OT: International Drivers permit

[dare2dream]

I know this is not exactly the right place for this question, but I have found that the participants of this forum are a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics.

 

Wednesday evening November 1 DH and I are going to Hungary. Our youngest son is completing his 2 year mission for the church in the country. We are renting a car and are looking forward to touring the country with him.

 

I called TA today to confirm the rental car I told him to get us last month but has not showed up on the credit card. Well TA forgot to get the car and told us to get it ourselves on line.

 

As DH started looking into this he has determined that he needs an international drivers permit in Hungary.

 

HELP!!! We leave in one week. It apppears he can apply for one at the local AAA, but can we get it back in one week?

 

I will be calling AAA tomorrow but for now any thoughts or suggestions from my CC friends would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Brenda

[Navy_Chief]

You get it the very same day at AAA. My wife and I always pick ours up before we travel to Greece no problem. just have to pay the fee, they take the picture right there and all.

[jtl513]

delete ... Navy Chief beat me! :D

[Copper10-8]

The Chief is correct! Go to AAA and apply for one. You should be able to get it on the spot! You will need two passport-size photographs and your valid U.S. license. From a law enforcement perspective, all you need is an International Drivers Permit and a valid Drivers License from your home state. Be sure to take a look at Hungary's traffic laws. Most European countries do not allow you to make a right turn on a red signal (after stopping ofcourse;) ) like is common here in the States. Also make sure you familiarize yourself with the "right of way" rules which could be different from what you're used to here at home! Have a great trip and...........let's be careful out there! :)

[Robin7]

From a law enforcement perspective, all you need is an International Drivers Permit and a valid Drivers License from your home state.

 

So, in 2005, when we drove all over the lovely French countryside in our teeny, tiny cars, were we breaking the law by not having an International Driver's Permit? Hertz (or Budget) or whoever rented us the (teeny, tiny) cars never said we had to have one.

 

Thank goodness when we go to pick up our son in Korea (Kim Jong Il notwithstanding) in January, we're NOT going to drive! I can't even imagine driving in Seoul. I imagine it would be like driving in New York City. (Where we take cabs or buses).

 

Robin

[jhannah]

So, in 2005, when we drove all over the lovely French countryside in our teeny, tiny cars, were we breaking the law by not having an International Driver's Permit?

Not all countries require them. Some require them if you're going to be driving there beyond a certain period of time. An IDP is recommended, though, because it's printed in English and several different languages ... thus making things easier should there be an accident.

[Robin7]

An IDP is recommended, though, because it's printed in English and several different languages ... thus making things easier should there be an accident.

 

It makes sense, we just never gave it a thought. I discover the most amazing things on this board. Y'all are a treasure trove of information.

 

Maybe we didn't consider it because my husband is fluent in French and our cousin was with us and he's fluent in Italian. (His wife and I are fluent in English. :D Although I can muddle my way around in Spanish, really bad Spanish.) We figured we had a lot of the bases covered, but never considered the legalities of driving in a foreign country. How silly. And how sad we would have been to miss the American Cemetery in Normandy because we couldn't drive there because we hadn't thought ahead. Thank goodness that didn't happen.

 

Next time we go out of the country and plan to drive, I'll make certain we have those permits! Thanks.

 

Robin

[dare2dream]

I had not gotten a response on this inquiry before I went to bed last night so I did not have the most restful of sleeps, but this morning there is good news.

 

DH will be going to AAA today. He is even going to shave because they will be taking his picture.

 

Thank You so much CCers, you did not let me down.

 

Next week I will be off on a wonderful adventure. May we all enjoy the wonderful adventures life sends our way.

 

Brenda

 

 

[jtl513]

Maybe we didn't consider it because my husband is fluent in French and our cousin was with us and he's fluent in Italian. (His wife and I are fluent in English. :D Although I can muddle my way around in Spanish, really bad Spanish.) We figured we had a lot of the bases covered,

 

This is off topic, but since this thread has run its course anyway, let me add an amusing (?) story: I was driving a rental car in a stream of traffic crossing the Arno river to enter Florence, when a policeman whistled and waved me over.

 

He spoke no English and neither I nor travelling companions knew more than a few words of Italian, so we were getting nowhere on understanding why he had pulled me over! Finally one companion got the bright idea to ask "Parlez vous Francais?" "Oui! Si!" and we were in business!

 

It turns out that we were entering the "restricted" Old Town area, and all the traffic around me was either taxis or buses, which were both allowed in there! Once we explained that we were just going to the hotel to check in and unload baggage we were allowed to go on. The hotel then gave us a card to put on the dashboard to allow us to drive in the zone without further hassle! :D

[shonuf]

This is off topic, but since this thread has run its course anyway, let me add an amusing (?) story: :D

Me too, me too.

 

Many years ago, my mother and I were in Rome and I had the opportunity to fly on the Goodyear blimp based near there (after a great deal of cajolling, begging, etc. on my part). The only way to get to the blimp base was to rent a car and drive and I must have missed the tour guide's admonition "DO NOT RENT A CAR IN ROME" somehow.

 

DM and I head out, me driving, she navigating. Only problem was, she kept looking for American type street markers and these were all set in marble on the second floor of the corner buildings. We stopped at a light and I asked the man in the next car how to go to Capena in very poor Italian. Now, understand, I DON'T speak Italian but he did and fluently. I nodded at his instructions and drove straight when the light changed. He had told me to turn so knew I didn't understand him. He pulled me over and we discovered between the five languages we spoke, no two were in common. But with the help of a map, we were on our way. We reached the blimp base and had the time of our lives.

 

When we got on the blimp, I sat next to the pilot (who happened to be Goodyear's chief pilot for all airship operations) and when I introduced myself he looked at me and said "Lady, I don't know who you are but Americans don't get to fly on this blimp". I smiled sweetly and said, "Yes, that's what I've been told".

 

The trip back to Rome was uneventful and the only downside was explaining to my husband how it cost over $100 dollars a day to rent a car. ;)

[jtl513]

Me too, me too.

"DO NOT RENT A CAR IN ROME" somehow.

 

I loved your story!! :D On the same trip where I had the trouble driving into Florence I also had to drive the car in Rome, to our hotel on the Via Veneto and later out to the airport. That was 35 years ago, and when I was back there this past June I wondered how in the world I had managed to do it!! :D