Showbizguru

A law introduced in Florida on 1 January 2013 requires all persons who hold a licence issued outside of the US to carry an International Driving Permit along with their national driving licence.

Without an IDP, a driver is therefore driving without a valid licence. If stopped, law enforcement has the options of:

* Arresting the driver and taking them to jail
* Or giving the driver a citation with a mandatory court appearance

In practise this is yet more aggravation for anyone planning a last minute trip to Florida as an IDP is only valid for a year and cannot be acquired more than three months in advance.

In the UK this means either taking along a driving licence and ID to a very limited number of Post Offices or sending copies of these off via snail mail.

There has also been virtually no publicity about this change in the law so it's unclear whether car rental companies will demand an IDP before releasing a vehicle.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/...e-8494813.html

jpsantopinto

Is this for real? I´ve been trying to get a hold of some official information but I have found none. I´m renting a car in MIA next March and I could still have time to get this IDP...

jpsantopinto

Never mind... Found it!

http://www.flhsmv.gov/IDP.htm

Apparently, as this new regulation breaches the Geneva Treaty, they are delaying its enforcement for now. Notwithstanding, I imagine that the reconciliation with the treaty will include a carve-out regarding drivers licenses issued in English-speaking countries.

I believe us latins will have to get an International Drivers Permit just to be safe... Here in Argentina is done in the same day and it costs AR$225 (around 45 USD).

menton1

Sounds illegal, because the only "International Driver's Permits" are issued by for-profit, non-governmental private companies like AAA. It's just a cash source for them, and they really have no official use.

If IDPs were really required by governmental authorities, then those authorities would issue them themselves!

blackjack-21

Exception seems to be for Canadian drivers, who only will need their Canadian issued regular drivers licenses, according to tonight's news reports up here. Best to check again before leaving for Fla.

bj-21.

Showbizguru

So the Florida legislature passes a law affecting millions of foreign tourists visiting the state without its own lawyers checking whether it's legal under international law.

Doesn't exactly fill anyone with a huge amount of confidence in them.

djk7

There are plenty of reasons to lack confidence in the Florida legislature, this law is just a drop in the bucket.

Amarone

Many thanks for the information!

djk7

This Orlando Sentinel article says that the Florida Highway Patrol is deferring enforcement, and asking other law enforcement agencies to do the same.

menton1

An IDP is a totally meaningless document. Any law in Fla mandating it would probably never stand up in court. An IDP is mainly a source of cash for a private for-profit institution. It has no official meaning. All they do is look at your OFFICIAL driving license, charge a hefty fee, and just REPRINT it onto a form they made up. Yes, the profit-making, fee charging company MADE UP this form!!

I know of someone who just went on Microsoft Word and made up their own "IDP". Has just as much validity as any issued by Auto Clubs or Travel Agencies.

supergrandslam

In Japan, IDP is issued by governmental authorities(such as Tokyo Metropolitan public safety commission) same as normal driver licence.
I didn't know US IDP was such a meaningless one

menton1

It's basically a translation of your regular driving license. Perhaps this has more meaning in countries using non-Roman text in their language.

But basically, as a neighbor who works for the Motor Vehicle Agency of NJ told me, the AAA one is basically just a cash cow for AAA and has no official meaning.

Non-NonRev

+1

It's not called "Flori-DUH" for nothing.

One unintended side effect is that offices of the Canadian Automobile Association are being inundated by IDP-seeking snowbirds who drive their cars to their part-time winter homes in Florida - this photo is from a CAA office in Toronto:

Aviatrix

The Guardian newspaper here in the UK has reported that this has now been scrapped (I saw it in the paper edition, so haven't got a link to post).

Does anyone know if this is true?

djk7

According to this article, they are not going to enforce the law for now, they can't change it until the state legislature meets again in a few months.