For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please.
By Chris Martyr
#1725558
By IDP , I mean International Driving Permit .
I will be off to France just after "Halloween" and a colleague gave me some friendly advice about acquiring an insurance Green Card and I will probably need an international driving licence as well .
I half-heartedly contacted Aviva who said I would need the GC and duly put one in the post .
Reading through Aviva's bumph , it revealed that I also needed the dreaded IDP as well .
No big deal though , you just get it issued at the Post Office while you wait for £5:50 .
But , I just couldn't believe the format of this thing , like some form of I.D. papers issued in WW2 . The poor girl at the P.O. had to paste the passport photo into place and fill in all my driver details in pen .
I apologise to the admin.guys in advance . I'm not trying to restart "that" thread again via the back door . But are there any others here who intend to drive in Europe in the coming weeks/months ?

Or is it just me... :clown:
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By Rob P
#1725559
We are there in November. I have an IDP for USA which took me all of ten minutes at Attleborough Post Office, I shall doubtless get a European one also before late November.

Rob P
By johnm
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1725560
I always go with green card because I want the full comp insurance rather than the legal minimum and that's how my particular insurer works. IDP is what I had toddling round Europe in the 1960s do you think the Italians will let us have petrol coupons for duty free fuel as well :-)
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By PeteSpencer
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1725564
I got an IDP to drive in Madeira(Portugal) this year: I was surprised to find that there are several different IDPs even for various countries of Europe....

Peter
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By Bob Bevan
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1725592
PeteSpencer wrote:I got an IDP to drive in Madeira(Portugal) this year: I was surprised to find that there are several different IDPs even for various countries of Europe....

Peter


The post office has a site which indicates what you need based on destination (https://www.postoffice.co.uk/identity/i ... ing-permit). Looks straight forward although not as straight forward as what we can do today :(
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By Mr Bags
#1725600
I'm surprised that I couldn't simply and securely log on to the DVLA and apply for an IDP on line, and pay online, to be sent to me on a wallet sized credit card sized card, complete with my photo and all the relevant info instead of the bizarre, large retro card thing that looks easily forge-able that I got at the Post Office - where of course I had to show them my current photo driving licence, and for the lady to copy out by hand all my info on my driving licence - how many will have inaccuracies I wonder. And to drive from France to Spain needs two different IDPs. Madness!
By malcolmfrost
#1725602
If you go to Germany you don't need an IDP for less than 6 months (as long as you have a photo card)! It's only France, Italy and Monaco that require one. Oddly, French drivers don't need an IDP to drive in the UK. :evil:
Incidentally you have always "needed" a Green card for driving in Europe unless you are happy with just 3rd party......
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/driving-in-the-eu-after-brexit-international-driving-permits
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By Korenwolf
#1725986
I got one for our annual business trip to St-Omer this year - but I'd neglected to notice the bit about taking a passport size photo with me. Realising that the Post Office branch had a photo booth, I nipped in there and got the requisite snaps after being relieved of £5....my photos show a very grumpy individual :evil: :lol: :lol: :lol:
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By skydriller
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1725997
stevelup wrote:I'm confused - why did you need an IDP for St Omer?

Smilies help when you are being ironic Steve...
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By stevelup
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1725999
No, I genuinely didn't understand.

But now I've spent more than five seconds thinking about it, I guess that the business trip either straddled the original March 29th date or is planned for after Oct 31st.

It was the use of the past tense that confused me!
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By malcolmfrost
#1862873
AIUI a "Green Card" is still needed if you want Fully Comp in Europe (which you needed prior to Brexit) as your insurance will usually cover you only to the min legal in each country, usually Third Party only.
Your UK vehicle insurance gives you a minimum of third party cover to drive your vehicle in EU countries. Check with your insurer if your policy covers extra things like theft or damage.

You do not need to carry a green card when you drive in the EU (including Ireland), Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia, and Switzerland. You still need valid vehicle insurance.