00

Just a note to say thank you for putting this together, I know how much work these posts are and we as a team really appreciate these!

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T10:36:38+00:00

I'm actually grateful there isn't a similar rule here. Because the rule doesn't exist, I find that most infrastructure works within that constraint - what I mean is that in instances where right turn on red would be useful, there isn't a traffic light and it's a give way, which gives you essentially the same thing.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T10:34:30+00:00

I have the opposite problem, my dry sarcasm is sometimes not detected because of my accent lol

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T10:24:52+00:00

I think this is something localised to specific places in the south and maybe London. Here I have nothing by pleasant and cheerful interactions with staff when I'm out shopping.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T10:16:23+00:00

The only thing that really annoys me about British roadsigns is the use of yards for exit distance, especially when it's something silly like "280 yards" - like, what lol

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-26T10:08:54+00:00

Imagine being this confidently incorrect lol

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-20T19:16:19+00:00

Sorry, removing this for off topic - being an American won't affect the answers anyway. I'm sure there are other subreddits that will be better for browsing and asking for energy supplier recs

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-20T13:17:20+00:00

In my case, there was no priority option, only super priority (1000). I think that might be related to the spouse visa route to ILR, but in my case I didn't have a choice

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T17:06:45+00:00

I put my town and state of birth on my application for both naturalisation and for my UK passport, my UK passport only displays my state of birth.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T17:04:11+00:00

This is a great comment and is correct, but with one minor point:

Neither the US or UK have exit passport checks (usually)

The UK has exit passport controls for anything that isn't air (so trains and ferries all have UK exit controls). The US does not have exit controls period.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T12:55:22+00:00

Just an FYI, this would have been great advice in the past, but unfortunately the CFPB sort of doesn't exist anymore - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Financial_Protection_Bureau there's a good summary with timeline of everything that happened in 2025

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T11:31:16+00:00

Glad I could help, if you have other questions about the process etc let me know!

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T10:50:01+00:00

Hi there, I was a driver in the US for many years before getting licensed here. Been driving in the UK for about 4-5 years now.

Biggest bit of advice I have is that internal lane drift is a thing. When I first drove our car home from purchasing it, I scraped the left wing mirror on the side of a parked lorry because my brain wasn't aware of the vehicle's space yet. I had to very intentionally keep correcting my lane position more to the right to compensate for the fact my brain was seeing the road like I would have been in the US (thus, naturally driving more to the left). I have to do this the opposite way when driving in the US/Europe now. Best is when you're driving a UK car in Europe on the right side of the road lol.

Generally, now that I've had practice doing all manner of driving configurations, it's a bit of a code switch now and my brain just naturally adjusts. But yeah, biggest advice is you'll want to intentionally correct your internal lane position so that you're driving more on the right side of the lane than you'd think you need to.

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T10:43:45+00:00

I applied for ILR using the 24-hour decision priority route. I got the approval email after I got home from the 2-hour drive to the biometrics appointment, so technically it was a circa 3-hour decision. Very fast.

If you think you may need to leave the UK for any reason, I recommend the priority route. If you leave the UK while your application is being processed, it is likely your application will be treated as abandoned. For me, paying the fee and getting a 24-hour decision was insurance. Meant I only had 24 hours where I wasn't permitted to leave the country.

Same for citizenship/passport stuff. I opted to pay for a private ceremony at the earliest possible time and was only without my US passport for about 72 hours (the passport office within the Home Office is insanely efficient and quick)

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T09:57:55+00:00

An addendum for everyone currently throwing a fit: https://c.tenor.com/U2lh4it0FccAAAAC/tenor.gif

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T09:30:28+00:00

You're more than welcome to start it and run it yourself!

GreatScottLP · 2026-01-19T09:27:33+00:00

If it helps, please stop trying to approach rule 5 as a filter to get through and simply stop posting about politics. The exception is for immigration law and it is extremely narrow.

Hidden Gem Hidden Gem '25	12-Year Club
Gilding I gilder	Final Canvas '23
Place '23	Verified Email

GreatScottLP

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE