Chile Forum

by **Lydia** on Fri Oct 03, 2008 9:39 am

Hello! I've done a search here but haven't been able to find much information about obtaining a Chilean Driver's License. I've looked up the requirements for different Comunas in Santiago (Las Condes, Vitacura, Providencia) and they are all different. I live in Las Condes and the website informs that it requires the following:

- Cédula de Identidad vigente (fotocopia por ambos lados)
- Certificado de residencia en la comuna
- Traer certificado de estudios de 8° básico rendido o superior original o legalizado ante Notario
- Vehículo para examen práctico con toda la documentación al día

AND
Examenes:
- Físico (sensométrico)
- Psíquico (sicométrico)
- Entrevista médica
- Teórico (cuestionario)
- Práctico

My questions are:
- Is this all really necessary?
- How do I get a "certificado of residencia en la comuna"? (Proof of residency)
- How do I get original copies of my high school / college diplomas EASILY??

Can I go to a Municipalidad where the requirements are a lot easier (i.e. Providencia)??

Finally, do I REALLY need to obtain a Chilean Driver's License??

Thanks for your help!

by **T_ROBO** on Fri Oct 03, 2008 1:37 pm

> My questions are:
> - Is this all really necessary?
> - How do I get a "certificado of residencia en la comuna"? (Proof of residency)
> - How do I get original copies of my high school / college diplomas EASILY??

Lydia,

Don`t know much about what is necessary, but for:

1. Proof of residency: bring a utility bill with your name on it and it should be accepted
2. High school / college diplomas: assuming your diplomas are from the US, you can check the website:

www[dot]studentclearinghouse[dot]org

and they can send you an electronic certificate verifying your diploma(s), at $6.50 USD per.

TP

by **STORKLADY53** on Sun Oct 12, 2008 10:50 pm

Sorry guys but this is about the funniest read yet on AllChile. I have never lived any place where the drivers are more dangerous and rude than in Chile. It blows my mind that any of these things are required of drivers here. Most act like they haven't got two brain cells to rub together. They pass on the left when you are signaling to turn left...duh...they pass you when there is clearly a no passing zone line, they pass you going double and triple the speed limit, they 'share the lane' with you nearly everywhere...and the list goes on and on. I thought they all got their :alien:

licenses out of a Cracker Jack box. Sorry guys...just had to vent!!

by **Gloria** on Sun Oct 12, 2008 11:17 pm

STORKLADY53 wrote:Sorry guys but this is about the funniest read yet on AllChile. I have never lived any place where the drivers are more dangerous and rude than in Chile. It blows my mind that any of these things are required of drivers here. Most act like they haven't got two brain cells to rub together. They pass on the left when you are signaling to turn left...duh...they pass you when there is clearly a no passing zone line, they pass you going double and triple the speed limit, they 'share the lane' with you nearly everywhere...and the list goes on and on. I thought they all got their licenses out of a Cracker Jack box. Sorry guys...just had to vent!!

You are soooooooo right!! :alien:

by **jgb78uk** on Mon Oct 13, 2008 8:20 am

Well done Storklady,
I posted something similar on Thorntree Chile about the horrendous driving standards here...
Most posters didn't agree with me and said that driving in Chile was 'safe' when compared to places like Italy and Iraq.. :lol:

Daily when I wake up to go to work and switch on the news it is a bloodbath of car and bus crashes caused my drunks, boyracers and fools driving dangerously at top speeds on shabby roads. Ask anyone about the driving test here - a 5 minute drive around the block! :roll:

by **gringalais** on Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:17 am

I got my license in La Reina a few years ago and it was really easy. I wasn't asked for most things on the list. I just had to show my California driver's license, which they took a copy of, and my ID card. After that I took the eye test and those weird coordination tests and they issued the license. I didn't even have to take the written test or road test.

by **STORKLADY53** on Mon Oct 13, 2008 11:35 pm

As they say en espanol...increible. And as a testament...start counting all the 'dead body' (as I like to call them) memorials along all the roads. Those are where folks died people. Some memorials have multiple casualties at one site. Where we live, there are tons of folks on foot or bikes at night. The road has no shoulder and everyone dresses in dark clothing. Increible...there's that word again. I would NEVER walk at night...and certainly NEVER dress in black. That is probably how half these folks got creamed. Add to that the horrid drivers...and there you have a recipe for disaster.
Glad that you have validated my take on things here.

Jill

by **T_ROBO** on Tue Oct 14, 2008 10:30 am

STORKLADY53 wrote:Sorry guys but this is about the funniest read yet on AllChile. I have never lived any place where the drivers are more dangerous and rude than in Chile. It blows my mind that any of these things are required of drivers here. Most act like they haven't got two brain cells to rub together. They pass on the left when you are signaling to turn left...duh...they pass you when there is clearly a no passing zone line, they pass you going double and triple the speed limit, they 'share the lane' with you nearly everywhere...and the list goes on and on. I thought they all got their licenses out of a Cracker Jack box. Sorry guys...just had to vent!!

The observation is funny but somewhat true :-)

I keep thinking about the phrase, "when in Rome..." :-)

and wonder if the advice is appropriate.

For me, it is not those drivers that I worry about. It is the pedestrians and bikers who suddenly ventured into my driving path without any prior indication that I tried so hard to avoid, especially at night when visibility is significantly reduced. No matter how wrong they are in observing/following driving protocols, it is never a pleasant experience hurting somebody in a car accident.

