禁漫天堂

Well, some might say it's arrogant to expect countries whose native language is not English to cater to immigrants.聽 Also, the UK only offers the test in English and Welsh from what I understand.聽 The reasoning is that you may need to communicate with other drivers or the police while on the road, which is understandable.聽 So for Italy to do the same, seems fair, doesn't it?聽 Do you really expect Italian government functionaries to speak English, not to mention the dozens of other languages that immigrants in Italy speak natively?聽 Also, the UK chose Brexit....not Italy.聽 So again, I don't feel it's Italy's responsibility to outwardly cater to Non-EU citizens.聽 Remember also, that driving is a privilege, not a right.

You chose to live in Italy.聽 I think it's incumbent on you to learn the language in order to integrate and function in the local society fully.聽 聽

As far as the test goes, the same holds true in Romania.聽 Many locals have difficulty passing the written test.聽 Typically it's because they are trying to learn the test, not the laws...and try too hard to look for shortcuts.聽 While Romania does offer the test in other languages, I've heard the translations are poor, making the questions difficult to understand and answer.

I hope the point of view helps,

Romaniac

Hello Romaniac, thank you for your message.

I was very much expecting this response. I almost invited it I suppose.

And yes you are right - it might be arrogant in one sense, and as I admitted, it might be US/UK centric, but I'll make my case:

First,聽 I COMPLETELY agree with your statement about learning the language - don鈥檛 get me wrong, I am learning AND I do get by in everyday life, otherwise I would feel VERY isolated.

The FULLY part takes time though and it seems the driving test requires fully and then some more...

In the US it鈥檚 different - but it might be unfair to compare this situation to the US as it's a country of immigrants. In NYC for instance, you can take the test in more than a dozen languages. But again, NYC is a melting pot and even special in the US.

It's a shame that UK is doing the same - I would say the alternative would be making a test for people who have proven clean record in their country of residence (that have similar driving laws) to be able to take a test of ESSENTIALS. I can't begin to describe to you some of the absolutely mundane minutae that is required to learn for the Italian test...many of which you will never ever use or need in actual practical everyday life. I鈥檓 sorry to say this but I cannot imagine some folks in Italy actually passing this test (many elderly renewing for instance?) I can say half the study guide is full of things you will probably forget the moment after you pass the test.

As far as driving being a privilege not a right - well yes, but to make it difficult doesn鈥檛 help the society either. You can say the same for the internet, but then good luck having a functioning society.

If it鈥檚 even difficult for your own citizens to take the test then maybe your should review your process no?

(BTW - this goes for MANY MANY thing in Italy as I am finding out. The red tape here is maddening at times and you can wonder why even Italians lament their system.)

Another point - my colleagues at the company I worked for the past year ALL spoke English - Why? Because it鈥檚 an international company doing international business in an international city.

(I don鈥檛 even get to learn Italian by working at an Italian company next to Italians, ironically. But of course even more ironic is that if they did require Italian, I might not have gotten the job.

But that would be a case of聽 鈥渨anting to have your cake and eat it too鈥� I suppose.)

Yes I chose to live in Italy, but many people might end up here because of a spouse or other situations where it was not their first choice but it is their reality at the moment.聽 Mine was a bit of both, but I find myself very fortunate and happy to be here, and intend to integrate as I want to do many things that require knowing the language to a certain degree.

So to reiterate- I am learning Italian - I can get by fine...but it is nowhere near the level you would need to negotiate this test.

When I told my local driving school of my situation she looked at me like I was crazy. As in ...don't even try.

And last...English and several other languages WERE offered before and for some reason it stopped.

I don鈥檛 know why鈥�or I know all too well:

鈥淭hat鈥檚 Italy!鈥�

I'll take the good with the bad聽

Cheers!

Its 13 years since the the test was abolished in English.聽 聽An EU rule, so it wont change soon.聽 There are driving school which teach the theory in English, but the test remains only in Italian.聽 聽

聽 聽 Its 13 years since the the test was abolished in English.聽 聽An EU rule, so it wont change soon.聽 There are driving school which teach the theory in English, but the test remains only in Italian.聽 聽
聽 聽

聽 聽 -@Modicasa

Not sure where you get EU rules from.

I totally understand your point, one thing that sucks even more is how they make no difference between people like us, who knows already how to drive, have driven a car for more than a decade, at least and actually hold a DL from the native country, to a teenager who's getting their first DL ever.

They apply all the same rules for neopatentati, regardless the case. All the same speed limits, the horse power of your car, etc.

Enough complaining, I guess

For something more solutive, I got my patente last May.

My Italian is nowhere close to 'good', it's 'barely enough'. It took me more than 1 year just because I dragged my feet, procrastinated, and also waited until my Italian improved slightly. I also know other people in the same situation that managed to prepare for the exam just in months. I, luckily, have passed the exam in 1 try, just like many other foreigners. I also know Italians who had to do it 2-3 times before passing. I have to say that 'luck' is quite a factor, too

I started by studying 2 books, 1 in Italian, and the other 1 multilingual. After a bit, I practiced with the app 'Guida e Vai'. Then, I found this FB group that I wished I have found it earlier. I highly recommend you to join it, lots of info, resources and encouragements, that are all very useful. The group is "Help! I need my Foglio Rosa".

I know it's another annoying thing that you have to go through, from my experience I think you just have to get on and be done with it ASAP. Dragging it wouldn't do you any good. I was lucky enough that I got my patente before the new law was applied.

Best of luck!

Hello all

Is it possible to use an international driver's license to drive in Italy? In from Kenya and so I'm wondering if I take an International Driver's license in Kenya if I'll be able to use it here in Italy

You can use international driving license for the first 1 year of you entering Italy, after that you have to have an Italian Driving License.

From my personal experience,聽 I聽 tried to rent a car from a car sharing app with my International Driving License but they required also the Certificato di Residenza. which usually a bit more problematic to acquire.聽 Maybe it鈥檚 different for other cases. You should check with the one who will be providing the car for you.

@Cyreena

My partner is the one who will be providing the car for me. So I really hope it's possible to drive

@Cyreena thank you for the encouragement ;-) will let you know how things work out...

@romaniac聽 - It's not arrogant to question why the test isn't given in the language that has the most speakers in the world.聽 MANY countries offer their driving tests in more than 2 (other than native) languages.聽 Twenty of the fifty states in the U.S. offer their driving tests in 8 or more languages.聽 Some states offer it in more than 20 languages.聽