Driving in the USA

[EminTX 131]

Every state has its own driving laws and regulations. Here, in Texas, an international liscence can be valid and there are view-finder cards in the possession of police officers to use when checking ID's to see if they are legit. (To see "hidden" symbols.) One of our officers here in the ER showed me this on the ID of another employee from a different country.

Last year, a friend of mine who is from Mexico and works all over the world (and drives in most places) was with another of his coworkers when they were pulled over and the driver was arrested. They were in another state somewhere East. I'm sorry that I don't remember where. My friend was freaking out and trying to get a liscence SOMEWHERE but he is not a resident. He literally moves every 2 weeks, and while he comes back to the area repeatedly, he has no physical address and isn't anywhere long enough to deal with the "assigned appointment for the driving test".

I don't know how he worked this out. He had been working on this job for more than 20 years and never had any issue until this one time.

The problem with an "international driver's liscence" is that there is no international entity that overseas this. Who would it be, if this were a legitimate item? The UN? Interpol? Aliens? God? How would you take your test and prove your ability?

Interesting, it is easy to rent a car almost anywhere without this being an issue....

[photomile 101]

Every state has its own driving laws and regulations. Here, in Texas, an international liscence can be valid and there are view-finder cards in the possession of police officers to use when checking ID's to see if they are legit. (To see "hidden" symbols.) One of our officers here in the ER showed me this on the ID of another employee from a different country.

Last year, a friend of mine who is from Mexico and works all over the world (and drives in most places) was with another of his coworkers when they were pulled over and the driver was arrested. They were in another state somewhere East. I'm sorry that I don't remember where. My friend was freaking out and trying to get a liscence SOMEWHERE but he is not a resident. He literally moves every 2 weeks, and while he comes back to the area repeatedly, he has no physical address and isn't anywhere long enough to deal with the "assigned appointment for the driving test".

I don't know how he worked this out. He had been working on this job for more than 20 years and never had any issue until this one time.

The problem with an "international driver's liscence" is that there is no international entity that overseas this. Who would it be, if this were a legitimate item? The UN? Interpol? Aliens? God? How would you take your test and prove your ability?

Interesting, it is easy to rent a car almost anywhere without this being an issue....

Since your in Texas you might be able to answer a few questions for me but that's a whole 'nother thread...

Yes, it is a bit weird. As far as I understand it, an International Drivers Permit is technically 'accepted' as existing but it exists more as a courtesy to other countries to show you've made the effort, whereas a drivers licence is fully accepted but for a limited time. Yet I can hire a car as a visitor and drive for six months, without ever showing them that I have a drivers licence.

[EminTX 131]

Yet I can hire a car as a visitor and drive for six months, without ever showing them that I have a drivers licence.

If you are stopped by the police or a HiPo (Say "High-Poe" = Highway Patrol in Texas) while driving, you WILL be required to demonstrate some sort of licensure, regardless of your story and point of origin. We have gobs of international drivers here, though, so I doubt your foreign DL would be much of an issue. When I was researching the specifics of it for our fair state, I was shocked to see who was always allowed to use a foreign license--pilots, actors, foreign officials, for example.

A recommendation to you is that you take your driver test in another town. For my son, for example, we live in Houston but drove down to Texas City to take the test since we only had about a 10 minute wait. My sister went down to Galveston to take her truck driving test because of the same issue. You could take it whenever you wanted but in Houston, you usually have to make appointments. I expect Tarrant and Dallas counties are the same.