TP

by **otravers** on Wed Oct 15, 2008 10:15 am

Driving is very tame in (most of) the US, with disciplined people driving automatic transmission cars on good infrastructure with high police presence, so everywhere else looks like a jungle. I've driven in a dozen states in the US and it felt like auto pilot for the most part (save maybe New Jersey or New York but mostly because of poor road signage). By international standards, Chile is really not that bad. From personal experience, it is much worse in Portugal and Italy, just to name too richer countries (where presumably cars should have been around for longer, people would be more educated and so forth), as well as some regions in France (but traffic in France feels way different from region to region - it's hectic in some and ok in others).

Chilean drivers are not very cooperative but don't get out of their way to obstruct traffic or threaten you. Now, let me tell you about Portugal. Once, someone overtaking from the opposite direction (thus driving on my lane, facing me) basically forced me on the road shoulder (which was paved, so I guess I shouldn't complain in his mind). That moron (who happened to have passengers with him, so maybe he had a family death wish) was grinning as we crossed ways... Never seen anything remotely as aggressive and just plain nuts in Chile, though the same tale might easily happen in Italy (or at least used to, I don't know whether it improved these last 15-20 years).

by **jalundberg** on Thu Oct 16, 2008 12:39 pm

I had trouble being even a passenger (never had the guts to try out driving) in India. After that, Chile looks superb.

by **eduardo** on Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:27 pm

my question for StorkLady53 is, why don't you go back to the US then? If you don't like the way people dress, and it is so unbearable to drive here, then go back to the boring and road rage US highways. It is obvious that you have not traveled to many countries... Peru, Argentina, Brasil, Mexico, Turkey, China are 100 times worse than Chile. Chile IS more aggressive than the US, but drivers in Chile just are more alert and have to manuever a lot more than the US. When you get the hang of it, it is as dangerous as you think, and let me remind you that the US has MANY traffic accidents and MANY 16 year old idiot drivers doing stupid things.

by **mlightheart** on Sun Nov 09, 2008 4:54 pm

I think there is a reason why workers who are working on a road wear bright orange vests or clothes. So they can be seen when it gets dark. You can't expect the cars to see you when you are walking along a road and you blend into the darkness. If you are a Ninja, well that's fine because you don't expect to be seen.

Pointing out degrees of driving stupidity in other country just means that there are stupid drivers everywhere. Even in the US as you pointed out. Yes the US has many traffic accidents, but how many cars are being driven there in relation to the population? The percentage of accidents in the US is a lot lower than in Chile.

Drivers in Chile have to be more alert because the other driver may cut him off at any moment. Yeah it keeps your reflexes sharp.

eduardo, on a humorous side note, storklady53's husband is a Chilean and he made a comment that was reminiscent of yours.

I wish I had a bumper sticker that said "Chile, love or leave it". I can not understand the continuous bashing that goes on about how bad things are in Chile, from construction to breakfast food to poor workmanship to weather. What are we doing here if it is so bad? Perhaps we should all go back to Paradise!

by **eduardo** on Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:16 pm

Your opinion is perfectly fine, but again... if you are venting about people's clothes on the side of the road, and because they cut you off all the time, why don't you go back to the US? You can't force people that decide to walk on the side of a road to wear the clothes you want them to wear. If they are workers, they DO wear orange vests in Chile, but if not, oh well, what can you do? That is my point, and if you compare numbers, I can come up with many other countries that have less accidents than the US (comparing automobiles in relation to population), so what was she getting at? If you compare numbers, you won't justify that the US is the best country in the world either, all in all, she complains about being here, she should go back to the US. I drive in Chile and have no problems with anything... I don't care about how people are dressed either... (Chile is a free country)

by **mlightheart** on Sun Nov 09, 2008 6:54 pm

eduardo, of course you can come up with a country that has better accident % than the US, so can I. The point was not that the US is the best, but it probably has a better ratio (lower). Sure you can get use to the driving here. You have to if you drive here.

I am glad that Chile is a free country and it lets its citizens decide what color clothes to wear.

But seriously freedom is good and people must make their own choices.

All of this reminds me of question #198 on the driving test.

eduardo, obviously you are in Chile, maybe you can tell us something about yourself by making a post in the New Users section.

by **Gloria** on Sun Nov 09, 2008 7:11 pm

STORKLADY53 wrote:As they say en espanol...increible. And as a testament...start counting all the 'dead body' (as I like to call them) memorials along all the roads. Those are where folks died people. Some memorials have multiple casualties at one site. Where we live, there are tons of folks on foot or bikes at night. The road has no shoulder and everyone dresses in dark clothing. Increible...there's that word again. I would NEVER walk at night...and certainly NEVER dress in black. That is probably how half these folks got creamed. Add to that the horrid drivers...and there you have a recipe for disaster.
Glad that you have validated my take on things here.

Jill

Well Storklady, I found your prior comment ( about the drivers) funny but I think you are getting a little too critical with this one and as a chilean myself, it's touching a nerve, so I would suggest to tone it down or keep them to yourself.From the time you came to Chile you have been complaning for this or that.I wonder if your husband put a gun in your head forcing you to take the plane to Chile or you consciously decided to do it on your own.It's obvious that you are not happy here and probably you are regreting your decision however it can be corrected because there are planes flying back to the States every day and some even non stop.

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Need Help In Chile? Spencer Global Consulting Chile, South America Legal, Investment, Real Estate, Relocation, and all your needs in Chile, South America Call Us:

In the U.S.A. and From Outside Chile Dial: 1-702-990-1762

Need Help In Chile?

Spencer Global Consulting Chile, South America
Legal, Investment, Real Estate,
Relocation,
and all your needs in Chile, South America
Call Us:

In the U.S.A. and From Outside Chile Dial:
1-702-990-1762