Funny but kinda scary thing that happened RMV

[tiggger1]

So today I had to go to the registry to renew my license ( which expired last week)

I was waiting in the main room sitting near the main desk when this really pretty girl ( around 17) walked in. The only reason I noticed her was because this lime green rain boots with ducks on them. She went to the desk and had a question about her driving test tomorrow. I immediately noticed she had a thick Norwegian accent and spoke broken English...

She was confused because when she was reading her paper from the RMV that it stated she needed a car with a middle emergency brake and her car didnt have one. The lady at the desk told her that she would have a either borrow or rent one. The girl asked want she needed to do to rent one. The women told her she needed someone with a license to rent one for her. The girl replied "but I have a license, I can rent it." Turned out it was a international license. The woman explained that a international license is not valid in the US and that she also needed someone over 25 to rent a car for her. She got upset because her mom didnt drive. That is when the woman at the desk ask how she got here. She told the woman she drove. The woman explained that she needed to have licensed driver with her to use her permit. The girl replied " But I have a license" so the woman explained again about it not being valid and that it had to be someone over 18. The girl told her that her mom had a license......of course it was an international license....which is not valid here. Which the woman again explained, only for the girl to tell her that she had a license!! This went back and forth for close to 15 minutes before the girl turned to leave. The woman ask the girl if she was still going to keep her appointment for the road test. the girl replied "no, I just use this license (her international one), like I have been using her for the last 8 weeks!!

 

[Disney Doll]

Why would an international license not be valid here?
A USA license is valid internationally, isn't it? I hope so, because DH drove all over Ireland a few years back!

 

[tiggger1]

I have no idea why they are not valid here, probably so they can make some money?

 

[bumbershoot]

I just found this on usa.gov:

An International Driving Permit (IDP) translates information contained on your driver's license into 10 languages so that officials in foreign countries are able to interpret your license. An IDP supplements a valid government-issued license--it does not serve as a replacement for a license. If you are stopped by law enforcement, you will most likely be asked to produce both your IDP and your official driver's license. The United States does NOT issue International Driving Permits to foreign visitors, so you will need to obtain this document before traveling to the U.S.

The important part is that they needed to have licenses from their home country, along with the intl license.

So the DMV (RMV?) lady needed to ask about her (and her mom's) licenses from their home country, which I'm sure they had b/c how else would they have gotten the int'l licenses. And that would have made them legal to drive.

So it's sort of half and half there...along with the home license, the int'l license is legal, but they needed to check if that license was had by them!



From ftc.gov:

The United States is a party to a United Nations treaty that gives residents of one country the right to drive in other countries using the driver's license issued by the government where they live. This treaty created the international driving permit to make this arrangement easier. An IDP translates your state-issued driver's license into 10 languages so you can show it to officials in foreign countries to help them interpret your driver's license.

 

[tiggger1]

I found that the foreign visitors can get a IDP to go along with their country's license. But once you move her you need to get a US drivers license

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Driving_Permit

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes, which is what she was trying to do.

 

[tiggger1]

Yes, which is what she was trying to do.

yes but she thought she could still drive with only her country's drivers license, she said nothing of having the International Drivers Permit

 

[Sarah_Rose]

The IDP is not necessary to drive, as long as the person holds a valid drivers license. However, if the person was pulled over or in an accident, they would likely have to incur additional expenses to have her license translated. According to the UN treaty, only their drivers license is required to be able to drive. However, a translation of this license may be required by authorities. In other words, the IDP is a good thing to have.

And as far as the law is concerned on when a person from another country must get a valid state license... Well, the law says that they must get a state drivers license within 30 days of establishing residency in the state. If you're moving from state to state, that is pretty cut and dry. However, there are a whole load of US "non-resident" visas that allow foreign people to live and work in the US, however they are never considered "resident". Some of the visas (I was on one for 12 months in 2007/2008) even state that it does not entitle you to carry state ID (ie. get a drivers license in the state). So it's pretty hard to enforce the 30 day rule with people moving from out of country, unless it can be established what type of visa they are on.

And as an aside, I think it was crazy that I had to retake my driving test in Washington State after moving here from Canada. I can understand if you're coming from a country where the rules of the road are vastly different, but CANADA?!!? I can even understand them making me take the written test, because rules vary so much from area to area, but the driving test was just a complete waste of everyone's time and money. And the worst part is that if I move back to Canada, I can trade in my WA driving license to get a provincial one without having to take the test. However, the same reciprocal relationship does not exist in the US.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

...And as an aside, I think it was crazy that I had to retake my driving test in Washington State after moving here from Canada. I can understand if you're coming from a country where the rules of the road are vastly different, but CANADA?!!? I can even understand them making me take the written test, because rules vary so much from area to area, but the driving test was just a complete waste of everyone's time and money. And the worst part is that if I move back to Canada, I can trade in my WA driving license to get a provincial one without having to take the test. However, the same reciprocal relationship does not exist in the US.

I am convinced that some of these things are put in place for additional revenue generation...

 

[merryweather20]

I'm a little more flummoxed by the DMV employee. I've never heard of a car rental place catagorizing their stock by whether or not they have a centre emergency break or not, and they are quite happy to rent out to traveller's with international licenses. I don't think many people here only 30 days would have a friend over 25, who would rent a car for them Around here if you didn't have access to a car you'd rent one from a driver's ed school. Is that really not an option where you live?

 

[momrek06]

I'm a little more flummoxed by the DMV employee. I've never heard of a car rental place catagorizing their stock by whether or not they have a centre emergency break or not, and they are quite happy to rent out to traveller's with international licenses. I don't think many people here only 30 days would have a friend over 25, who would rent a car for them Around here if you didn't have access to a car you'd rent one from a driver's ed school. Is that really not an option where you live?

