OT - Internation Drivers license for Canadians in Florida

[EXT]

What are they doing down there. Have you other Canadians heard that Florida now requires an International Drivers License in addition to your Canadian Drivers License to drive in Florida.

It will cost you $25.00 plus photos and only lasts one year. This is so that your Canadian license in English can be translated into English for the locals to be able to read. I can drive in 49 US states with my Canadian license but not Florida. This all comes into effect just before the spring break when many Canadians take a trip to Florida.

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm Do they speak different English? Why translate English to English? If that is the case, who cares, I can get an International one at my AMA office. In my traveling days no one ever asked me to see my license in States or overseas. I always had international one as well as my Canadian one and US military one.

[Charlie]

Florida Highway Patrol says they will not enforce this as it may be in violation of some international agreements.

[Frank]

I could not believe in this stupidity either and looked it up. You're right:

[gfretwell]

Don't most Eastern Canadians speak French?

Like the other poster said, they are not enforcing this.

[clare]

A siseable portion of Quebecers and New Bruswickers speak French, but both provinces are bilingual (officially) and the licences have both english and french on them. Most of the rest of "eastern Canada" speaks English A small proportion of northern Ontario residents, and some from Manitoba are predominently francophone - but their licences are also in English (and French) My Ontario Drivers Licence has both languages. It's just another example of knee-jerk government insanity and incompetence on the part of the Florida government.

[gfretwell]

I don't think Canada was actually the problem. The paper showed a bunch of European and Asian licenses with no english on them at all.

[gfretwell]

I asked my Dutch neighbor and he has a Florida license but he is here every winter.

[clare]

I got my international when I went to Austria this spring. Used to have one back in the seventies that was "life long" - no expiry - but I still needed to get my Zambian driver's licence. Canadian and international combined was only good for something like 3 months and did not allow me to own a vehicle.

[Pointer]

Today's newspaper in Sarasota had a quote from one interviewed legislator. He said "I hope I didn't vote for this."

Some day, rather than passing feel good bills the size of an encyclopedia, they might try reading and understanding them first. The result can only be more intelligible legislation.

>

[krw]

They still would have to pass it before they would know what's in it.