Are international drivers licenses a money making scam?
Rented cars in over 20 countries, never got asked for anything more upon producing my South African drivers license. My wife on the other hand was once denied renting a car, because she could only produce the international license, and not her domestic one. Any similar experiences or ideas on the issue? Maybe it helps in Korea or Russia, where language might really be an issue. But no problems with mine in Spanish, German, French and English speaking countries. Thanks Andy. I tried to qualify the Korean example above. I suppose my real question is, beyond assisting with language barriers, does it serve a purpose in proving legitimicy? I owned a car when living in the UK, produced it when stopped by traffic officers, had insurance, the whole thing...all with my domestic license. I mention that because I know rental companies could not care less if it depended on them. Ours is also issued by the AA, which is our equivalent of what you call the AAA. When I acted ignorant our AA, as did the AA in the UK, assured me it was absolutely necessary. That's why I dared to use the word "scam".
Immigration - 1 Answers
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Here in the U.S., you can get an international license from AAA. If you look at the international license, it says it in black letters that it is useless without the accompanying driver's license issued by your country (or state in the U.S.). So it shouldn't be surprising your wife gets denied renting a car. As you renting in foreign country with only your home country's license? That's up to the rental company. They can demand an international license, especially if your license is issued in a foreign language. The fact that you were successful in renting cars with a South African license doesn't mean international license is not useful. You just lucked out that you weren't asked. In any case, it is better to have it than not in case you were asked for it. Also think about that when you rent a car, you are dealing with a private car company. What would happen if you were stopped in South Korea and you can't produce an international license? You would probably get into trouble and ruin your vacation.
