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Unique License And Insurance Issue

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  • 22-02-2009 7:47pm
    #1
    CptSternn
    Registered Users Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭


    Lads -

    I got a few questions about licensing and insurance. Now, before anyone says read the sticky or search the forums, I am well aware of the licensing requirements and insurance requirements and the paths to get there.

    My issue is a bit unique, and I was hoping someone might know of some other way to get around my current situation, legally.

    I moved to Ireland from America about four years ago for work. Ireland does not let you switch your American license for an Irish one like they do for many countries, however, you can use your American licenses as long as you have a valid visa.

    For this reason I have been driving for the past four years, bikes and cars, in Ireland (in most American states you just need once license and it covers all bikes and cars).

    Now, I have been on a bike and driving since I was 15. I'm 35 now. That being said I bought a car a few weeks ago and was told I had to get a provisional Irish license to get insurance here. So now I have a provisional car license, as it was required for insurance. If I am ever stopped though, I still produce my US license, as they can't put points on it. ;)

    Anyway, I'm now in the same situation for bikes, however, I can't get insurance unless I own a 125 or smaller bike first. This is a bit of an issue. I mean, I have been riding for 20 years, have never had an accident, and now they tell me I have to buy a small bike and ride it for two years before I can get a decent bike.

    Is there anyway around this? I ask because I recently bought a new Fireblade (900RR) and I can't find anyone to insure it. I can still drive it with my American license, but without insurance, when the tax runs out I won't be able to pay tax on it.

    So anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Legally I can drive it, but unless I spend two years and buy a small bike I can't get my tax disc or proper insurance.

    I still own bikes in America, and travel there and drive them on occasion, which bothers me even more knowing I have to go through all of this on this side of the pond. I'm hoping someone here knows a way to get this sorted without me having to bounce around on a scooter for the next two years.

    Thanks in advance.
    Tagged:


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    #2
    Wishbone Ash
    Registered Users Posts: 24,993 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    CptSternn wrote: »
    I moved to Ireland from America about four years ago for work. Ireland does not let you switch your American license for an Irish one like they do for many countries, however, you can use your American licenses as long as you have a valid visa.
    CptSternn - as you have moved from the US to Ireland, aren't you deemed to be 'resident' here? :confused:

    If so, you would only permitted to utilise your US Driving Licence for ONE YEAR.

    After that, you would be required to go through the procedures of obtaining an Irish Driving Licence (pass Theory Test, get Learner Permit, pass driving test, obtain Driving Licence). I'm afraid there is no way around it.


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    #3
    galwaytt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    get a UK licence - find a one-stop shop school, where you can go for a few days, and go straight to a full licence.

    Then, you can keep it, or, as it's an EC licence, swop it for an Irish one.

    You're still fubar'd on the insurance, though - even with a licence, and without any NCB, I doubt v.much if anyone will cover you anyway.

    Given that a new RR is not cheap, did you not, er, price insurance BEFORE you spent your mullah ??:confused:

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



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    #4
    CptSternn
    Registered Users Posts: 1,530 ✭✭✭CptSternn


    Wishbone Ash - I still own a home and vehicles in America and travel there often for work. I am a US citizen. True, they do say that you are supposed to get a full Irish license after one year when you decide to 'go permanent', but I am still here on an extended legal visa and still an American citizen, so therefore, legally, I can travel on my US license. Since I do go back often and can show the last date I was in America and it was less than a year ago they can't say much. When I have been stopped at road checks the minute I open my mouth and show the gards my US license they just wave me through.

    That being said it is silly to let someone drive for any amount of time, 12 or 48 months LEGALLY, then tell them they are going to be treated like a 16 year old for the next two years because of 'safety' reasons. I mean, in that time period I had no accidents, no issues whatsoever. But now I am being downgraded and moved back fr two years for what reason?


    Galwaytt - Of course not. ;) I saw the bike, I wanted the bike, I bought the bike. I also bought myself and my wife a matching set of German sports cars for Christmas. I don't like to be bothered with small things like insurance when I am trying to buy something I need. I figured there was some way to legally get it taxed and insured without all the hassle. Like I said, in America, you have one license, you can get it in one day, and as far as tax goes, you get taxed whether you have insurance or not. The system here is different, and although I was aware of this, I figured they made some sort of compensation for foreigners like myself. I mean, am I really the first American biker to move here? Do they really force people who have been riding for over 20 years to be treated like a 16 year old?

    In the states, we have a Federal Driving Record. The government keeps track of EVERYTHING driving related in a big computer. If you get a parking ticket, if you buy/sell a car, if your legally able to drive a large truck or bus, if you are in an accident, if you are in a car that has an accident as a passenger, EVERYTHING traffic related. You can go to the local DMV (the equivalent of the Motor Tax office here) and pay a tenner and get a copy of this record which you then use to get insurance or use if your going to apply for a job where you need to drive a vehicle.

    I was hoping I could show mine here and they might accept that, but alas, they didn't know what it was and said it had no bearing here. Thats understandable to some extent, but still, there has to be other people in my situation and some way around this. I am going to buy a scooter this week and insure it. At least in a year I will be able to get everything legal. Luckily, I got 8 more months on the tax disc that the previous owner had.

    In the meantime, I was hoping to find another legal solution.


