Various laws and requirements in JAX (sales, car insurance, how much)

[richydraper]

hello again ladies and gents!
been thinking a little about if we do manage to get all of our paperwork sorted then when we get a car what sort of things should we be aware of?

how much is a driving test? does it have to be renewed?

is there a yearly vehicle roadworthy test in FL?

is there variety of insurance companies to choose from?

is there a "tax" that is payable every year? (in england we have a road funding tax and depending on the size of the vehicle the fee changes, this is a tax that is put back into nationwide repair of the roads and signage etc.)

how strict are the police about speed restrictions? obviously excessive speed is not acceptable but being used to MPH it may be a little change converting to KPH and i can see me inadvertantly creeping over the limit occasionally.

is there a no smoking policy in public places/such as bars and restaraunts?

whats the drinking age restriction?

whats the smoking age restriction???

what sort of paperwork is required to open a bank account?

i think this covers most of the questions that me and my partner have thought about recently! im sure if we have anymore we know where to come!

[travelingfood]

[SIZE=-1]For driver's license, car tag, fees, road related questions:

Department of Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles

Driving test is done just once to get your license. You renew annually only your tag fees and that fee depends on the weight of your car.

you can get car insurance from variety of companies, you can go through a insurance agent to get a quote from various companies.

Police are strict here, generally you can go 4~10MPH above speed limit on the FREEWAY/HIGHWAY, local roads it just depends if you're near a school or some place with high pedestrian traffic. There's a small stretch of the 95 freeway in JAX that is called Enforced speed zone. Basically they can ticket you with higher fines with just 1MPH over the limit (65). Otherwise, state law says they can only give you a warning for going 1~4MPH higher than posted speed limit (correct me if I'm wrong). So sorry, can't drive like you're in EU.

smoking- don't smoke please? but it's 18 to buy them. no smoking indoors generally anywhere.
drinking- don't drink please? 21. don't think about drinking and driving.

Go to www.coj.net Home Page to know learn more about JAX, there are sections for new comers.

Bank, you'll need some type of government ID.
[/SIZE]

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by richydraper

hello again ladies and gents!
been thinking a little about if we do manage to get all of our paperwork sorted then when we get a car what sort of things should we be aware of?

I'll give it a whack

Originally Posted by richydraper

how much is a driving test? does it have to be renewed?

the test is free, the resulting license costs $20 and mine was good for 6 years, all the info can be found here:
Florida Division of Driver Licenses

Originally Posted by richydraper

is there a yearly vehicle roadworthy test in FL?

no

Originally Posted by richydraper

is there variety of insurance companies to choose from?

yes

Originally Posted by richydraper

is there a "tax" that is payable every year? (in england we have a road funding tax and depending on the size of the vehicle the fee changes, this is a tax that is put back into nationwide repair of the roads and signage etc.)

no tax on the car, after the initial sales tax but there is an annual fee for tags, it depends on the size of the car. figure between $25-75 per year.

Originally Posted by richydraper

how strict are the police about speed restrictions? obviously excessive speed is not acceptable but being used to MPH it may be a little change converting to KPH and i can see me inadvertantly creeping over the limit occasionally.

in places enforcement can be very strict, in others it is somewhat lax, speedometers are in MPH.

Originally Posted by richydraper

is there a no smoking policy in public places/such as bars and restaraunts?

in fla yes

Originally Posted by richydraper

whats the drinking age restriction?!

21

Originally Posted by richydraper

whats the smoking age restriction???!

18 or so

Originally Posted by richydraper

what sort of paperwork is required to open a bank account?
!

this one your on your own.
here's a site full of info for you:
State of Florida.com - Moving to Florida - Florida Relocation

[richydraper]

ok so to make sure if i got this right sorry if im repeating or being "dumb" but its a completely new thing to me like the whole american way of life...

Driving test is a one off payment...a "tag" is a license plate/numberplate on the front and rear of the vehicle and this has to be renewed every year to prove the vehicle is roadworthy and the fee is dependant on the weight of the vehicle.

car insurance is easy enough to find!!

DONT SPEED AT ALL!!!

no smoking in any public places but i can smoke in my own house/vehicle if i choose
dont drink and drive (i dont anyway)

where do i get a "government id" from? would my driving license not be sufficient?

thanks for the links all a bit in depth and im sure ill have to sift out a lot of the stuff as it wont be relevant so im occupied for the next few days!!!

[apvbguy]

Originally Posted by richydraper

ok so to make sure if i got this right sorry if im repeating or being "dumb" but its a completely new thing to me like the whole american way of life...

Driving test is a one off payment...a "tag" is a license plate/numberplate on the front and rear of the vehicle and this has to be renewed every year to prove the vehicle is roadworthy and the fee is dependant on the weight of the vehicle.

car insurance is easy enough to find!!

DONT SPEED AT ALL!!!

no smoking in any public places but i can smoke in my own house/vehicle if i choose
dont drink and drive (i dont anyway)

where do i get a "government id" from? would my driving license not be sufficient?

insurance should be no problem, you'll learn fast where the enforcement is strict and where it is lax, on the larger roads if you keep pace with traffic, neither passing or getting passed you should be ok regardless of speed limits, on local roads stick to the limit and some places are notorious speed traps, stay under the posted limit, you got smoking right, and a drivers license is one of the best IDs after your passport. check the sites I gave you for detailed info

[richydraper]

thanks im in the process of going thru them... might have to deal with using my english account and suffering with the exchange and commission rates for a while!!

[gradco2004]

I work for a national bank, so I have this one covered.

To comply with the Patriot Act, you will need the following to open a bank account:

(1) Full Name
(2) Date of Birth
(3) Physical Address
(4) A Government ID Number (usually a social security #, driver's license# or state ID#)

If you are not a citizen, the bank can flag your account for additional verification for you to prove your identity.

(There is an internal list of countries with standing verification policies, the UK is not on that list)

...Hope that helps...

[richydraper]

HEHEHE just scored 16/20 on the practice paper test about road rules and signs!!! not bad for a foreigner

[spainbrit]

Bank of America and Wachovia are both good for British people, I have worked with them both with british home buyers. Your Passport and Brit DL will work, they have all the necessary info on them. HSBC is quite user friendly, though not in much of the States for transferring funds from first direct or HSBC UK. Also they have one of the best savings online accounts currently 4.25% APY with no early withdrawel penalties.


As for easy insurance, it's not easy for anyone who does not have a green card or SSN to get insurance. My sister could only get it with one company who charge an absolute arm and a leg for foreigners insuring cars. Most people want at least 2 years FL driving license for even a basic (high) quote.