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International Driving Permit? International Driving Permit?
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Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia



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  #1  
Old 3 Aug 2013
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It's not a license; it's a translation of a license. Let's assume the OP already has a license and is asking whether he also needs an IDP.

He's not in the USA: he's in Chile. Getting an IDP issued and sent from the US isn't quite so trivial, and it takes time. Hence the posting.

OP, personally I'd go ahead and try buying a bike without waiting. Then I'd ride it wherever I wanted to go. But all I can report from personal experience is that in a month or so riding the length of Chile I never had a cop ask me for anything, and no one so much as hinted at a need for an IDP. If you want to hear from someone who bought a local bike in Chile, keep waiting....or search out some of those threads and private message their authors.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark
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Old 3 Aug 2013
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Quote:
Originally Posted by markharf View Post
He's not in the USA: he's in Chile. Getting an IDP issued and sent from the US isn't quite so trivial, and it takes time. Hence the posting.
sure it takes time but its still pretty easy. Moreover, I'm referring to the reason why most people don't refer to getting one, not to his particular situation. hence the posting.

depending on the country, its less/more risky to ride without one, but i would say that riding without one increases your exposure to being asked for a bribe, so I try to avoid it.
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  #3  
Old 3 Aug 2013
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IDP International Driving Permit
If you do have an accident in a country that requires and IDP (International driving Permit) whatever insurance you have purchased is not valid, because the insurance is sold to cover legally authorized "drivers" and if an IDP is required and you don't have one, you have no insurance....

Why don't people get this?

xfiltrate
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  #4  
Old 3 Aug 2013
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Originally Posted by xfiltrate View Post
Why don't people get this?
xfiltrate
you're assuming people buy insurance...

without both best case you're bribe-bait, worst case is well, pretty bad...
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  #5  
Old 3 Aug 2013
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Are there any countries that require an IDP? When I get one from the AAA in the US, it includes a list of countries that recognize the IDP, but nowhere does it say these countries require it. I have tried to use the IDP when I have been asked for my DL in various Latin American countries, and so far no one has even known what it was and have asked to see my "real" license.

Having said that, I will continue to get an IDP, just because it is cheap, and I figure the more documents I have the better.
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  #6  
Old 3 Aug 2013
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I've been required to show an IDP to ride in Guyana and Ghana. I can't think of anyplace else, but my memory's not what I imagine it to once have been.

There's a law on the books in Florida requiring foreign drivers/riders to have an IDP. It's not usually enforced. Some rental companies worldwide are reported to require an IDP, regardless of local laws.

Since the IDP is just a translation, not a license, it really has no legal standing. I always carry one anyway, since why not? Besides, the two places I've been required to have one (see above) are both English-speaking. It doesn't have to make sense.

Mark
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Old 3 Aug 2013
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I have just completed my RTW trip and the only place I think I was supposed to have it was Thailand, I showed them the one I had which was 4 years out of date, no issues. Only because I forgot to renew it before I left

If you have the time to do it, it is cheap, so why not?

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