Do I really have to?
So you've been living in Italy long enough to get your documents and learn a few words in Italian. You've spent countless hours waiting in what only vaguely resembles a line at the questura or the commune. You have all your "important documents" in hand...so what if you don't get your Patente di Guida? If you get pulled over, you'll just play stupid, right?
Playing stupid does not work!
In Parma, and probably many other Italian cities, there are traffic stops in which a police officer will wave a tiny stop sign at a random car, and if that car is yours, you must pull over and show all of your license, registration, insurance, etc. It happened to me 3 times in the span of a month!
I was nervous the first time it happened, but the officer was very nice and explained to me that I still had 3 months in which to convert my license. Up until this point, I had planned on "playing stupid", but she convinced me that that's a pretty stupid strategy.
Not all countries have a reciprocity agreement with Italy.
Reciprocity allows you to revoke your old license for an Italian one without taking any exams, but If you come from a country that does not have this agreement, including the USA, you can use your foreign license for only one year after obtaining your residency. After that you must have an Italian license to continue driving legally.
If you get caught without one, as happened to a friend of mine, they will take away your right to drive on the spot and you will be subject to a very large fine - around 3000 euros.
What's the big deal? Just sign up for a class...
Driver's ed classes in Parma, and the other associated fees and expenses to get your license, can run around 800 euros. Combine the hefty fees with the crabby receptionists and amount of time required to study, and it's a really cumbersome process.
First, you must take the exam in Italian! No big deal, you've been taking lessons and are pretty good at ordering pizza and getting directions, right? Nope, not for me anyway...there is virtually no vocabulary in the study books that you use in normal conversation.
The study guide is over 300 pages in 6 point font and covers topics from street signs, road safety, car inspections, insurance requirements, first aid, and the list goes on. All of this info is fair game for exam questions. I spent hours pacing around my apartment reviewing flashcards so I could muddle through practice tests designed to trick native speakers.
Answer a few questions about traffic signs and you're done, right?
It's been 25 years since I got my American license so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I recall a short test about traffic signs and speed limits, maybe a few questions about safety and drunk driving. The practical exam required me to do a three-point-turn, parallel park and drive in reverse. It took less than 10 minutes.
Here, you can't take the exam until the driving school deems you're prepared enough. This means getting enough passing scores on the practice tests at home before they allow you to sit for the real exam. You will need to go to an exam center with a group of teenagers and other expats. You'll sit a computer and answer a grueling 30 questions, of which, 27 must be correct.
If you pass (I did!), you must wait a month before you can take the practical exam. Usually, you have to take driving lessons during that time. If you have experience already they may not require you to take the lessons but it's worth doing a few just to understand what the examiner will be looking for.
Finally, the day of the practical exam...You need to take the exam at the same time as a group of students, which means it takes hours! I was told to come to the school at 10 am for an exam at 3pm. I wasn't prepared to waste my entire day so I told them I would drive myself...still, I had to be at the test site around 12:30 pm.
Normally you have a group of students in the car with you, along with the examiner and the instructor from the driving school. As I was the only one taking the exam on an automatic transmission, it was only myself, the instructor and the examiner. We drove around for about 20 minutes before doing the "manovre," parking, turning, reversing, etc. Finally, she asked how long I'd been driving (I guess it was obvious that I was more than twice the age of the other students). When I told her 25 years, she rolled her eyes and handed me my new license. Mission accomplished - and it only took 3 months.
The biggest accomplishment!
Many of my expat friends, who are very intelligent and accomplished professionals, have told me that getting their Italian Patente di Guida has been their proudest achievement in Italy. I couldn't agree more!
I'm not going to lie - the experience is awful and felt like an incredible waste of time and money while I was doing it. In retrospect though, there's a lot of value in making the effort - the driving culture, rules and signage is quite different from the US. Most importantly though, not having to panic every time I see a Polizia Locale with a tiny stop sign is worth every penny!
Comments