I used to live in MA (20years)...no, driver ed schools are not in the car rental business at all. My best friend had a Jeep Cherokee at the time my DS' were getting their license and I borrowed friend's car for the driving test as I was driving a Taurus, which did not have the center emergency brake.

 

[Pumbaa_]

ok, have to ask, what is the importance of the middle center break? For the DMV person to be able to grab it and stop the car?

 

[bumbershoot]

yes but she thought she could still drive with only her country's drivers license, she said nothing of having the International Drivers Permit

It sounds like the RMV employee wasn't even mentioning that. And as I know from my MIL, when the language being spoken isn't your first, you can get really easily flummoxed and not think of what the real problem is.

Unless the woman and her mom got their IDPs from some unofficial agency, they had licenses in their home countries, and that allows them to drive here for an amount of time. The sites I found (ftc and usa dot gov) said that it can take MONTHS to get a US license when you move here, which means that they KNOW they might be driving on their home country's license.

The RMV employee was so focused on the IDP that she forgot the fact that in order to get one, a legal one at least, you have to already have a driving license.

And as an aside, I think it was crazy that I had to retake my driving test in Washington State after moving here from Canada. I can understand if you're coming from a country where the rules of the road are vastly different, but CANADA?!!? I can even understand them making me take the written test, because rules vary so much from area to area, but the driving test was just a complete waste of everyone's time and money. And the worst part is that if I move back to Canada, I can trade in my WA driving license to get a provincial one without having to take the test. However, the same reciprocal relationship does not exist in the US.

Was that recently?

WA is going crazy with the retests. They kinda sorta want to make retests happen for seniors, but if they ONLY do seniors, then that's ageism. So they are doing retests randomly.

DH got his license renewed, oh, 2, 3 years ago, I think. And he went in a week before his birthday, expecting it to be a picture and that's it. Nope, he got to take the written AND driving tests again. So he took home the material to study for a day, went back in to take the written test. The driving tests were scheduled out months ahead, but we found a place an hour's drive away that had one opening. ON his birthday. So that's how he spent his birthday!

My license is up for renewal this Fall, and I'll probably go in towards the end of summer to start the process, because I'm sure I'll have to take the tests again.

Anyway, WA is kind of crazy with the tests.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

ok, have to ask, what is the importance of the middle center break? For the DMV person to be able to grab it and stop the car?

Exactly! That's what they did with my DD when she took her first driving test. Examiner felt she (DD) hadn't seen a car approaching from a side street at an intersection. So she pulled the brake. That's an automatic fail.

 

[HunnyPots]

OK, I can kinda see the funny part but what makes it scary?

 

[merryweather20]

I used to live in MA (20years)...no, driver ed schools are not in the car rental business at all. My best friend had a Jeep Cherokee at the time my DS' were getting their license and I borrowed friend's car for the driving test as I was driving a Taurus, which did not have the center emergency brake.

Looks like they are in this business. I just did a quick google search after you posted this and they all offered this service. A set price for students and non-students generally you had to pay for a one hour class (or similar criteria). No different than where I live.

That would have been a much better solution for the young lady.

 

[luvsJack]

I still don't get the middle emergency brake bit. I have only owned one car in my life time that had a middle brake. Me, Dh, ds and ds all have a license and none of us had to have a middle brake when we took our tests (many years apart). Looks to me like if they were going to require such a thing they would provide a car for the test.

BTW, it can be kind of dangerous to give the examiner the ability to pull the brake without the driver even being aware of what they are doing.

 

[momrek06]

I still don't get the middle emergency brake bit. I have only owned one car in my life time that had a middle brake. Me, Dh, ds and ds all have a license and none of us had to have a middle brake when we took our tests (many years apart). Looks to me like if they were going to require such a thing they would provide a car for the test.

BTW, it can be kind of dangerous to give the examiner the ability to pull the brake without the driver even being aware of what they are doing.

Found this info online for MA.
Vehicle Requirements for Class D Road Tests
For all road tests, you are required to supply a properly equipped, legally registered and insured vehicle that has a valid inspection sticker. The vehicle must be acceptable to the examiner. The examiner must be able to reach the vehicle's emergency brake or foot brake. Any vehicle with a center console that does not have an emergency brake as part of the console cannot be used.


So, it does come down to the Officer having the ability to activate the brake.

 

[GoofyforDisney3]

Found this info online for MA.
Vehicle Requirements for Class D Road Tests
For all road tests, you are required to supply a properly equipped, legally registered and insured vehicle that has a valid inspection sticker. The vehicle must be acceptable to the examiner. The examiner must be able to reach the vehicle's emergency brake or foot brake. Any vehicle with a center console that does not have an emergency brake as part of the console cannot be used.


So, it does come down to the Officer having the ability to activate the brake.

I kind of get why, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean, what if you can't afford to rent a car with the center break and you have to have a license to get a job? Are they going to provide a car for you to take the test then? And don't say you can borrow a car, because not every car has a middle hand break and also not every friend can or will lend someone a car.

 

[momrek06]

I kind of get why, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense. I mean, what if you can't afford to rent a car with the center break and you have to have a license to get a job? Are they going to provide a car for you to take the test then? And don't say you can borrow a car, because not every car has a middle hand break and also not every friend can or will lend someone a car.

I hear ya, but in MA., you are given the requirements for the driving test at the onset of your driver education classes. You essentially know weeks before your test the type of vehicle you will need to use to take the driving portion of the test. So you need to be prepared before you even make your appt at the Registry for the test. I do also believe when you schedule the driving test the Registry does inform you as well.