Question: Am I required to obtain a Nevada driver's license?
Answer: If you are here for more than 30 days working
in the State of Nevada, then yes you would have to get a driver's license
(just as New Resident Guide: preamble
says).
You will need passport, I-94 and your Canadian driver's license to receive a license.
(Also a social security card and probably a copy my lease and letter of
appointment proving residence in Nevada.)
You will need to do all tests: vision, written, skills (driving or road)
since you currently have a foreign license
(see New Resident: tests).
This is true even though I have a Canadian license and twice in the past
had Nevada licenses and have had many US licenses over the years.
Of course, the DMV official I deal with in Vegas may always have some
discretionary power, but I think that unlikely---still you never know.
See DMV visit
which seems to say there are no appointments for tests---but this is
be wrong for road tests which do require appointments---see
Office Locations
which says they do make appointments for driving skills tests.
Look upon it as a good thing---a chance to refresh my car skills---an adventure.
The closest full service DMV office to me is:
Las Vegas-East Sahara
2701 E. Sahara Ave
Las Vegas, NV 89104-4170
8a-5p M-F, 8a-4p Sat
Tel: 702-486-4368
Fax: 702-486-4960
(Map)
Getting a license:
- Beginning Drivers 18 & Older It says
of course, I must bring passport/I-94 card and I should call the local DMV office
first---which I already sort of know to arrange for tests.
Also bring my Canadian license, my social security card and copies my lease and letter of appointment.
- Bring Driver's license application form
filled out as far as possible
(New Resident Guide: Your DMV visit).
- Nevada Driver's Handbook (PDF, 63 pages)
Needs a detailed study.
- P. 5 says an alien's license expires on visa end date: i.e., 2013jun30. I'll have
to head for Canada circa 2013jun07---unless they let me keep my Canadian license---which
they should since they don't recognize it for exchange.
- P. 6 says a Nevada resident can have only one license---but maybe they don't count
foreign licenses.
- P. 8 says for skills test the vehicle registration, plates, insurance, lights, horn,
seat belts, tires, windshield wipers all examined. So I should check those.
Do I have to get Nevada registration before I skills test?
- P. 11. I will be getting a class C license for ordinary cars.
I'll have restriction A---I will need to wear glasses.
- P. 14. Notification of change of address needed.
- P. 42. Driving emergencies.
- P. 56. DUI. The limit for over 21 in Nevada is .08 % (which may be a touch high).
See Wikipedia:
Blood alcohol content and especially the 2nd
Blood
alcohol level chart which suggests that for a male of my mass, 1 beer or 1 wine glass
is OK with zero time (<0.03)---but I would always wait at least an 1 hour (which lowers
by 0.01). In fact, I prefer not to drive at all on any day after I've had a drink
and I can usually arrange this.
- P. 60. You must register your vehicle(s) within 60 days of establishing residency
in Nevada or at the time you obtain your driver's license, whichever occurs earlier.
So I must register when I get my driver's license since I must get the license since
I have to get that with in 30 days.
- Online Driver Knowledge Tests:
- Arizona Driver's License
Practice Tests
Trial A1: 7/10. Not so good, but some were AZ peculiarities and I misread one.
Trial B1: 10/10. OK, but some are AZ peculiarities.
Commercial Arizona a 6/6, but some were arguable.
- California Sample tests
Trial A1: 8/10, but the wrongs were CA peculiarities.
Trial B1: 7/10, road most slipperly with rain after a dry spell (?).
Trial C1: 9/10.
Trial D1: 10/10.
Trial D1: 8/10.
Commercial California a) 7/10, b) 10/10, c) 10/10, d) 10/10, e) 9/10.
- Commercial Colorado a)
- Commercial Idaho tests a) 21/25.
- Nevada Interactive Driver License Sample Test
Trial 1: 9/10. Failure to yield right of way is leading cause of accidents.
Commercial Nevada a) 6/8, b) 7/8 (same as NV site)
- Commerical New Mexico a)
- Oregon practice tests
Trial A1: 9/10, Trial B1: 8/10.
- Commercial Washington State
a) 8/10, but one was arguable, 8/10, but one was state specific, c) 9/9.
- Commercial site all-state online sample tests
- Traffic Laws and Traffic Safety
A lot more of on motor vehicle laws which should be sampled at least.
-
Nevada Traffic laws for travellers
- Skills or Road test: Some queries:
- When can one use bus lanes in Vegas?
There seems little/nothing online about them.
They are marked by solid white lines.
Observation and markings suggests you can and must use them as right turning lanes, but
you don't use them as the nearest lane when turning onto a street: sometimes
they curve indicating, you go around them, but sometimes not.
But if you were in one, you can't change lanes to get out since they are solid white.
This inference is supported by
New York
city lane rules.
- What about those funny crosswalk signals in Vegas with flashing yellow and
flashing red lights.
Do these have their ordinary meaning for flashing yellow and red or
are do they mean yellow and red?
