Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 08:55:40 -0700 From: jwaldron@HALCYON.COM (Joe Waldron) Subject: Re: Is Carlos Alvarez lying about his International Drivers License? To: AZRKBA@asu.edu
GENE HANSON wrote: >
> Is Carlos Alvarez lying about his International Drivers License?
> They don't exist in the form he claims they do.
>
> There are several treatys that International Drivers Licenses are
> issued under (generally U.N. treatys). And in all cases a
> International Drivers License is issued in conjuction with your
> home countries drivers licenses and a International Drivers icense
> must be presented with ou local drivers licese to e valid.
>
Injternational (or Inter-American) Drivers Licenses are nothing more than officially-recognized translations of your valid U.S. (in our case) drivers license. They are not a license by themselves. The treaties that cover them clearly state (as do most of the IDLs/IADLs themselves) that they are nothing more than a ranslation, and must be carried in conjunction with your "real" drivers license.
It's nothing more than a translation of critical data (name, DOB, address, etc) to make the non-English-speaking traffic officer's job easier when he's issuing a citation...
Joe W (who has used them all over Europe, the Middle East, Africa & parts of Asia)