International drivers permit
 

Can anyone confirm if I need an international drivers permit to ride through UK EU and non-EU east European countries

Australian registered bike and drivers licence

I understand an IDP may be required to hire a car but have read conflicting information about whether one is required when riding your own bike

If you are only travelling through countries that use English (that is what your licences is in) then you may not need an IDP (as that is simply a translation of your licence into other languages).

But I think you will be going through France .. and you'll probably be required to have an IDP there. :rain:
See
INTERNATIONAL DRIVING PERMIT DIRECTORY - Australian Automobile Association

If you hire in the UK .. then you should only need your Australian Licence... unless you take it over the channel.

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Note .. these are different from a UK licence ... that is shown here
IDP requirements by country | AA

Hi Rob:

There's a good article in Wikipedia that provides some very useful background information about what an IDP is and how it came to be - here's the link: Wikipedia - IDP.

Essentially, it's a translation of your national driving permit into several different languages. It also provides a standardized way of indicating what type of vehicles (automobiles, motorcycles, trucks) you are entitled to drive.

In theory, you need one if you are going to drive in a country outside of your own, unless there are other bilateral agreements in place that eliminate the need to carry one (for example, Canada & the USA, and most likely Australia and NZ have bilaterals). There is a Europe-wide agreement to use a standardized 'European' driver licence, that eliminates the need for European residents (of the countries that participate in this agreement) to carry IDPs. See this Wikipedia article for more information about that: Wikipedia - European Driver Licence.

In practice, you generally don't need one in Western Europe, especially if the language of the country you are visiting is the same as the language of your national driver permit. I've spent many years in many different countries, and have only needed to show my IDP when the person asking for my driver licence did not understand English.

If you are planning to go to Eastern Europe, it would probably be a good idea to get an IDP before you leave your home country. Generally speaking, the smarter (better educated) and more tolerant the cops are, the less likely you will need an IDP, and conversely, the less educated and less tolerant the cops are, the more reason to have all your papers in order.

The IDPs are only valid for one year, but I don't bother wasting the money to renew mine every year. I just keep the same one I got about 10 years ago, my rationale being that it's basically just a translation, and nothing has changed on my national driver licence in the last 10 years.

Hope this gives you some perspective on the subject.

Michael

PS: What you will need is an oval white disc on the back of your moto with the appropriate code for your country. I think that is 'AUS', but I am not certain. That oval white disc (sticker) is critical, you 100% need it. See this Wikipedia article for more information about the International White Oval Sticker: International Vehicle Country Codes.

The white oval is for the 'nationality' of the vehicle (where the vehicle is registered, in OZie speek), not the driver/rider.

Thanks Michael & Warin

Looks like I will need to buy an IDP and an AUS disc for the bike

Cheers
Rob

You can get the 'disk' as a stick on label. Rather large but most accept that a motorcycle is small and so the edges can be warped around some corners.

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The other thing you will appreciate is water proof gear .. as in water proof jacket, pants, gloves, boots. Most days there will be a rain shower ... might only be short and it is a pain if you have to stop to put on separate waterproofs.

I have just spent a small fortune on goretex riding jacket pants and gloves after finding my BMW riding suit wasn't coping with heavy rain on a recent trip to New Zealand
Where can I buy the AUS label?

IDP - worth having in my view. Use it day to day, if your licence is ever confiscated, much better to lose that than your real one


Sticker - Never found one for sale in Australia, but the Australian Automobile Association, based in Canberra, give you a nice solid plastic one when you get a carnet (which you don't need for Europe) so they might sell you one.

Alternatively just get a sign shop to print you one on vinyl - a white oval, about 100 x 75 mm with the black letters AUS on it.

