To move freely by car on the roads of foreign countries, you will need an international driver's license. A new format of such driving license has been introduced in Russia since 2011.
New international rights (IDLs) have been issued in Russia since April 2011. If at this moment the validity of the old-style rights has not expired, they do not need to be reissued. Receive the document in the traffic police department at the place of registration.
Why get an international driving license?
According to the international convention on road traffic, which was adopted in Vienna in 1968, driving through the territories of European and many other countries is allowed without an IDP. The Convention was accepted by 82 states, including all European countries. Subsequently, this treaty was ratified by Mongolia, Kenya, Niger, South Korea, Seychelles. Formally, national Russian laws make it possible to drive vehicles in these states, but in practice it has not been implemented. For this reason, complaints from the foreign traffic police inevitably arise against the tourist. For example, in Italy, for the absence of an IDP, they will certainly write a fine of $ 300.
In addition, in many European and other countries, a rule has been established according to which the rental of a vehicle is possible only upon presentation of an international driver's license. If you decide to bypass this obstacle and travel by your own car, then when applying for a visa, the embassy will definitely ask for an IDP. Therefore, it is easier to obtain the required certificate, especially since this procedure is simple and does not take much time.
What does an international driving license look like?
An international driver's license is a small booklet of A6 size. It can be filled in by hand or printed by technical means. However, all information is entered only in the Latin alphabet. Arabic script can also be used. The front side of the certificate must contain the following information:
• date of issue;
• start and end date of the action;
• the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, in which the rights were issued and the body in charge of their registration;
• the number and series of the Russian driver's license are indicated;
• a round stamp of the traffic police unit and the signature of the employee who issued the IDP is required;
On the second sheet of the booklet, on its reverse side, information about the restrictions (if any) on the right to drive certain categories of the vehicle is entered. The inner side of the third sheet is intended to indicate information about the driver: last name, first name, date and place of birth, where he is registered or registered. On the same sheet, using an oval seal, marks are put in front of the permitted categories of vehicles. For those that are not allowed, crosses are put in the right places.
When planning a trip to a foreign country, you should remember that an international driver's license in countries participating in the Geneva Convention of 1949 gives the right to drive only if the driver presents his national license to the police. Knowledge of this rule will greatly facilitate movement on the territory of most European states.
