Driving licences and the like
 

I've read that a few people carry fake wallets with old credit cards etc. I've also read that some have several copies of driving licences when held up by dodgy or fake police.
I was curious how people do this.

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Not that I would create copies of licence ... just wondering how others do. Just a thought I will keep private :)

Cheers

International Driving Permits - not Licences (although I have a laminated high quality photocopy of a Licence -Shhhh...).

Multiple IDPs are just a matter of buying more than one!

To avoid questions, I buy them at different times/places and ensure I always have at least 2 current ones.

Get a valid license from whoever issues them where you live. Go in the following week, month or year and declare it lost. They'll issue a new one for a fee. Carry both....but don't get them confused until you leave your home jurisdiction.

I've also just gone in and asked for a duplicate license on the basis of being on the verge of taking a long trip. They punch a hole through the corner of the old one, issue a new one, and I bring both along. No one in South America or Africa cares that there's a hole in the license I show them.

Two-sided photocopies laminated are another option, They're not as convincing.

In practical terms, no one has ever confiscated or stolen a license from me. Take any one of the steps above and put it out of your mind.

I've never bothered carrying duplicate IDP's. They're of marginal use (although occasionally necessary) anyway.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

I always print some copies off and laminate them. I think it useful to have them, I've given a couple away to police, one in Senegal, and one in Malawi. They saved me having to argue my way out of obvious scam situations, so I thoroughly recommend laminating a couple.

I even took laminated copies of my IDP and my old English insurance - I've found in the Middle East especially, where lots of police can't read English, the more bits of official looking paper the better.

Birdy

I have never had to produce my actual licence although I get stopped for 'documenti' about daily (once 3 times in a 4 mile round trip to the supermarket!).

When asked by any Police, not just here, I always produce the IDP open at the page of his language (or most nearest/likely one he will understand). Generally they soften on seeing something they can read and understand.

The further you are from your documents 'home' the less likely they are understand exactly what they should be looking for and at.

At the time of being asked for the Licence, you dont always know thier motives or even the reason for the 'stop'. I do this in readiness should he think I have actually done wrong and, irrespective, he is seeking to hold it as 'security' while you drive/ride off to a Bancomat to draw his bribe money. It has happened to family members, but fortunately not to me - as yet.

Having another IDP makes its loss of no consequence or risk to the integrity of my continued journey if not local. He can hardly put out an APB for failing to return with his cash bribe having let me go to get it rather then do it the Official way by detaining me and my vehicle!


Driving our foreign car here, with only a 4 digit number, I get stopped almost daily. These stops are 99% nothing sinister and a regular routine part of the daily roads ritual carried out bored guys who pick on my foreign car as something unusual to add some interest to their job. Although it happens about daily in our foreign car, it is less than once a year in our RUS registered car. Proof?

With the IDP I feel a little more confident when dealing with the occasional ass-hole. So far I have managed to talk my way out of a couple of them without resort to abandoning the IDP !!