(For what is worth, whilst they are technically required I rode many months in Europe without anyone querying the lack of country identification sticker )

Sent from my SM-P350 using Tapatalk

Sticker -
Local car association should have a sticker ... if your getting a carnet they usually give you one with the carnet.
Or google 'AUS car country sticker' .. about $5~7. The 'official' ones are boring white with black lettering... you should get away with some embellishments .. like a small flag. bier One that is not closely 'official' may get unwanted attention. :funmeterno:

I am pretty sure that as long as your AUS national driving licence conforms to the requirements of 1968 Convention (which it probably does) you legally do not need an IDP. The countries who signed the convention must recognize national driving licences without need for IDP.

In practice though, as others have said, is good to have. I don't think BiB can legally "do you" for not having IDP, but they can still give you a lot hassle.

Greetings Rob

If you are planning to travel through France there are a few gotcha's that you may not be aware of. (Apologies if you do)

- Blood alcohol test kits
- GPS speed camera locations
- Reflective clothing

This AA article has a good summary of all the rules

Driving in France, new laws 2015 | AA

I knew about the first two items I only discovered about the third from the AA article.

Are these rules actively enforced? I'd be interested in hearing from somebody who actually lives there.

Regards

IanJ

Blood alcohol test has been done away with as an obligatory requirement!

Keep a hi-vis vest & triangle handy though

Another angle on International Drivers Permits
In the process of buying some travel insurance I have been reading customer reviews of various policies
A young Aussie involved in a serious motorcycle accident in Bali reported that his insurance company rejected his claim because the rider did not have an IDP
Travel Insurance companies appear to have a poor reputation when it comes to paying claims and this may be another "out" worth considering when deciding whether to spend $40 on an IDP

Uh, that sounds like one of those urban myths that falls into the category of 'I heard it from a friend of a friend...'

An IDP is not a driver licence. It is merely a translation of the underlying national driver licence upon which it is based (in this case, an Australian driver licence) into multiple other languages, presented in an internationally agreed-upon format.

The IDP itself conveys no driving privileges. The underlying national licence is the actual driver licence, and must be valid and, if requested by authorities, presented along with the IDP.

In the case you cited, if the rider had a valid national (Australian) driver licence, it would make no difference whatsoever whether or not they had an IDP. But, if they had an IDP and the underlying national licence upon which the IDP was issued was no longer valid - for example, expired, suspended, or not valid for the type of vehicle being operated - then having an IDP makes no difference at all.

Michael

While I can't verify the facts of the scenario described I do believe insurance companies are in the business of making money and minimising payouts is key means of maximising profits

If you are required to hold both a valid drivers licence and an IDP by the government of the country where the motorcycle is being ridden and you don't have a current IDP and have an accident I suspect your insurance company will most likely refuse a claim if this can in any way be interpreted as an exclusion of cover as stated in the PDS for the policy

I raised this issue not to spread "urban myths" but as a legitimate possibility that should be given consideration

As a Victorian it is worthwhile having an IDP simply because my licence does not adequately identify me as being licenced rider.

It states my licence type as being "car" and "R". Car is self explanatory but how many international police officers will be able to translate "R" as meaning I am a licenced morocycle "R"ider?

By comparison, the IDP clearly identifies whether or not you are licenced to ride a motorcycle.

In addition, thrice in the last 2 years I have been requested to show my licence (once each in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines), and each time when I showed them my Vic licence they handed it back and said no, I want to see the IDP.

Hello Rob:

I don't mean to sound like I am giving you a hard time (that is not my intention at all), but, I think you are missing the point.

An IDP is nothing more than a translation into multiple languages of a driver licence. By itself, it confers no privileges. An IDP exists for the sole purpose of enabling people in foreign countries to see what type of vehicle you are allowed to drive according to your home country driver licence, and to see that information in about 6 different languages. An IDP has no validity in the home country of the holder.

IDPs were first issued in 1926. Today, they are about as useful as traveller's cheques, which is to say that yes, IDPs still exist, and yes, if you want to be very very careful when travelling in strange and exotic countries, you should probably carry one. I carry one, because I travel in a lot of very exotic countries (about 60 different ones a year before I retired in 2013, now, only about 15 different ones each year). But, the last time I actually needed to pull it out and present it was in Angola back in 1990.