Well this news article
New Signal Aims to Keep Pedestrians Safe, 2012may13 isn't too clear.
Here is the
city description
with an explanatory
sign graphic.
The flashings don't have quite the ordinary meanings which is not a good idea.
The cycle is flashing yellow, yellow, red, flashing red.
I say good practice is treat flashing yellow and yellow as ``yellow'',
red as ``red'' and flashing red as ``flashing red'' (with pedestrians
being what you stop for and wait to cross cleanly at least in your
direction of travel).
- Can you turns be made somewhat wide on multi-lane roads: not just
leftmost to leftmost?
I think the answer is yes, but one should try to stay as left as reasonable.
- Why use lower gear in an automatic-transmission car:
see When
do I use lower gear? for the short answer.
Usually, only going down a very steep hill, but there may be other cases.
Question: Do I need to formally import my car into the US
with a US CBP
form 7501 (?)
to register my car?
Answer: Wishy-washy. Ed Heddy just said there is nothing in the
list of requirements that requires an import document, and so he
inferred that importation and import document
Customs form 7501
was not required---but I imagine this is only if not titling in Nevada,
and so not selling car in the US.
(A the CBP official fills out the
Customs form 7501 which
is required for registration probably in all US states---except maybe Nevada.)
But it could still go either way---a DMV official could well say ``the import
document isn't on the list, because, of course, you must have it---it goes without saying''---you
never know till you try it seems.
But gray or foreign cars (which do not include Canadian cars) do explicitly
require Customs form 7501
(Nevada
Registration and Title Guide P. IV-1--2, scroll down 60 %),
and so this is good evidence that Canadian cars for which 7501 is not explicitly
required do not need it.
But maybe Canadian cars are a subset of gray or foreign cars---but then
why repeat some (and not all) of the requirements under Canadian cars?
Here is Nevada
Registration and Title Guide P. IV-2 (scroll down 60 %)
refers to gray and Canadian
vehicles. But Baby isn't gray: she was manufactured for sale in
the US.
CANADIAN VEHICLES:
A Canadian vehicle is a vehicle that has been previously registered
or titled in Canada, or ownership for the vehicle has been filed in Canada.
Documents required to register and title a Canadian vehicle include:
The items you will need to register a vehicle in Nevada (a combination of
Ed Heddy and the Guide) are:
- The out of state registration
- The title (if not being held by a lien holder)
- Your Nevada evidence of insurance: Nevada Insurance
(State
Farm, Lee Syphus 4753 S. Maryland, Las Vegas, NV 89119, Tel: 702-798-1274)
- A smog inspection if applicable: it is in Vegas.
See Jiffy Smog location
3685 S. Maryland Parkway Las Vegas, NV 89169, Tel: 702-731-5580, just
booth on the 7-11 lot on west side just north of Twain, turn left on Twain and into lot.
I got a smog check here before, maybe twice.
See also JIffy Smog.
- A VIN (vehicle identification number) inspection
A completed Vehicle Inspection Certificate (Form VP-15)
See VP-15,
but the DMV does this. It is just the VIN inspection.)
Vehicles from Canada also need:
- Must have inspection and current odometer reading.
Apparently, this just a reading of the odometer which the
Nevada DMV (Department of Motor Vehices)
will probably do on VIN inspection.
An odometer disclosure if the vehicle is being transferred and it is nine years old or newer (N/A).
- Must have current Canadian registration
- Bill of sale from registered owner to purchaser (OK)
- Lien search from province where the vehicle was last registered - Lien
satisfied if required (OK. I can get it.)
The results of the lien search from the province where the vehicle was last registered.
Call Toll Free: 1-800-267-8097 or Toronto: 416-326-1234 for
general information about Ontario services.
For lien searches call 416-325-8847 or 1-800-267-8847
in Ontario
(see
Ontario: Access Now - Personal Property Lien ).
Lien searches can be done online at
Service Ontario:
Access Now which links to
Register
or Search Online via Access Now.
You need to pay by credit card, NOT debit card.
Alternatively, a
UVIP
might work, but it's too much information and costs $20 and probably
takes 8 weeks to deliver.
- The original copy of the notarized lien release, if applicable. (N/A I guess since
I've never had a lien.)
- A notarized or witnessed Bill of Sale, if applicable (N/A? I have
the original bill of sale from the dealer. It isn't explicitly
notarized as far as I can see, but it is probably implicitly
notarized since it is from the dealer.)
- A Statement of Facts (Form VP-22) (They must have and do that.)
Things I may need.
- Federal import forms CBP 7501, HS-7, and EPA-3501. Got them all if asked for.
- The DMV New Resident's Guide:
Your DMV Visit says out-of-state plates must be surrendered, but Canadian
plates may be an exception since they are not exactly out-of-state plates.
Still they probably want them and Ontario won't let me use them again even
though they said they were mine forever.