The horror of it all.....legally riding in China.....

[Nick in PRC.]

.......means getting a drivers license. I got mine in Shanghai.

I only had access to four wheels and had just been stopped.......well not really stopped, I parked the car where I shouldn't have then went into a shop, returned to the car, opened the door and a cop wandered over and asked to see my license. I gave him my California license. Big problem. Luckily my interpreter was with me.

He wanted to cart me in and tow away the car........because I was not legally allowed to drive. So I had to think quick and thru my interpreter I asked him if he had actually seen me driving. A look crossed his face and I knew I had him. He said no. So I reasoned that because he hadn't seen me drive how could he give me a ticket for driving.........much to my amazement he agreed, so he let me off the hook but gave me some good information that would allow me to get a temporary license till I'd gotten my residence card.......so another driver was summonsed from my company and all was well, didn't even get a parking ticket ! love this country.

So I wandered down to the PSB office at the Pudong airport, passport and California DVL in hand and interpreter in tow.

First you have to do a simple medical/physical which also checks to see if you are color blind and if you have two hands, that complete, you return to do the written test which is a multiple choice 25 questions randomly selected from a pool of 100......18 is the passing grade. They look at your local license take a couple of photos and issue you a temporary one on the spot. It's valid for the length of your stay.

Once you have gone thru the hassle of getting the residence permit and jumped thru all the hoops, you get to move on over to the Public Security Bureau's Drivers License section for a full license.

Next stop PSB.

Same drill but now with my new Chinese temporary, Passport, Local Calif license and interpreter.
My interpreter collected all the forms we filled them out and she marched me to the head of the line...........had a few words with the officer in charge and off we go.

Photo's were taken and my California license was inspected.......I told them I wanted bike and three wheeler. They were a bit reluctant as there is no three wheeler endorsement on my Calif license, they only put me down for a C endorsement.........they hand you the form back and you have to then go take a series of "skills" tests........while you are in line waiting on the tests I suggest that you add the endorsements that you need while you are waiting..........I added a D.:biggrin:

The skills tests are bizarre........they test your grip strength, lift weights, play something resembling paddle tennis, do some reaction tests and a couple other game type tests.......all administered by people wearing white coats, who stamp your paperwork as you take and pass each test.....great fun.

They gave me credit for the medical and written test I'd done previously and issued me a full license with C & D endorsements.......good for 6 years renewable every two but they changed rule so no renewals. I'm good till 2010.

I've heard now that the rules have changed again.......surprise !
I been told you have to make an appointment, you can't just walk up. Waiting time is 30 days !

You can request all the 100 questions and answers in advance so you can study the correct answers.........do study them as the correct answers are not always obvious..........there is actually a rule as to how high you can stack shit on a bike.......and the test had some questions with double negatives and pretty bad translations...........this too may have been cleared up.

I felt I really earned my license:thumbup:

[ontheborder]

Nick I read your post, but I am confused, nothing new.

As a tourist coming to China for a multiple month visit without a permanent address, can I walk in and just get and use a temporary permit?

You maybe become the legal authority on this site...:wink:

[Supersignet]

You should be able to get a temporary license, but you would be stuck renting a bike unless you can find someone to purchase the bike for you and let you us his or her name. It isn't such a big deal, but it is, like many other motorcycle things in China, a pain in the ass.

[Nick in PRC.]

Yes you can get a temp permit.............but it's only good for 4 wheels NOT valid for riding a bike or a side car.

Sorry if I didn't make that so clear.

[Indochine]

Howdy guys,

Yes you can get a temp permit.............but it's only good for 4 wheels NOT valid for riding a bike or a side car.

Sorry if I didn't make that so clear.

If I may ask a clarification, too? You mentioned getting a "C" endorsement for motorcycle??? Would that then work for Ontheborder (and me!!!), getting a temporary Chinese car licence in order to get a bike licence?

You wrote:

Photo's were taken and my California license was inspected.......I told them I wanted bike and three wheeler. They were a bit reluctant as there is no three wheeler endorsement on my Calif license, they only put me down for a C endorsement.....

Thanks for info.

[Nick in PRC.]

No the point I was trying to make was that even though I had a motorcycle endorsement on my US license they didn't automatically give me credit for it when I went for my full license...........C is for 4 wheels.............D is for two and three wheels.

I had to write in D myself.

Temp permit is for 4 wheels......... it's the equivalent of a C endorsement on a full license. I used the Temporary permit as a stepping stone to a full license.

To get a full license you have to have a residence permit.........etc, etc.

I must not write good stories.:thumbdown: