International Drivers License -- Do you really need one?

B Vaughan wrote:
On Wed, 21 Feb 2007 15:43:08 -0500, Joseph Coulter
wrote:

I have been stopped in Italy for a papers check no one commented on my
lack of IDL though technically I believe it is required there.

Was this recently? As I mentioned in another post, in the last few
years, all sorts of document requirements have been tightened and are
enforced more strictly now.

this was about 3 years ago. and as i said, I believe that it is
necessary and knew that there was a risk. (I hadn't planned on driving
on that particular trip untill the last minute...yeah I know . . .)

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 00:03:21 +0100, Deeply Filled Mortician
wrote:

Let is be knownst that on Wed, 21 Feb 2007 20:01:05 GMT,
writted:

I think I have seen this debated here before but not for a couple of
years.

Are there any countries where you MUST have an International Drivers
License?

Has anybody had a situation where they had to show it to somebody who
would not accept their home drivers license?

Last I recall of the debate was that Nobody had first hand experience
of actually needing one but several people had heard of somebody who
knew somebody that actually had to produce it.

The other conclusion from the debate seemed to be that they are
relatively cheap and easy to get so why wouldn't you just get one?
Even if you never need it. That same arguement could probably be made
for a dog license even if you don't have a dog.

So, what is the current concensus and experience?

We will be driving in Germany, Czech Rep, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland,
Hungary Croatia, Italy, Austria, France at least.

Gord



Driving through those countries, you should have the licence for one
simple reason - insurance.

If something goes wrong, and it could, the insurance agencies would
take one look at your lack of international licence, and will say "oh
ho ho, we ain't gonna pay".

Weigh it up.
--
---
DFM - http://www.deepfriedmars.com
---


Your point about insurance companies dropping coverage concerned me so
I phoned AUTO EUROPE where I have 2 reservations for cars in France
this June. I asked them if the IDL had any bearing on insurance
coverage. They said absolutely not. The only purpose of the IDL was
to provide license translation. As many people here have pointed out.
That being said, I think it is also a valid point that the increased
paranoia in the world means that there is increassed scrutiny which
leads to increased documentation requirements. Now I can't see that
an IDL adds any great value as a security document given the ease with
which you can get one. But like many others have said, it is cheap
insurance that only has to be useful once in order to pay for itself.

So, it is another risk/reward decision that I'll soon be making.

Thanks for all the thoughts folks.

Gord

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 20:27:37 +0100, Martin wrote:

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 18:32:11 +0100, B wrote:

In fact, any country that issues a license in EU format,
with the information numbered as it is in on the EU license, should
need an IDP in Italy.

eh? I think you forgot a negative.

It would be the first time.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 20:19:07 +0100, Martin wrote:

To be clear. I don't recall any EU citizen posting here who needed to show an
IDL to rent a car in Italy, nor do I know anyone with an IDL.
EU member states recognise each other's driving licences

No, it wasn't an EU citizen.

In what way does having an IDL allay people's fears of terrorism?
This is pure Bushwackyism. If a person's passport isn't adequate proof of
identity then buying an IDL isn't going to help.

It translates the driver's license into a standard format.

I don't understand why you have to produce an identity card or
passport to use a public computer in Italy, but you do.

Maybe for US citizens worrying about fighting terrorism, there should be a
standard format driving licence as is slowly being introduced all over the EU.

There are 50 states there, some of whom resist any national
initiative.

In many ways I find Europeans more paranoid about documents than
Americans.
--
Barbara Vaughan
My email address is my first initial followed by my surname at libero dot it
I answer travel questions only in the newsgroup

B Vaughan wrote:

On Thu, 22 Feb 2007 11:09:42 +0100, Frank Hucklenbroich
wrote:


Yes, but they are just valid for short time, 2 years IIRC.


Those issued in the US are valid for one year only.

That is indeed why the feel like a rip off. If it is a translation why
is the translation not valid for the term of the license?

I sometimes get one but I feel ripped off for the small amount involved.