Beware if You Drive to Florida to Cruise on RCI

[lady_cruiser]

So if we drive from Louisiana to Canada we need an International Driver's License too?

[micro yaya]

so i really don't know what the big deal is when we went to europe we went to aaa, and got an international drivers license $15.00. we rented a car in greece, they never even asked us for our license or insurance go figure ???

[cruisnseas]

Welcome to the great state of Florida, they have an absolute dope for a Governor. I'm not saying because of what party he is in, he is just plainly a dope. This law is absolutely ridiculous.

You mean Lord Voldermort?

[Cruisin MarcnFran]

And please remember this is only if you drive to Florida to cruise on RCI.:cool:;)

[happyiam]

so i really don't know what the big deal is when we went to europe we went to aaa, and got an international drivers license $15.00. we rented a car in greece, they never even asked us for our license or insurance go figure ???

 

It really isn't a big deal. It costs $25 at CAA here. The problem is no one heard of this as a new law which started Jan 1st until today.

 

cathep...love the cops in Macon and Valdosta ;) I won't let DH do the driving through there. Heavy foot...lol

[Lynnees]

I understand the cops are not going to be enforcing this, but for Canadians, I think it's more important to check your insurance.

 

If you don't have the legal drivers licence - international - to drive in Florida and you get into an accident of sorts, your insurance company is very likely not going to cover you as you don't have the right licence.

[peteukmcr]

Nice cash grab. Anything to help the economy down there I suppose.

The state of Florida don't get the money, it's only the institutions in the country where the permit is issued who get it.

so i really don't know what the big deal is when we went to europe we went to aaa, and got an international drivers license $15.00. we rented a car in greece, they never even asked us for our license or insurance go figure ???

The big deal is that we didn't know anything about it unless you subscribe to some forums like this, or subscribe to some big well known UK airline travel companies on FB who have reported this change. There are millions of Brits who travel to Florida who won't know about this.

 

So put this with the charge for an ESTA that we have to pay to travel to the US (the money from which does go to US coffers) and the possible cost of approx $8 per driver, you could be talking of around an extra $100 for a family of 4 all who drive for a trip to Florida. Add this to the ever increasing airline taxes imposed by US authorities on flights to/from the US, mmm who's killing the golden egg? As reported on UK TV only tonight, Florida is the main destination for UK people travelling to the US. Want to jeopardise that income do you? If not, you sure as well going a funny way about it.

 

BTW many thanks to the OP for providing the info for us non Floridians

[Aboat1]

Here is the link to the 6 P.M. news here in Fl. Home of the "less then bright" Governor! (just another reason that Fl, is the laughing stock of the States!) DON"T blame me...I did not/would not vote for him!

 

 

http://www.nbc-2.com/story/21200919/new-state-law-confusing-canadians

[kingsgirl]

It really isn't a big deal. It costs $25 at CAA here. The problem is no one heard of this as a new law which started Jan 1st until today.

 

cathep...love the cops in Macon and Valdosta ;) I won't let DH do the driving through there. Heavy foot...lol

 

Yeah it's $25pp plus the cost of passport-type photos, so closer to $50. And, it's only good for one year.

[cosmar]

I am a native floridian and when we drive in Canada, we have to get a special insurance card from our automobile insurance co. in order to drive in their country.

 

It is for your insurance not for your driver licence

[cosmar]

It really isn't a big deal. It costs $25 at CAA here. The problem is no one heard of this as a new law which started Jan 1st until today.

 

cathep...love the cops in Macon and Valdosta ;) I won't let DH do the driving through there. Heavy foot...lol

 

For us in Quebec CAA charges $35. including photos. I went to one of their offices and they were out of......They will receive papers only next Monday. The lady there told me that she did not even answer the phone the whole day through because she was too busy. We leave next March 2nd. Think I am going to get the permit just in case.

[kingsgirl]

For us in Quebec CAA charges $35. including photos. I went to one of their offices and they were out of......They will receive papers only next Monday. The lady there told me that she did not even answer the phone the whole day through because she was too busy. We leave next March 2nd. Think I am going to get the permit just in case.

 

Yeah, they were sold out here too in Southern Ontario. It was all over our local news :( Going to try and go tomorrow. Fingers crossed...

[lewinr]

I understand the cops are not going to be enforcing this, but for Canadians, I think it's more important to check your insurance.

 

If you don't have the legal drivers licence - international - to drive in Florida and you get into an accident of sorts, your insurance company is very likely not going to cover you as you don't have the right licence.

 

I see that there is alot of confusion about the International Driver's License (IDL). I use one often for travel and driving in different parts of the world which require it.

 

An IDL is not a license by itself. It is a translation of your license into an international standard in 9 different languages and a standard format so the authorities in other jurisdictions can understand it. It is not only about translation of language, but also of categories of driver (driver is licensed for trucks, motorcycles, etc) and other properties. So somebody in another jurisdiction who sees "category O" on your home license can understand what that really means.

 

Have a look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_drivers_license

 

Since an IDL is not a license by itself but simply a translation of your license, in theory your insurance company should not deny you coverage for failure to have it. (after all, you are still licensed but just lacking the necessary translation. It would be like them denying you coverage if you had a license but lost it and had an accident while you were driving without it.) On the other hand, knowing insurance companies, I wouldn’t be surprised...

[smoosh21]

so i really don't know what the big deal is when we went to europe we went to aaa, and got an international drivers license $15.00. we rented a car in greece, they never even asked us for our license or insurance go figure ???

 

I have driven cars in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Asia, Europe and never had to have an International Drivers license.

It is a big deal to many people and something that a region that survives on tourism, and lots of international tourism, should be smart enough not to require.

