The effect of an "incident" on your license would depend on where the
"incident" occurred and the relationship that country has with the US and
the specific reciprocity your home state has in its laws. So the answer is
too location specific to give an answer. If a foreign nation takes your
license and doesn't give it back you could always apply for a duplicate at
home. Any suspension/revocation based on an act in the foreign nation would
require both notice of that and an opportunity to have a hearing on the
issue in order to comply with minimal due process in the US. Without that
the suspension would be effective in the foreign country, but not the US.
In the US there is a property right in the DL that can not be
suspended/revoked without due process. Not that a whole lot of process is
required, just a minimum. In Georgia DUI over .10% Blood Alcohol is a
required suspension, but the cop MUST give you a form informing you of that
and the form tells you the suspension is effective 10 days from the date of
form unless you request a hearing. Requesting a hearing postpones the
suspension until the hearing. This suspension is administrative and not a
part of the criminal dui case which can cause its own separate suspension.
I don't recall what the AAA license costs, but if you going to be doing a
bunch of driving and the costs is reasonable then the IDL is probably worth
it.
Jim Altman jaltman@altlaw.com Illigitimi non Carborundum
http://www.altlaw.com/metro/jaltman.html 69-TR6#CC28754L W4UCK
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-triumphs@autox.team.net
[mailto:owner-triumphs@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of J Thomas Rippel
Sent: Wednesday, May 19, 1999 7:19 PM
To: 'triumphs@autox.team.net'
Subject: RE: International drivers license
I have followed the discussion about international drivers license and would
like to verify my understanding.
I did drive in foreign countries, both rental and private cars. (never
Japan - no way)
I was told by fellow employees that using the international license was a
waste of money.
We could not put it on our expense account.
However one fellow employee from a European subsidiary stated that using an
International license protected or buffered my American License. He implied
that some countries could pull your license at the scene of the accident.
If I was in an accident - and my international license was pulled I could
always come home to America and still have my state drivers license.
That fact in itself made the fee paid to AAA worth the cost.
Thankfully I never needed it as a buffer.
Can any one clarify if it really does protect our stateside license or was
this misinformation?
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