Bad news for those wanting to ride / drive in Florida

matthew

matthew

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http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...rs_carry_an_international_driving_permit.html

This just in from the department of red tape you didn’t know existed: Canadians are now required by law to have aninternational driving permit in addition to their regular licences when driving in Florida.

The state law quietly came into effect on Jan. 1, but no one in the tourism industry really noticed until a British journalist called this week.

“We realize that tourists will be an unintended side effect of this new law,” said Kathy Torian of Visit Florida, who just got the heads-up from “the folks” at the state highway department. “We’re trying to help spread the word to the tourism community around the world as well as our own industry in Florida.”

[h=3]PhotosViewMillions of international visitors drive in Florida each year, and state legislators thought the international driving permit — a standardized document that translates the licence details into 10 different languages — would help law officers interpret foreign licences.[/h]
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The new law applies to any non-resident, including all those Canadians getting ready for March break.
 
Funny, my wife and I were there 2 weeks ago. We rented a Mustang GT, and they never said a word about this. What would have happened if we were pulled over? You can't help but speed in one of those things!
 
The bureaucrats know they screwed up. They're going to revoke the requirement for Canadians. It isn't going to be enforced in the meantime.
 
kruzuki said:
Funny, my wife and I were there 2 weeks ago. We rented a Mustang GT, and they never said a word about this. What would have happened if we were pulled over? You can't help but speed in one of those things!
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Tell me about it. I've got a 2005 GT and it rips, not half as much as my bike mind you. I'd like to take a test drive in a 2011 5.0 or a Shelby, thats some serious horsepower.
 
Brian P said:
The bureaucrats know they screwed up. They're going to revoke the requirement for Canadians. It isn't going to be enforced in the meantime.
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The thing that gets me is this law was passed and went into effect with no communication to vehicle rental agencies in Florida. As a result the vast majority of vehicles rented in Florida since January 1st have been operated by a person with no valid driver's licence. Not to mention the tens of thousands of snow-birds who drove down there last fall and had no heads-up from the CAA that this was coming into effect. Apparently Ontario is not the only place with clueless politicians.
 
Keep in mind that your insurance requires a valid drivers license, which (technically) you won't have without the international permit. It's also just the Florida Highway Patrol and one major city's police force who have come forward to say that they won't enforce this, so the permit is a good idea if you're heading down. It will likely be months before this mess is sorted out so, until then, the law CAN be enforced.
 
coyo said:
It has turned into a non-issue already. Florida will not enforce the requirement for those from Ontario.

http://www.globalnews.ca/caa+offeri...+for+southern+ontarians/6442810116/story.html
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Just because some departments aren't enforcing it doesn't mean it's not the law. You may not get a ticket for it, but if you get in an accident let's see how far you get with the insurance claim when they find out you were driving illegally (according to the law, not enforcement standards). Insurance company denies coverage due to driving illegally and you become personally liable. $25 is well worth it just to cover your azz, until they get the law cleared up.
 
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