Driving test, English speaking driving school in Warsaw?

Exactly Zuczek - people wax lyrical about the "system," when my students' stories illustrate perfectly clearly that the process is rather too subjective, or worse. Getting better, but still some way to go.

And what about this protectionist bollocks that you MUST pay for a certified driving instructor? I swear to God I could teach better driving techniques than most of them - if they learnt themselves from someone who was perpetuating the old myths of "never give way" and "don't leave a gap in front of you to the next car - to prevent someone cutting you up from the inside" LOL

To be fair, most young drivers seem to be doing it right - so maybe there is some method in the Driving centre madness after all. It's the business types and the old ditherers who are downright dangerous drivers at times, and who deserve a year off the roads to be taught a sharp shock, in the case of the first group of offenders

But learning to drive in Poland is not a cheap option.
And I too will not be changing my UK licence for a polish one while this is still a grey area.

Just don't get permanent residency and pop out of the country every six months, you'll be fine until your UK licence expires.

As for the quality of the Polish test, the quality could be as high as anybody wanted but this is still a country where it is possible for somebody to drive into the back of you while you are stopped waiting for a red traffic light and for it to still be your fault that the accident happened.

I get the feeling that goes on everywhere to be honest - if you ask me, the whole system of having examiners (who, in their own self interest, don't want too many people to pass) for driving tests is complete nonsense. Even if it's not organised officially, I dare say that many examiners are indeed thinking about the financial motive of not passing too many people.


I suppose if you can't drive a car round a corner, stop, then reverse back the same way and be able to stop within a set area - then you really shouldn't be driving on the roads. I don't entirely like it - but it's not a bad way to weed out those that are genuinely useless.

To me, it would make much more sense to have a system of compulsory moves in the yard before going onto the road to actually drive - none of this "oh, no parallel parking if they can't find a place" nonsense.


Come on - would you let half of these idiots on the Polish roads supervise a driver? Much safer for everyone if you can only drive with an instructor - I wouldn't trust Poles with provisional licences!


I think Poland perfectly illustrates the problem of people passing a test and being allowed limitless freedom - many of them seem to pass and then just adopt "let's drive like a maniac" afterwards. But as you say, the real problem here is the older people and business types - and to make matters worse, they're about to bring in the law where if you gain 25 points, you do a course and get ANOTHER 25 points to play with!

Poland desperately, desperately needs to bring in instant licence suspension for those caught clearly driving idiotically or dangerously.

Alternatively they could actually enforce the current law.

Even that is way too weak though - I saw one TV programme where one twat had managed to pull off some incredibly stupid and dangerous driving - the kind of crap that would see you taken to court for careless driving as a bare minimum in the UK. The punishment? 11 points and a 500zl fine.

Was this dramatizing or did that really happen? It wouldn't surprise me in Poland but I am curious what they claim the motionless person who is obeying the law did wrong.

Maybe, but it is completely ignored. My girlfriend's ex lost his licence for driving like an utter twat (you can imagine how bad he needed to be for that to happen to him) and then had the ban extended for driving whilst drunk and disqualified. He never bothered to get his licence back. A couple of years back he nearly killed their daughter by crashing while driving like an utter twat. She wasn’t wearing a seat-belt when he crashed (although that is what saved her life: the first skid threw her off the seat and into the gap between the front & back seats). He received no criminal punishment at all for that, just supervised visits for six months in place of weekend custody (and that only because social services insisted on it).

If the motionless person who is obeying the law is not Polish and the driver that ran into them is, then the police will find in favor of the Polish driver. One of the many, many reasons I don't want to drive in Poland.

Cars and anything related to them are the festering black heart of corruption in Poland. Another reason to not like them or their influence on society.

Latest proof of my thesis that Polish people loose almost all sanity when it comes to cars: the increasing existence of semi-suv type vehicles which do not fit into Polish infrastructure in any possible way.

Actually both drivers were Polish. Apparently the driver who had stopped stopped too quickly and without warning (personally I would have thought that the bright red lights at the car would have been warning enough).

What if you have driven for a long time? I have close to 30 years driving experience. I really don't see the need to have the practical experience. Is there a place where I can just go test and get a license?

Yep, there's an attitude among many people that even if you're banned, it's just something to be ignored and not to be worried about. And people feel sympathy for drink drivers here, which is lunacy!


As I recall, if you hold an American licence, you just have to exchange the licence and sit the theory test (and presumably pay for the theory training). Quite painless.

In English?

Could you point us to some official info on this?


Well that's a bit different than someone sitting still being hit but still the fault of the follower. If you are driving that close to someone that you can't stop if they do even suddenly then you are at fault. Most people drive way to close to each other.

In the states if there is a chain reaction in such a case everyone get's cited for hitting the car in front of them normally.

You need to pass exam in the examination place. Then you will be allowed to exchange your old US driving license to Polish one. Disadvantage is that you loose the US one.

In order to have Polish license (as additional document) you need to pass the full exam: theory and practice.

easydrive.pl
driving school for foreigners in Warsaw

That's no disadvantage - a full Polish licence is far more useful than an American one.


Have a look on the WORD sites - I can't remember which one said it, but as Poland and America are both signatories to the Vienna Convention, it should be a straightforward matter.

Not true.

