Driving test time…

Okay, so the car is very nearly here and it will soon be time to collect it from the port. Let's assume that everything goes smoothly and I leave customs and border protection with a one year pass for the vehicle because I could convince them that I needed it for a year and this is of course assuming that it doesn't get crushed because I forgot something else…

I want to drive with car insurance, naturally because accidents happen. Technically, because I don't have to comply with any department of transport rules from what I understand, I don't actually need to carry insurance.

I want to carry insurance for the pure fact that if I have an accident and someone gets hurt, they are taken care of… Normal stuff right? So here is my conundrum…

The state of Florida requires that insurance is carried with a minimum of what they call "liability". This, is a little bit like our third party insurance in the UK. The difference is that the lowest form of liability insurance (minimum stay requirement) covers only $10,000 of personal injury protection and property damage liability, I think. Naturally, given that this is the US of A, one can buy pretty much anything including a higher level of coverage, albeit still constricted "liability" coverage as required by Florida state law. My problem is that if I don't already carry insurance, Florida state law requires that I purchase full coverage insurance, which is astronomically expensive! Full coverage is a little bit like our comprehensive cover but if I cannot prove that I have been insured over the last six months, they effectively treat me like a new driver. To add insult to injury, my international driving license also pushes the premium up resulting in a non-viable insurance premium.

Fortunately, I still have UK insurance documentation taking me up to April, which can be used as proof that I am currently insured saving me from having to buy full coverage (we are talking thousands by the way), and of course not being a cheapskate, I want to buy the higher level of liability coverage in case I cause more than $10,000 worth of damage. (And by the way, it took quite a lot of convincing to Jonathan, the man from direct something or other that I was able to use my UK insurance! Progressive wanted American insurance only) Now the little issue of the driving license…

I have to have all of this in place really before I take the car away from the Port in Georgia because I will undoubtedly get pulled over by the police and in the state of Florida, you must carry proof of insurance. Now I know that given the status of the vehicle, I don't need to carry insurance but it's likely that I will get pulled over because the police officer doesn't know anything about the car or the type of license plates let alone other such rules. Plus, not having insurance will just make me look like a moron and therefore the police officer will undoubtedly take an instant dislike to me and I'm not even sure my superpower British accent is going to help!

So all the time I have been quiet on this blog, I have in fact been very busy working out how to legally obtain car insurance and jumping through hoops to get a driving license… My test is tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Note to self, don't leave it so late next time...