International Driving Permits

[Dave Noble]

Thanks Dave.

Sort of like a taking an acceptable "Translation Dictionary" with the Drivers Licence itself?

Sort of, yes. The requirement for an IDP does vary depending on the national licence held. e.g. some countries require it if used with a non-photo driving licence, but mainly it seems to be used as an official translation document


Dave

 

[Mal]

Yeah, some countries do require an IDP.

Some relevant links:

international driving permits - RACV
http://www.mynrma.com.au/files/1/AAA_Handbook.pdf

While I decided against getting one, that was mainly based on the countries I normally want to drive in. If that changes, then I will get one (personally I think they're a bit of a ripoff, and seeing they're only valid for a year annoying to maintain. Personally I think it should be for the length of your license.)

The card itself is worthless. It only has value when presented with your original driver's license, and even then just to give a quick reference as to what you are allowed to drive and that it's valid.

 

[fasteddie]

...personally I think they're a bit of a ripoff

LOL Mal, I tend to agree with that.

Bit of a bonanza for the Automobile Associations - quite a steep fee for a limited amount of paperwork.

Also be careful that the IDP is correctly completed! If I wasn't on the ball, the IDP would have been issued without refernce to the Motorbike endorsement on the Licence.

I was on a motorcycle when pulled over in Thailand.

 

[maninblack]

Try to make it my last post on the topic. That RACV list is rubbish. As you will see most of the countries simply say recommended, in other words, not needed. No EU country requires it. I have been to Jamaica and Barbados (not on the list) they used to require you to attend a police station with your proper license and passport and get a visitor driver permit issued for a fee, though now in Barbados the rental companies can do it for you on the spot, Jamaica no longer requires it at all. I have driven in eastern europe and been pulled over, they couldn't give a toss in CZ about an IDP, just wanted to see my passport, which was in my hotel so they just looked at the drivers license and sent me on my way. The issuing authority for an IDP is an auto club, which has no authority

 

[fasteddie]

All I can say is I am glad that I had a (correctly completed) IDP on me.

From what I've heard the Thai jails are overflowing with about:
- 99.00% local criminals
- 0.99% western paedophiles
- 0.01% westerners that didn't bother to take (or check) their IDP's

Not somewhere I want to spend even a few hours, whilst the authorities make some phone calls to another time zone to check on my licence. :-|

 

[Dave Noble]

Try to make it my last post on the topic. That RACV list is rubbish. As you will see most of the countries simply say recommended, in other words, not needed.

The issuing authority for an IDP is an auto club, which has no authority

There are some countries which DO require it, but not a lot.

The fact that the automobile club is authorised to issue it does not detract from its requirement in some places nor detract from it's validity since they have been given the authority to issue it

Dave

 

[thadocta]

Thanks for the compliment. I would like to know who you called.

The Officer-In-Charge of Penrith Highway Patrol (rank, Senior Sergeant) and the duty officer at the Surry Hills LAC, NSW Police (rank Chief Inspector, and has HWP experience.

Both of these I was able to access via the internal telephone system.

You miss the point of what I was saying - the IDP doesn't entitle you to drive, your licence does. The IDP merely translates the details of your licence into a format which is common throughout the world and can be easily understood by police agencies around the world.

Dave

 

[mileagemax]

All I can say is I am glad that I had a (correctly completed) IDP on me.

From what I've heard the Thai jails are overflowing with about:
- 99.00% local criminals
- 0.99% western paedophiles
- 0.01% westerners that didn't bother to take (or check) their IDP's

Not sure where you got that info from but I rely on the following info for driving a car in Thailand:

Hertz
Driver must have at least one year of driving experience at the time of rental and possess a current international driving licence or a current national driving licence which is translated into English. If the local driving licence is not in English, then an international driving licence has to be presented.

Budget
All drivers must hold a current, non-probationary license. The license may either be Thai, or from a renter's country of residence (with an English translation) or an international drivers permit. Licenses (and a valid passport) must be carried at all times when driving.

Avis
Renter must hold Driving License or International Driving License at least one year.


Hence, an International Driving Permit is optional for Australian License holders because our license is in English anyway.

 

[clifford]

Not sure where you got that info from but I rely on the following info for driving a car in Thailand:

Hertz
Driver must have at least one year of driving experience at the time of rental and possess a current international driving licence or a current national driving licence which is translated into English. If the local driving licence is not in English, then an international driving licence has to be presented.

Budget
All drivers must hold a current, non-probationary license. The license may either be Thai, or from a renter's country of residence (with an English translation) or an international drivers permit. Licenses (and a valid passport) must be carried at all times when driving.

Avis
Renter must hold Driving License or International Driving License at least one year.


Hence, an International Driving Permit is optional for Australian License holders because our license is in English anyway.

The more sensible alternative IMHO is not to drive in Thailand. But hey...

 

[Mal]

Not sure where you got that info from but I rely on the following info for driving a car in Thailand:

What Hertz, Avis et.al will accept, and what is required by a police officer who is aiming their gun at you are possibly different!

My view is that if the RACV/NRMA et.al say that an IDP is compulsory, then you need to get one. Another option is to check with the licensing/road rules department of the country(or county) concerned.

 

[bravoecho1]

Driving through Oman and the UAE earlier this year my drivers license and IDP we asked for a number of times.

They knew what to ask for and knew what they were looking at. Previous driving experience there has shown me that with a IDP the enquiries last less than 2 minutes. Without an IDP the enquiries can last up to an hour while they verify your details.

Coming through the Oman-UAE border into Al Ain at 9pm at night, I know that i'd rather the hassle of organising an IDP and be checked into my hotel within 20 minutes than be on the side of the road waiting for them to do their checks for an hour.