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    #5
    galwaytt
    Registered Users Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭✭galwaytt


    CptSternn wrote: »
    ......That being said it is silly to let someone drive for any amount of time, 12 or 48 months LEGALLY, then tell them they are going to be treated like a 16 year old for the next two years because of 'safety' reasons. I mean, in that time period I had no accidents, no issues whatsoever. But now I am being downgraded and moved back fr two years for what reason?.......
    ...ah yes, buy you're not dealing the the State in matters of insurance - you're dealing with a private, commercial business - the insurance business. No linkage between the two. If you're here and have a chunk of insurance business already (house, business etc etc), maybe you need to get your broker to do a bit of levering for you. For the licence, though, do look at the UK thing. Can the US mission here help you to grease a wheel or two........??
    Galwaytt - Of course not. ;) I saw the bike, I wanted the bike, I bought the bike. I also bought myself and my wife a matching set of German sports cars for Christmas.
    ...who're you telling, see my sig... :rolleyes:
    I don't like to be bothered with small things like insurance when I am trying to buy something I need. I figured there was some way to legally get it taxed and insured without all the hassle.
    ...oh dear, as you're finding out, you can't have 'small' and insurance in the same book, let alone sentence, in this country ! :p
    ..Like I said, in America, you have one license, you can get it in one day, and as far as tax goes, you get taxed whether you have insurance or not. The system here is different, and although I was aware of this, I figured they made some sort of compensation for foreigners like myself. I mean, am I really the first American biker to move here? Do they really force people who have been riding for over 20 years to be treated like a 16 year old?
    ..er, yes. I've cousins back from US, and despite living in CA for 10+ years, and having Served in Gulf 1 as a gunship pilot (aka, knows up from down, as well as left from right.......) and a full clean US licence and driving record (CLK320.......)......he had to get a provisional......and a 1.4 Scenic :o Ditto a guy I met who drove a bus for 20yrs in Boston. Provisional for him, too. :o
    In the states, we have a Federal Driving Record. The government keeps track of EVERYTHING driving related in a big computer. If you get a parking ticket, if you buy/sell a car, if your legally able to drive a large truck or bus, if you are in an accident, if you are in a car that has an accident as a passenger, EVERYTHING traffic related. You can go to the local DMV (the equivalent of the Motor Tax office here) and pay a tenner and get a copy of this record which you then use to get insurance or use if your going to apply for a job where you need to drive a vehicle.
    . Indeed. With a home in GA myself, and family there, I know EXACTLY where you're coming from :). But, as said, it's a commercial thing here (the insurance). Licence, as stated above......
    I was hoping I could show mine here and they might accept that, but alas, they didn't know what it was and said it had no bearing here.
    ..'sfunny, when I went to Sturgis many years ago (honeymoon, actually :) )...I went for test rides on H-D's. I asked her if she'd accept an Irish licence, and the (very nice) lady, said she'd seen licences from all over the world, and so long as it had a pic of a bike on it, she was happy :):) Signs by, always threatened to buy a H-D, and avoided it for years. Now cured, though, and got a RK1450 Custom. Love it !!:D

    Ode To The Motorist

    “And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, generates funds to the exchequer. You don't want to acknowledge that as truth because, deep down in places you don't talk about at the Green Party, you want me on that road, you need me on that road. We use words like freedom, enjoyment, sport and community. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent instilling those values in our families and loved ones. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the tax revenue and the very freedom to spend it that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way. Otherwise I suggest you pick up a bus pass and get the ********* ********* off the road” 



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    #6
    Pique
    Registered Users Posts: 3,049 ✭✭✭Pique


    Could you exchange your licence for a UK licence and then exchange that one for an Irish one ?
    A bit Sneaky Beaky and you'll need an address in the UK but if you could do it, you'd be laughing.


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    #7
    J-blk
    Registered Users Posts: 3,906 ✭✭✭J-blk


    I'm afraid it is going to be an uphill battle, if at all possible, as some of the lads here have mentioned. I have an EU license and still had to jump through all kinds of hoops when I decided to get a bike here, because I had the "audacity" to want to buy a 650cc instead of some 125cc... Eventually I did get insured, but at a pretty hefty premium (which I was fully expecting) but once that first year was behind me and I had a NCB here, things got a whole lot better... Funny thing is the insurance companies were going on and on about my license not being Irish, which technically should not be an issue with an EU license but after one had insured me, I never got asked anything about it from the other companies as well. With a non-EU license your life is going to be that much harder with the insurance companies here - best of luck with it...


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    #8
    Brabazone
    Registered Users Posts: 249 ✭✭Brabazone


    The main reason they wont insure you is because of the type of bike, a CBR 900, the insurance company's are not to fond of them here, especially if you are on your first learner permit. The fact the a CBR ends in the letter R is you main problem, I can't remember which insurance group in is in but I do know it is one of the higher ones you can get. I spoke to CN about this a couple of years ago and they told me that bikes with an R are usually in the higher groups.

    I let my licence lapse and I had to get a new learner permit this year, which meant I had to start from the beginning again. I am 35 on my first learner permit again and have insurance with CN for 550 euro. Now I have to have my bike restricted but I can live with that "almost". :rolleyes:

    If I were you I'd sell the fireblade and buy a bandit style bike, I know it's not the same as a fireblade but at least you wont be on a hairdryer.:eek:


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