People do love to worry. I think that most of them are the reluctant partners of the people wanting to make the trip, trying to find any reason to spoil things and/or be able to say "I told you so."

This is what came to my mind too. I guess it depends on how much risk you're willing to accept. I would accept the odds that I could (but probably won't) get a fine, or maybe (but probably won't) have trouble with the car rental. But I would NOT, personally, take the risk in case of an accident that insurance won't cover any injuries or damage because I failed to follow the law.

I found out yesterday that we will need IDPs for our trip. Thanks to your answer, I called AAA and confirmed that it can be done in our local office in very little time. Thank you so much for the advice.

100% incorrect approach. Look for actual on-the-ground experiences, since that’s all that matters.