 

[coco50]

Hmmm.

Interesting arguements for and against getting one. Thanks

It's only $25 or so, so not really that expensive in the scheme of things. Just inconvenient to get the passport photos done and head to my nearest RACQ.

I think I'll keep risking it for a little bit longer. Maybe if I get put in a cell for a couple of hours while they do checks on my background and license, my need to get one will increase (either that, or the need to drive in a "no-english" speaking country might also help me with that decision!)

I paid $55 for one from the NRMA and then found that in the LOTFAP (Hawaii) only needed NSW Driver's Licence. The IDP was only current for 6 months which is a bit rich. I have heard that in some countries that you must have an IDP in order to drive, but certainly not in the LOTFAP

 

[NM]

I paid $55 for one from the NRMA and then found that in the LOTFAP (Hawaii) only needed NSW Driver's Licence. The IDP was only current for 6 months which is a bit rich. I have heard that in some countries that you must have an IDP in order to drive, but certainly not in the LOTFAP

Wow, that's a rip-off. I last paid $15 for 12 months from RACQ. Plus of course the cost of the passport-size photo.

 

[Mal]

I paid $55 for one from the NRMA and then found that in the LOTFAP (Hawaii) only needed NSW Driver's Licence. The IDP was only current for 6 months which is a bit rich. I have heard that in some countries that you must have an IDP in order to drive, but certainly not in the LOTFAP

Ouch!

I presume your license expires in 6 months hence the reduced validity?

I believe the NRMA charges the most out of all motoring organisations in Australia. I thought it was $50 for non-members, but perhaps you paid a postage fee as well. IIRC, WA's motoring organisation had the cheapest followed by the RACQ (Qld). Was a while ago when I looked, and believe you can post an application to whoever you want for them to process in Australia.

 

[Mal]

I decided to check and post the costs from the various Australia AA Clubs.

Here are my findings cheapest to dearest (for the same piece of paper!!)

SA (RAA) $15 +postage if required ($1 normal post, $4 express post, $3.50 registered mail)
NT (AANT) $15 +postage if required ($1.50 normal post, $4 registered post)
TAS (RACT) $20 +postage if required ($1.50 normal post, $4.50 registered post)
QLD (RACQ) $20 +postage if required ($3.50 Registered post.
WA (RAC) $22.50 +postage if required ($1 normal post, $3.50 registered post)
VIC (RACV) $28.80 +postage if required ($0.50 normal post, $2.80 Registered post)
NSW (NRMA) $50 (non-member), $25 (member), +postage if required ($5)


(Postage overseas also increases the postage amount)


(also note that errors and ommisions are accidental. prices were the ones advertised on the respective websites tonight )

 

[NM]

QLD (RACQ) $20 +postage if required ($3.50 Registered post.

Looks like the RACQ price has increased. My first one only cost me $10 and my last one was $15. But that was about 18 months ago (the agent forgot to put the date on the front ).

But since my DL is up for renewal next month I guess it will be time to get another. I prefer to have one with me just in case, and to reduce any future arguments with Maryland cops. That might an argument I could win, but its not worth the time and hassles along the way. I just include the cost with my travel expense claim and the company pays.

By the way, I once forgot to claim from my employer and still had the receipts etc, so I included it on my tax return as a "business expense" since I only travelled for business during the time the IDP was valid. I received a letter from the ATO saying that the expense was not a valid business expense and I should not include it in future tax returns (they did not adjust my refund amount). So I am now diligent to claim back from my employer via my travel expense claim process.

 

[coco50]

Ouch!

I presume your license expires in 6 months hence the reduced validity?

I believe the NRMA charges the most out of all motoring organisations in Australia. I thought it was $50 for non-members, but perhaps you paid a postage fee as well. IIRC, WA's motoring organisation had the cheapest followed by the RACQ (Qld). Was a while ago when I looked, and believe you can post an application to whoever you want for them to process in Australia.

No - I renewed my NSW Gold licence in Feb '05 for 5 years. Perhaps I got charged a lot because my wife is the registered owner of both our vehicles and the NRMA membership is in her name. This is a bone of contention with me. The vehicles should be the member and all regular users should have cards for road service etc.

 

[Mal]

No - I renewed my NSW Gold licence in Feb '05 for 5 years. Perhaps I got charged a lot because my wife is the registered owner of both our vehicles and the NRMA membership is in her name. This is a bone of contention with me. The vehicles should be the member and all regular users should have cards for road service etc.

I would be asking the NRMA to explain the reduced validity. I think they issued your IDP incorrectly.

From their website:
Int. Driving Permit - Travel - MyNRMA

"How long is an IDP valid?

Twelve months from its date of issue, unless your Australian driver's/rider's licence expires beforehand."

 

[AlphaVictor]

I renew my IDP every 12 months - just in case.

Apart from driving I now use it as my main form of I.D overseas if required. The passport stays in the safe in the hotel and I use the IDP in it's place (they say it's a UN sanctioned document so it probably would'nt mean anything in the US).

If I carry travellers cheques - then I use the IDP to prove who I am and here's one that is happening more and more......3 weeks ago in Frankfurt at H & M and a week later in Madrid I was asked for photo ID when I was using my Amex - just pulled out the IDP and that was fine.

Photo ID is being asked for more and more when making credit card purchases - notably in Europe and I don't want to have to carry my passport around all day.

P.S in 2005, a good mate was denied a rental car in Austria because he had no IDP - went to another rental company and got one - there is inconsistancy in the rules.

Rule of thumb - if English is not the main language of the country - get one

 

[Reggie]

Rule of thumb - if English is not the main language of the country - get one

Well that means I'll have to get one for driving in NZ, they speak englush.