Does anyone know what the penalty is if you don't have an International Drivers Permit?

It costs $17 thru AAA. Seems like a waste of money. Last year we drove there without one (didn't realize we needed one) and didn't have any problems. We even got pulled over by the polizia in Orvieto (for some still yet unknown reason).

Thanks!

This has been discussed here before, in fact just in the last couple of days if you want to do a search.

You know, I've driven around home with my driver's license for years and never been asked to show it either. But that doesn't mean I'd want to go without one. So I would never attempt the reasoning that "I didn't have any problems". That's what you could also say about insurance. You don't need it till you need it!

Even there there are apparently some laws in some countries that actually require the IDP, most often it is totally ignored as you say even if you are stopped. But is $17 so much to pay for a little peace of mind? I continue to get one each year. By the way, my AAA only charges $10 or did this past April.

I can't recall anyone ever posting here that he or she actually needed an IDP in Europe. Maybe someone will tell us about a situation in which one was required.

We've driven at least a zillion miles in Europe over the past 20 years and haven't ever needed one.

See this thread for further comments on IDP's:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34445922

Be sure to check whether not having an IDP would affect your insurance coverage.

I have posted many, many times on the three occasions (during the course of years of independent traveling in Europe) where my husband and I were asked to hand over a driver license (two routine traffic check points, one traffic violation). We handed over the IDP instead and were extremely glad to have it. One occasion would had made it worth it for us; with the score at three, we don't leave home for Europe without it.

To me is a logical desicion; a driver license is a permit. If I choose to use that permit someplace where the enforcement agent needs to understand the information in the permit, I would make it easier for him/her to get the info he/she needs. Hence the IDP.

Here http://www.cristinasweb.com/italy/Dr...nItaly/idp.htm is info on my site about the IDP and the law here in Italy. I need to update it with the fact that as of July 1st of this year, the police are finally enforcing the laws of the road. That means people are getting speeding tickets and those without IDP can be fined. Granted you could get a really nice cop who lets you off with a warning (remember, they can pull you over for a document check so don't think that you are safe if you drive by the law) but you may not and from what I hear, there are more of the latter than the former. What can happen is that they can fine you or they can fine you AND impound your car on the spot.

I have a good friend who is a cop here and he tells me that they always get a kick out of the excuses that people have. Number one is "they said I didn't need it on . . . . . forum!"

I have never needed to show my Claifornia driver's license in 15 years of driving there daily before moving to Italy. Does this mean I don't need to renew it when it expires in 2 years?

I've previously posted my story about an Italian policeindividual requesting my IDP a few years ago. I was glad I had it.

Only 2 organizations in the USA have been approved by the US Department of State to issue the valid, United Nations approved IDP: the American Automobile Association and the American Automobile Touring Alliance. Any other IDP or IDL you see advertised on the internet or elsewhere is probably a rip-off.

Each country authorizes certain entities to issue valid IDPs--it's often that country's equivalent of AAA, but not always.

The laws in some countries require an IDP for any drivers license that is not in that country's language--Italy is one that I know of. There are others, and various IDP threads here have listed them. (I think including Spain, Austria, and Czech Repubic, but I'm not certain)

A particular policeindividual might or might not request one, but if you happen to get one who wants it, you'd better have it. For $10 and a couple of passport photos, it's not so terrible a thing to have with you.

Policeindividual--Funny! LOL

Trying my best to eliminate sexist language from my speech and writing.

Sounds like a friend who said her kids were playing "Wrangler People and Native Americans". I thought it was some new video game. "No", she said. "We used to call it cowboys and Indians."

Oy.

Native Americans is out. Now it's Aboriginal Americans. Even though it's now pretty certain that the ancestors of today's Aboriginal Americans were not the first to arrive in the Americas.