The IDP has validity only in that it is a translation of an accompanying, valid license. The fact that some law enforcement personnel may not know or care doesn't alter this simple truth.
This makes you vulnerable in the event that someone in a position of power DOES know or care--at a border, a traffic stop, a routine checkpoint, an accident involving authorities or an insurance company. You might travel for years on an IDP (or more likely successive IDPs, since as far as I know they're all valid for just one year), but then again you might find your trip suddenly interrupted. The same is true of other dodges that many of us have used from time to time--photoshopped documents, fake student IDs or expired vehicle insurance policies, etc. etc. etc.
To me, it always seems worth understanding how stuff like this really works; otherwise, how can I make rational decisions about where to follow the law and where to bend the rules? I mean, not that I would ever bend the rules....
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