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Does a Brit need a IDL to drive in NZ?



 
 
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  #1  
Old August 30th, 2004, 07:21 PM
Cathy
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Default Does a Brit need a IDL to drive in NZ?

Will I need an International Driving Licence to drive a hire car in New Zealand?

Cathy
  #2  
Old August 30th, 2004, 08:46 PM
Dave Jones
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In short no.

Have driven hire cars in NZ on a number of occasions. Just present your UK
Licence. If however you have one of the new photo licences, take the paper
bit as well.

Dave
"Cathy" wrote in message
om...
Will I need an International Driving Licence to drive a hire car in New

Zealand?

Cathy



  #3  
Old August 30th, 2004, 09:41 PM
Ian Hutchby
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Cathy wrote:
Will I need an International Driving Licence to drive a hire car in New Zealand?

Cathy


Simple answer is that you shouldn't require one.

As far as the law goes you can drive on a foreign licence here in NZ for
up to a year (by which time you are required to get an NZ drivers licence)

As for hire companies I never had a problem in the past just presenting
my UK licence (in fact when I did have an IDL (IDP?? it's a Permit not
Licence from memory) they asked for my UK licence and ignored the IDL)

Although I have never had a problem, the best advice is still to contact
the hire company you are getting the car from (you can normally find a
contact e-mail address on their websites) to find out what their policy
actually is.

More importantly you should make sure that the hire company explains the
major differences in the road rules between the UK and NZ (even though
we drive on the same side of the road there are some rule differences
that can catch out the unwary (or jet-lagged!!)). The main ones which
should be noted a-

The give way to the right rule - this applies when you are turning and
can be very confusing at first and should definitely be explained to you
by the hire car company (if it isn't then ask them when you pick up the
car) - put simply if you are making a turn and there is another car also
wishing to make a turn into the same space then in most cases if it is
going to hit the drivers door (ie is coming from the right) then you
have to give way to it.

When parking you have to park in the direction of travel - ie on the
left hand side of the road except on one way streets.

You always have to carry your drivers licence with you (unlike the UK
where you have time to present it to a local police station you have to
be able to instantly produce it here)

You can undertake - this can be disconcerting at first as cars pass on
either side (legally) on the motorway.

I hope this is of help.

Ian

  #4  
Old August 30th, 2004, 10:06 PM
Ian Hutchby
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Default

Cathy wrote:

Will I need an International Driving Licence to drive a hire car in New Zealand?

Cathy


The simple answer is you shouldn't.

As far as the law is concerned you can use a UK licence for up to a year
(at which point you must have converted it to a local NZ licence
otherwise it is back to an L plate!!!)

As for hire companies in my experience I have never been asked for
anything other than my UK licence when hiring a car over here (I have
used both local and inter-national companies (as I now live here I have
my own car so haven't needed to hire one since converting my UK licence
to an NZ one earlier this year)

Having said this the best advice is to double check with the company you
are actually hiring from to see what their policy is. You can usually
find a contact e-mail address somewhere on their websites and they tend
to be helpful - the best question to ask is whether you only need your
UK licence rather then asking whether you need an IDP (from memory it is
a Permit not Licence) as in the former they should tell you if you need
one, whereas in the second they may just reply that you should take one
whether you need it or not!!!

Although we drive on the same side of the road in both the UK and NZ it
is important that the hire company explains the major differences in the
road rules between the two countries. The obvious ones (at least for
me) a-

The give way to the right rule - you should definitely get this
explained to you when you pick up a car - if they don't mention it then
ask directly as it can cause chaos/confusion (in very simple terms (NB
still get this explained in full) if you are making a turn (usually
left) and another car is also making a turn and is going to intercept
your path from your right (ie will hit the driver's door) then you have
to give way to it - this does take a while to get used to (and several
irate drivers giving you strange looks and leaning on the horn!!!) but
is an important road rule difference that should be explained by the
hire company)

You have to carry your licence on you at all times when driving - you
don't have the grace period to produce it at your local police station
as in the UK.

When parking you have to park in the direction of travel (ie on the
left, the obvious exception is on one way streets where you can park on
the right as well as that is also the direction of travel for that part
of the road)

Undertaking is legal, so you have to be very aware of traffic on both
sides when travelling on multi-lane roads.

I hope this helps you
Ian

  #5  
Old August 30th, 2004, 10:06 PM
Ian Hutchby
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Cathy wrote:

Will I need an International Driving Licence to drive a hire car in New Zealand?

Cathy


The simple answer is you shouldn't.

As far as the law is concerned you can use a UK licence for up to a year
(at which point you must have converted it to a local NZ licence
otherwise it is back to an L plate!!!)

As for hire companies in my experience I have never been asked for
anything other than my UK licence when hiring a car over here (I have
used both local and inter-national companies (as I now live here I have
my own car so haven't needed to hire one since converting my UK licence
to an NZ one earlier this year)

Having said this the best advice is to double check with the company you
are actually hiring from to see what their policy is. You can usually
find a contact e-mail address somewhere on their websites and they tend
to be helpful - the best question to ask is whether you only need your
UK licence rather then asking whether you need an IDP (from memory it is
a Permit not Licence) as in the former they should tell you if you need
one, whereas in the second they may just reply that you should take one
whether you need it or not!!!

Although we drive on the same side of the road in both the UK and NZ it
is important that the hire company explains the major differences in the
road rules between the two countries. The obvious ones (at least for
me) a-

The give way to the right rule - you should definitely get this
explained to you when you pick up a car - if they don't mention it then
ask directly as it can cause chaos/confusion (in very simple terms (NB
still get this explained in full) if you are making a turn (usually
left) and another car is also making a turn and is going to intercept
your path from your right (ie will hit the driver's door) then you have
to give way to it - this does take a while to get used to (and several
irate drivers giving you strange looks and leaning on the horn!!!) but
is an important road rule difference that should be explained by the
hire company)

You have to carry your licence on you at all times when driving - you
don't have the grace period to produce it at your local police station
as in the UK.

When parking you have to park in the direction of travel (ie on the
left, the obvious exception is on one way streets where you can park on
the right as well as that is also the direction of travel for that part
of the road)

Undertaking is legal, so you have to be very aware of traffic on both
sides when travelling on multi-lane roads.

I hope this helps you
Ian

  #7  
Old August 31st, 2004, 03:19 AM
Nigel Marx
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Default

The law in NZ states that as long as the vehicle type you are driving is
covered by a valid licence AND your licence says that in English then you
can drive for up to one year.

Regards

Nigel in NZ

--"How can I be lost if I don't care where I am?"--

"Cathy" wrote in message
om...
Will I need an International Driving Licence to drive a hire car in New

Zealand?

Cathy



  #8  
Old August 31st, 2004, 07:27 AM
Dave Proctor
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Default

On Tue, 31 Aug 2004 08:41:52 +1200, Ian Hutchby
wrote:

As far as the law goes you can drive on a foreign licence here in NZ for
up to a year (by which time you are required to get an NZ drivers licence)

As for hire companies I never had a problem in the past just presenting
my UK licence (in fact when I did have an IDL (IDP?? it's a Permit not
Licence from memory) they asked for my UK licence and ignored the IDL)


That is because the International Driving Permit is nothing more than
a translation of what appears on the actual licence, it is not an
authority to drive a motor vehicle in and of itself.

Since a UK DL would already be in English, there is no need to have
the IDP.

Dave

=====

NSW Rural Fire Service - become a volunteer today.

http://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/
  #9  
Old August 31st, 2004, 07:25 PM
Cathy
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Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks to you all for taking the time to reply!
 




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