The main point - so far as the insurance issue is concerned - is that without an underlying national licence (which one is, in theory, obligated to present for inspection along with the IDP), the IDP is worthless.

For that reason, I have a very hard time believing that an insurance company from the rider's home country would refuse to honour a claim from a person who was operating a motor vehicle while possessing a valid national driver licence from their home country. It's simply not an issue for the insurance company... the only issue for them is whether the driver was properly licenced to begin with, which implies the underlying national licence, not the IDP.

This Wikipedia page explains the whole thing in great detail: Click Here.

Michael

Rob:

Just a follow-up to a comment I made 3 weeks ago in this same discussion (way up in reply #3) - you will need an oval nationality sticker on the back of your bike if you take it outside of Australia (other than, perhaps, to NZ or PNG). I've posted a picture of such a sticker on the back of my bike below.

You will probably not be able to easily find such a sticker for sale in Australia, simply because it is rather difficult for Australian tourists to drive from Australia into neighboring countries. Your national auto association might have these stickers, if they don't, you can get a local sign shop to make one up for you. If you give the sign shop sufficient lead time (so that they can make your sticker on a run they are already making with white adhesive plastic for someone else), it shouldn't cost you more than $10.

Regards,
Michael

Nationality Sticker
http://i979.photobucket.com/albums/a...pszceqpezq.jpg

I'm wondering about the need for an oval country sticker. I've never had one to accompany my USA-registered bike in 60 or 70 countries--Europe, South America, parts of Africa and Asia. I thought they were required for EU residents, not others. Is that wrong?

As far as the IDP, I've been required to have one on very rare occasions--so rare that it's difficult to remember exactly where. Guyana and Ghana stick out in my fading memory, plus maybe once in Ukraine. It never hurts to carry one, although the cost and one-year validity tend to irritate.

I've never had an insurable accident on a bike, therefore have no clue whether an IDP matters to insurance companies. There are reports from time to time from people who've needed an IDP to lease or rent a bike, but I haven't had this problem either when I've rented locally.

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Hello Mark:

The oval sticker (International Circulation Mark, to be pedantic about it) is required by the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic of 1949 and the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968.

There are some exceptions to when the sticker is not needed, for example, as a result of treaties between Canada, Mexico, and the USA, it is not needed between vehicles of those three countries when in each other, and it is not needed within the EC if a vehicle is equipped with the new EC specification plate that has the country code on the left side of the plate.

Otherwise, it is obligatory.

This Wikipedia entry provides further explanation: International Vehicle Registration Codes

Michael

I see the explanation in your link, but my experience is so totally contrary that I have to wonder: do people from the States, Canada or Latin America really use these stickers? As I said, I never have and have never even considered doing so. In fact, my travel bike has featured a few counterfeits instead--an oval "ADV" sticker, a similar "MV" sticker for the island I used to live on.

Mark

I don't know... I rarely see another motorcycle from North America when I am riding in Europe.

It is common to see motos from the UK with 'GB' stickers on the back of them... I don't think that the UK has got around to issuing the new Euro-spec licence plates for motorcycles yet (or, perhaps, the riders have not bothered to go get a new plate).

It is very common to see cars from other countries with the appropriate sticker for their country on the back of the car... most especially Swiss cars, with the 'CH' sticker, because the Swiss don't use Euro-spec licence plates.

Michael

PS: You used to live in the Maldives? I spent 3 months there back in 2011, living in the Hulhule Island Hotel while training pilots and aircraft maintenance technicians. Went over to Malé once - I have never seen such overcrowding in my life, I am amazed that the friggin' island didn't sink under the weight.

The point you're missing is that, in some countries (Russia, for example), foreign licences are not valid if not carried together with a legalised translation or IDP. You may get away without one 99% of the time, but every once in a blue moon someone gets taken to the cleaners on a legal technicality.

For example: you cause an accident, the police report says that you aren't licenced, therefore your local third-party insurance is deemed invalid and as a result your international comprehensive insurance coverage doesn't cover that country. It isn't a far-fetched scenario, merely a rare occurrence.