International Driver's licence for riders from EU in USA?

[essspe]

Why carry an International Driving Licence

Speaking solely from my personal non legal and undocumented personal experience, insurance companies love arcane language and complications.

We are riding the USA for a year and currently have ridden California and are about to move onwards through the southern States. In the past we have traveled in Europe and carried IDLs but were never asked for them so this time we decided not to even bother getting IDLs from our home state of South Australia. So, imagine our surprise when the lack of them became a huge issue with an insurance company when we tried to hire a car (because one of our bikes needed some work) in northern California (near Fort Bragg). The problem wasn't exactly with us - the people doing the car hiring were a small outfit and THEIR insurance people wouldn't cover them if we couldn't produce the IDLs. Everyone understood that the IDL is only a facsimile of the real licence but the red-tape was ridiculous. We lost a lot of time while the operator provided copies of our Australian driving licences PLUS our passports to whoever makes these decisions, and eventually we got to drive their little tin can.
In the future we will carry IDLs just to avoid this kind of stupidity.
Susan and Don

 

[mika]

It seems to me it is more practical to just get an IDP perchance some states would like to see one rather than attempt to poll the several states. It has been my rather consistent experience that it can be a real crapshoot trying to get reliable answers on such obscure topics.

In trying to avoid the arguments I forgot to include what was to be my bottom line. I totally agree, the most practical thing to do is to get an IDP and avoid potential problems.

 

[pkpilot]

The federal government has nothing to do with driver licenses. That issue is left to the states.

What everyone across the pond needs to realize is that the U.S.A. is sometimes like 51 or so sovereign countries. One size very rarely fits all when discussing the USA's laws and laws of the road.[/QUOTE]

AMEN to the 51 states plus territories! Gets even worse with vehicle equipment regulations.

The Feds do have some controls, but leave most things up to the states. Examples of Federal requirements are the minimum age for commercial licenses, State Department issued driver's licenses to diplomats, minimum security of licenses (try flying with a license that does not meet the standard) and requiring states to honor out of state licenses of military and their dependents even if those licenses are expired. Additionally all but 2 states have entered into "compact acts" that provide some standards and information exchange.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[PGlaves]

Post # 21 tells me everything I need to know to understand that getting an IDP does no harm and may well be very beneficial.

 

[temesvar]

First of all, WOW!!! Never expected this kind of response, and thank
you all for helping out. The only thing about this, is that the IDL costs
60 euro.(so i was told) It would make sense to have it, since the DL
is in German,and that would make it hard to understand for a US officer.
So i will advise him to get it. He will have medical insurance and the bike
is mine and insured in Canada. Just want to make this once-in-a-life-time
tour of the US as trouble free as it can be!!
And again, thank you all!

 

[guenner]

Many years (~30) back for my trip to the US I had an IDL issued by the German equivalent to the Motor Vehicle Department. It was a standard booklet in multiple languages and it stated - with stamps and such - what I am licensed to operate in Germany (e.g. motorcycle with no restriction).

The first day I got stopped speeding by a state trooper. The officer knew exactly where to look in that booklet to find the section which showed that I was licensed to ride a motorcycle in Germany.

I am not sure what is available in Germany nowadays but should be easy for someone who lives there to find out.

Btw. I got a away with a warning. "I know you drive faster over there on the Autobahn but in the US it is 55mph...drive safely and have a nice day!". And I rode off with a smile.

/Guenther

 

[beckgr]

Only to add to the agreed upon IDP in prior posts. Friend and I went to Japan to rent bikes. I had the IDP and got my bike fine. He had an IDL and they would not rent it to him. So at least there, the permit has merit vs the license which had none.

 

[sailorlite]

The federal government has nothing to do with driver licenses. That issue is left to the states.

What everyone across the pond needs to realize is that the U.S.A. is sometimes like 51 or so sovereign countries. One size very rarely fits all when discussing the USA's laws and laws of the road.

AMEN to the 51 states plus territories! Gets even worse with vehicle equipment regulations.

The Feds do have some controls, but leave most things up to the states. Examples of Federal requirements are the minimum age for commercial licenses, State Department issued driver's licenses to diplomats, minimum security of licenses (try flying with a license that does not meet the standard) and requiring states to honor out of state licenses of military and their dependents even if those licenses are expired. Additionally all but 2 states have entered into "compact acts" that provide some standards and information exchange.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
Which two states? And what happens if you get a speeding ticket there?