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Driving License in Colombia

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churley1
  1/4/2012 07:23 EST

Hi All,

I'm returning to Bogota for a 2nd year of living and it's come to my attention that I really need to start driving there.

I'm British and I don't have a UK driving license so I'm unsure how or where to get a license in Bogota.

Can anyone help with some general info? Anything would be much appreciated as my Spanish to date is pretty poor.

Thanks!

mawdsjeff
  1/4/2012 08:37 EST

Hi, my wife's Colombian and she told me that you pay for lessons from a Driving instructor. When he thinks you are ready perhaps TWO or THREE weeks, you do the TEST with your instructor. COOL eh? Wish we had that in UK! Best wishes Geoff

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mawdsjeff
  1/4/2012 08:42 EST

When I met my wife 25 years ago, I didn't know any Spanish other than Adios and Hasta Luego! I bought the "Teach Yourself" book and its has great exercises at the end of each chapter. You just HAVE to do the verb tables really, but I used to do them on the train and before I went to bed. I can talk it OK, but there are lots of expressions I still don't know! My wife was always having people say "Queue-boe!" to her, and I could never find out what it meant until one grammar book had "Que Hubo" in it. They run the two words together and Kay-ooboe becomes queue-boe (in English that is!) It means whats been happening? Geoff M

Borsia
  1/6/2012 21:10 EST

I have a Colombian license and it was pretty easy to get.
I went to a “school” and filled out 2 forms. Simple stuff just ID questions mostly. IE; passport & Cedula #s

Next you go to get tested there is a government sanctioned testing facility. They will test your coordination and motor skills with a computer game.
It has 2 dots that you control with a knob in each hand. A screen with 2 paths scrolls by and you have to keep both dots from touching the sides as it goes by, not very difficult so long as your peripheral vision is ok.

Next they test your hearing, the same sound booth test they use in the US for hearing tests.

They test your vision with a box you look into and read the letters and numbers, not all that easy when you are my age.

What they don’t test you on is any knowledge what-so-ever about Colombian traffic laws.
My roomy tells me that the system was to change last December. I got my license in November.
There are different types of license for motos only, which I have, for cars only or for both. The only difference is the cost.

If you want to drive a taxi, truck, bus or any other transport vehicle the tests are different and they expire after 4-6 years.

A standard CO driver’s license never expires.

BTW; everything is in Spanish and nobody is supposed to help you but everyone was coaching me a little as I did them.

You will need 2 photos of the passport / Cedula type.

jennyd
  4/19/2012 22:47 EST

I've been trying to get my Colombian husband to help me get a license but he just laughs and says I don't need one... he says if I get pulled over just to tell the cop I have an international license and show my US passport. haha. But he says that cops don't pull drivers over anyway, other than for driving during pico y placa. Anyway, I've been driving less often since having a baby, but I do want to get a license soon.

And I think the reason they don't test on traffic laws is because those laws are not enforced. From what I've seen here in Cali, stop signs and red lights and are optional if there is no cross-traffic (although if one person stops, usually everyone else will too), and pedestrians definitely do not have the right of way. I'm not sure if it's different in Bogota.

masterita
  4/20/2012 12:57 EST

Bogota and most of Colombia is not much different. Driving in Bogota reminds me of a cattle drive. All the drivers cram into what ever space they can find and roll through red lights and have to stop in he middle and creates more traffic.

You don't need to get a lisence because you can use your US lisence and your passport. This can work to your advantage as you are less likely to get a ticket if you are pulled over. Ohh, cops can not pull you over via car. They can only (from my understanding) pull you over through a roadside checkpoint.

The reason why they are more likely to leave you alone and not ticket you is because they have to fill out be paperwork while you go back home to the states and their time is just waisted.

The problem is you then need to carry your passport with you. If you have a resident ID you might be better off getting a Colombian lisence for convenience. But your husband is right, you are not very likely to get pulled over.

Sorry for the quick, nonproof read, rant. I wrote this between classes. Hope it helps more than confuses ;@)

Michael

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Felipe58
  5/2/2012 20:05 EST

I wanted to keep things legal, so needed a Colombian Driving Licence. I passed my test in the UK many years ago, and had a licence for both car and motorcycle, and I wanted to keep both.

During my time in Spain, I had surrendered my UK licence in return for a Spanish licence, and having looked on the internet I thought that this would make life easier, as it said I could exchange a Spanish licence for a Colombian one... but it doesn't make any difference!!

We read up what had to be done, and contacted the Car Center International in Medellin,which is where you have to go both to licence yourself and your vehicle,( I am sure there will be one in every major City) we were told how much it would cost 265000COP for a car licence and 205000COP for a motorcycle licence, and that my wife could act as my interpreter, (which might have helped, but her English is limited!), I was told the Medical would last two hours...HELP!!

Last week we duly arrived at the Car Centre, to be told that my wife could not take part, however if needed the Doctor spoke some English.

The first procedure is the medical, I was given a yes/no form to fill in, and then called to see the Optician, the test was comprehensive, but done with my driving spectacles on, the Optician spoke no English, but this was not a problem, I asked her to speak slowly and it was fine, I passed that with no problem.

I was then handed on to a Doctor, who could speak fairly good english, and he asked me whether I wanted him to speak in English or Spanish, I understand most things, but I wasn't going to let pride get in the way, so I asked him to speak in English.

The first part was a reaction test, done on a computer, with two bottons one for each hand, and two pedals... each was allotted a colour or sound, and I had to press the corresponding button/pedal, and it got progressively faster. That passed, I then had to do another reaction test involving the pedals only which simulated braking, however because of my sitting position, I couldn't get the brake to work, the Doc intervened and did the test for me, saying he had seen my reaction, and knew I would pass. Then it was coordination test on a simulator, had to keep two 'cars' on the road, one with each hand, there were a few buzzes, but nothing serious. Then it was the hearing test, and this involved sitting in a booth and listening for any sound, feint or loud and pressing the left or right button, depending which ear heard it. Finally... The Doc went through my questionnaire, and then took me back to Reception.

After sitting for five minutes, I was told I had passed the Medical, and what licences did I want, I said that I just wanted a car and motorcycle licence, as I already had, and offered my Spanish Licence, which was declined, they didn't even want to confirm I had a licence! I was asked if I wanted a ten year or three year licence, and when I queried this, I was told that there was no difference in price or quality, just that if I wanted to drive in the U.S. I had to renew every three years, so I have gone for a ten year licence. Also you receive separate licences for each category of vehicle.

I then paid my fee, which was a a total of 470000COP, handed over the photos,and was told to return in ten days to collect my licences.

At no point did anyone query whether I could drive, and this rather explains the standard of driving over here, which is frightening. Also I still have my Spanish Licence which is handy.

So provided you are fairly healthy, it obviously does not matter whether you have any past experience or not!

soystar1
  10/5/2012 12:40 EST

I have to get one next month in Armenia. However, LA never prepared me for this chaos. I mean damm!

I thought that my driver was going to kill me or other cars were going to smash us all the time. Let's not even talk about the motto cycles that try to sneak in when you're making a right hand turn.

I wii have to have patience and skills to drive here. Luckily, it's about 3 bucks in town to apt by taxi in this small city.

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