Driving instructor/school in English

msaucey says on Nov 14, 2007, 11:01:

If you're just coming to visit... I'd say don't bother to drive around the city.... The main rule about driving in Bogota is drive with your guard up... I thought it would be harder, but in the end it was just driving... You just need to drive aggressively and try to use up every single open space and try not to let anyone cut you off.... Nobody likes to crash, it's a game of chicken, everyone goes for the last open space, he who doesn't chicken out, gets it....

The trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed. - CS Lewis

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Noelito40 says on Nov 14, 2007, 11:34:

Appreciate the advice, and yes I have seen that you need to have your wits about you when you are on the road, but I'll be living here for a while, and I have to drive. I've had a couple of lessons with a native instructor, but I've found that it's hard enough trying to concentrate on the road, without having to strain to ask questions with my pigeon Spanish, so I know I'll need an instructor that I can converse with in English, so can anyone else put me on contact with a registered instructor who speaks my lingo?

Noelito

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ColombianoGringo says on Nov 14, 2007, 11:44:

With the way they drive in Bogota, it never occurred to me that they even have Driver's Ed ;)

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Bunyipcatcher says on Nov 14, 2007, 11:59:

Noelito,

Do you know how to drive already? If you do, just ignore everything you have ever learnt and do what you like.

Things to look out for!
1) General driver lack of respect!
2) Manholes with no covers!
3) Drains with no covers!
4) Taxis! They will take that couple of car gap you left between you and the next car.
5) Buses! They will take that couple of car gap you didnt leave by trying to drive ontop of your car.

All in all good luck with it. Its a real opener everyday.

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ColombianoGringo says on Nov 14, 2007, 12:03:

The thing that really gets me in Bogota is how one left turn lane on la Septima will effectively turn into three or four because people turn from even the right hand lanes in some cases. Luckily, the traffic in BOG moves so slowly that most of the accidents are at relatively low speeds.

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expatriate says on Nov 14, 2007, 15:59:

Noelito40, don't waste your money on a ridiculously overpriced car, and way overpriced yearly registration fees and insurance, just for the privilege of driving amongst maniacs, psychos, drunks, and tire and suspension destroying holes in the street. That's besides the fact that you can't drive your car pretty much at all, one day of the week.

You'd think that with all the taxes you pay to own a car, the streets would be smooth as glass, and would be patrolled for violators of the law. But actually, all the money is stolen, and the only time you will see a cop is during your one day Pico Placa hours, where the cops pull you over, and suggest a bribe.

Take taxis. The drivers generally know where they are going, and they get you there with little stress on your part, and at much less expense than the wear and tear on your nerves and on your new car.

Added advice. The cops drive a 99cc Suzuki dirt bike with street tires, with two men on it. In other words, a 100cc street bike with one person on it can outrun the cops, much less a Kawasaki Versys 650, assuming you don't hit a pothole and go flying.

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Lowell says on Nov 15, 2007, 08:50:

We've used these people 2 times with airport pick ups, transportation and stays. They have english speaking drivers. All their services were very good and well priced. http://www.bogotacolombialodging.com/

Alfred E. Newman. "What. Me Worry?"

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