The editor of Gazeta Wyborzca used to dine out on this story. He went into a liquor store outside his hotel in Illinois and asked for a bottle of gin (why gin and not vodka he didn't elaborate - presumably he likes gin )

When asked for an Illinois drivers licence as proof of age.he proffered his Polish passport (he was 24 at the time.

Whereby he got the retort "I didn't ask for your godamn passport - the law requires I ask to see your state driving licence".

Friend answered that he didn't possess one ( being a tourist on a write-up for said paper)

"Well - I can't sell you any liquor without an Illinois licence sir..."

This is gospel for crying out loud. Lol.

On the way back to his hotel, thirsty and disgruntled, he got cited by the traffic cops for walking on the turnpike (there was no walkway, or pavement in B Eng, because the whole population used the petrol driven horse and nobody walked anywhere)

But who would want to drink any American alcohol anyway? ;)

(I remember, at the time of the Salt Lake City winter games, someone from the BBC tried to get into a bar with his passport and was similarly refused!)

Not anyone in their right mind. There was Millers, and then there was Miller Lite. Words fail.....

There's England v USA in just 4 weeks. I'll probably be back on the beer for the first time since New Year and on the Budweiser.

The real one, not the American gnats pizz :)

Amazing that Mel Gibson was over the alchohol limit, American beer doesn't have any alcohol does it? Presumably that's why - to "allow" them to drinkl and drive?

Though Poland's nasty sugar beer with high liver rotting alcholic content didn't a top 2000 people getting nicked for drink driving over Easter. Do they have to redo the test?

more work for the driving schools then!

I can't remember if they have to redo the test, I think so, but I'm not certain.

The nice thing about Poland is that if you lose your licence for whatever reason, you have to see a psychologist before being allowed back anywhere near the roads. It's a good idea - I have my doubts if it works well in practice, but it's certainly not a bad idea to psychologically analyse just why the idiot lost their licence and what they intend to do once they're back on the road.

A canadian colleague of mine did his driving test in warsaw a couple of years ago and it was about 2500 Plz. You should be given a copy of all the highway code in english and I would check wether or not the price is inclusive of a translator when you sit the test which is normally in Polish.

If my memory is correct the price is inclusive of 20 hours driving which is the minimum before you can sit the test.

Outrageous! To take a test in Britain costs what? 40 quid? It's up to you how you prepare. If you aren't ready to step up, the examiner will stop the test, and drive the test car back to the Driving test centre. Game over!

None of this 500 quid to learn to drive nonsense; it's a state sponsored rip off.
Get the kids out on some Sunday open space for practice, a few lessons with the old instructor, a few with their da, and they're away.

1500 zl max is what it's worth IMO

That's because the price is for English speaking materials and instruction. Poles pay around 1000zl or even less - I know one school doing courses for 900zl in Poznan.


Insurance as an additional driver - that'll be a few hundred quid. Lessons - 20 quid an hour bare minimum. Bear in mind that the UK test is very much about driving to the test - so driving with dad isn't going to cut it except for additional practice.

Poland : 112zl for both tests, 70ish for the licence, 1000zl for the course - not a bad deal at all.

The only real ripoff in the Polish system is the need for a sworn translator.

Right - thnx. Thank God for that! My daughter is Polish and I thought I was going to get fleeced :(

Nah, you'll be fine - the most expensive I've seen here (for Poles) was 1249zl. Even my own course is only costing 1650zl, which isn't a bad deal!

Merged thread:
Learning to Drive in Poland (Warsaw)

Hi All,

Im from uk currently living in warsaw,

I really need to learn how to drive and was considering an intensive course in Uk but with the average quote for written and practical test coming back at around 900-1100 im wondering if it would be cheaper to do it here in warsaw as this is where i really need to drive.

The other disadvantage's with getting a uk license would be that i cannot drive abroad for at least a year.

Does anyone have any experience off passing a test here, or even better recommend an instructor, ive heard there is a written test here as well so does anyone know if this can be done in English?!

thanks in advance

Neil

Where do get your information? I can assure you that this is rubbish.


For goodness' sake, you're not living in England. The days of empire are over????
Do you think there's a facility for POlish speakers to "do their theory test in Polish" in England?
Hardly. As you're living in Warsaw...hey....why not learn the language?

Apologies i was mis-lead on this, it is 3 years before you can rent a car after passing a test.

Thanks for you expert knowledge.


Is there really any need for a response like this. I have been here 8 months and am learning the language whenever i can, personally do not think im up to a level where i can take a written practical test.

Well we have polish signs in england now and information in the majority of banks all written in polish so i would not be surprised if we do offer the service....

Thanks again for you help. Idiot.

And thanks to the moderator who moved this subject and thus help me find the info i needed... :-)

Thanks again for you help.

ummm...pot?....kettle?....black?
The only place I have seen these imaginary Polish signs in The UK is in the pages of the Daily Mail.

What a time waster you really are. Are you even in poland?! Or just sitting on your own trying to make friends on the internet?!

Imaginary?! I dont think so, my wife worked for Barclay's in Cambridge and in Sutton, South london... And there were definitely polish signs. Which i believe was a good thing. I suppose you would just recommend they learn the language too...

Get a life, and leave me alone. At least im contributing to polish life, living here, learning language, spending money here every month. Dont really need advise from you so keep it to your self..

Bye Bye

Why are you talking such obvious rubbish?!

Polish language info/signs/posters are everywhere in the UK & Ireland.