International Driving Licence
 

Hi Folks<BR>If I am hiring a car in North Carolina do I need an International Driving Licence or would my British Licence be sufficient? Also are there any differences between the regulations in NC, TN and other states?<BR>Thanks for any help.<BR>Jim

I thnk your British licence is sufficient. But consider contacting the car hire place to be certain.<BR><BR>You will find the rule of the road to be largely uniform among all the states. Speed limits might differ but speeds are always posted. Some states allow radar detectors to be used and some consider them illegal. <BR><BR>You should have no problem.

I strongly recommend you contact the car-rental agency about its license requirements. I'm no expert on this, but it is possible that the car-rental people could require a valid US license. Better safe than sorry.

Jim,<BR><BR>Welcome! There are always small differences among the states on driving regulations (i.e. the blood alcohol level that is considered illegal), but by and large they're basically the same. Wear seat belts, don't speed (some states are tougher than others with this; I find Ohio to be tough on speeders), etc. But you won't really notice a difference between the states in general.

About the International Driver's License:<BR>it's nothing more than it claims to be -- a statement in about twenty languages that the bearer carries a valid driving license for her/his own country. The IDL itself states that you MUST carry your own nation's license in order to drive legally. About the only thing the IDL will do is translate the fact that you possess a valid license; for a UK citizen in the US, this should not be a major issue.<BR><BR>Some scam artists try to sell IDL's as a way to beat your lack of a valid license; this is pure nonsense.