[lochivan]

This has been put on hold due to possible violations of the Geneva convention on road traffic. FHP will not be enforcing it at this time.

 

Canadians will not need to worry about this anytime soon. Non-english license holders may have issues at some point, but for now it's a non-issue.

 

However it seems that there is still confusion since the government didn't do their due diligence prior to making legislation. Renting a car could still be an issue with some companies. Great way for Florida to negatively affect tourism...

[KandCsailing]

This has been put on hold due to possible violations of the Geneva convention on road traffic. FHP will not be enforcing it at this time.

 

Canadians will not need to worry about this anytime soon. Non-english license holders may have issues at some point, but for now it's a non-issue.

 

However it seems that there is still confusion since the government didn't do their due diligence prior to making legislation. Renting a car could still be an issue with some companies. Great way for Florida to negatively affect tourism...

Here's the latest article about Canadian driver's licences being still valid in Florida, after all.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/02/14/florida-license.html

[peteukmcr]

OK, well from a well known social networking site, on a well known airline page who flies millions of Brits to/from Florida, someone apparently contacted the Florida state troopers and provided the following:

 

"Well I enquired with Florida state troopers dept they are enforcing it and it may result if caught in arrest , fine with court appearance all of which will seriously affect your holiday and may prevent your entry into the u.s afterwards"

[S.A.M.J.R.]

I'm curious... those complaining about not finding out about the law, how should this have been communicated to you? Should Florida send out a mass email to everyone in the world notifying them? Run an ad campaign?

 

And it's not being enforced. I provided a link to Florida's official statement in post #2.

[Highlander]

Here is what Travel Industry TODAY said:

 

Well it's all over.

Seems that this little piece of legislation violates the Geneva Convention - yes the Geneva Convention. Apparently it has a Road Traffic bit and the US signed it and "Treaties to which the United States is a party preempt state laws in conflict with them."

 

So " the Florida Highway Patrol will defer enforcement of violations of the amended statutory section until a final determination of the alignment of the amendment with the treaty can be made."

 

Non-resident visitors to Florida who wish to drive while in the State will be required to have in their immediate possession a valid driver license issued in his or her name from another state or territory of the US or from their country of residence.

 

So let's thank Visit Florida, and everyone else who went to bat on this, and let's hope the next time politicians want to fiddle with laws that impact the big bucks tourism brings in - they check with the experts first.

 

Here's the statement from the DHSMV. http://www.flhsmv.gov/IDP.htm

 

One less thing for me to worry about for my Mar 3rd cruise,

Cheers,

[zekekelso]

Should Florida send out a mass email to everyone in the world notifying them?

 

The <spam pharmacy product that gets blocked by board software> guys seems to be able to do it.

[A&L_Ont]

I'm curious... those complaining about not finding out about the law, how should this have been communicated to you? Should Florida send out a mass email to everyone in the world notifying them? Run an ad campaign?

 

 

Perhaps they could have a simple press release announcing it weeks prior to it becoming the law (in December 2012), rather than quietly 6 weeks after it became the law on January 1st. The Canadian press would have picked up on this, and at least the Canadians would prepared. If people have been fore-warned then at least there is a chance to be prepared. Other countries would have caught on as well.

 

I would be more angry if I lived in Florida and my tax dollars went into this exercise in foolishness.

[cruzincurt]

Welcome to the great state of Florida, they have an absolute dope for a Governor. I'm not saying because of what party he is in, he is just plainly a dope. This law is absolutely ridiculous.

It wasn't the Governor, it was one of the representatives that introduced the law. It's purpose was that if stopped, the police could verify in English writing the status of the driver's license. It wasn't just focused on French speaking Canadians. It will be amended asap and the Sate Police indicated they will not enforce the law.

It is however another case where politicians can't stop trying to "fix" stuff without looking at the unintended consequences.

[Freo]

From the Montreal Gazette including video from the CAA office in downtown Montreal...

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Florida+backtracks+licence+requirement/7964821/story.html

[cosmar]

Perhaps they could have a simple press release announcing it weeks prior to it becoming the law (in December 2012), rather than quietly 6 weeks after it became the law on January 1st. The Canadian press would have picked up on this, and at least the Canadians would prepared. If people have been fore-warned then at least there is a chance to be prepared. Other countries would have caught on as well.

 

I would be more angry if I lived in Florida and my tax dollars went into this exercise in foolishness.

 

Well said!!!

I am sure you have already been informed on TV that CAA will reimburse people who have bought this document... what a loss of time and money, and also lots of worries for us that are preparing to go down by car. My goodness, those government people should have known better and be more respectfull of people around the world spending money in Florida. It is not the matter of requesting an international permit, but, as you said, the fact that it was kept secret up until beginning of this week. They could have given the information through TV and newspapers (not by sending an e-mail to everybody in the whole world)

[SensFan11]

Unfortunately, while the Florida Highway Patrol has said they won't enforce this new law, that's not good enough. What I'm really worried about is insurance companies...I don't trust them. Who's to say that the third party that underwrites the coverage through my credit card (or the coverage provided by car rental agencies) won't see this loophole as an opportunity to insist that foreign drivers who have an accident have to pay.

 

I spent my time in line yesterday to get my IDP...it's was a bit of a hassle, but I'm glad I did before they run out (my local CAA office had just received 500 new blank booklets).

 

Some serious pressure needs to be applied to state legislators to ensure this is the first thing they fix in March...and while us foreign residents don't vote for them, we do certainly pay enough to the drivers of the state's economy: Disney, Universal, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, etc.

 

I would encourage all to reach out to potential destinations and advise them that you're reconsidering whether to visit Florida due to this law that's not really been thought through...we pressure the tourism industry...they'll use their strong voice to get things fixed...fast!