Reply With QuoteFriend of mine at the Gym has applied for one as he plans to drive through France after 29 April and doesn't want to take any chances.
This isn’t a Brexit thread! There’s enough of those already.
But, the advice on whether or not we need an IDP seems odd.
If we leave with a clean break, I understand that the EU countries (I'm deliberately not saying the EU since as far as i can see its up to each country) may require UK licence holders to have an IDP.
What I don't understand is non EU countries. For example, we don't need an IDP to drive in Switzerland, Serbia or Turkey at the moment, but the Government guidance suggest we will need one after 29th March.
How can that be? Why would we need an IDP in a non EU country after we leave the EU when we didn't before?
By the way, did I mention this isn't a Brexit thread?
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Friend of mine at the Gym has applied for one as he plans to drive through France after 29 April and doesn't want to take any chances.
Best Regards - Peter
I'd hate to be with you when you're on your own.
Not sure IDP will be required. But I strongly recommend to ask your insurance for a green card.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Could be that we don’t need a permit to drive in Switzerland, Turkey etc. because they have an agreement with EU.
Think I’ve read no deal would mean we’d need a permit in EU too.
What will EU citizens need in order to drive here when we Brexit ? Surely arrangements will be reciprocal ?
Some info here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-47459859
Looks like even now we need permit for Turkey.
They should be but w/o deal there are no arrangements.Originally Posted by DA56
I read the title of the thread and thought Chris Rea had launched a really rubbish follow up song.
😀
it may be true or not
but these scare tactics now seem to be brought up daily by the remainers
We are French residents, have been for 10 years, and drive French registered cars .........and I think that it's even been suggested that we may now need to take a French Driving test if we are to continue driving in France on a UK Driving License and may be refused an exchange of our British DL for a French DL
all these stories are coming from the UK not from the EU....... when will there be balanced reporting by the main UK media
Last edited by BillN; 9th March 2019 at 21:01.
Don't hold your breath.
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
Worst case scenario is IDL. I may have to take an English test but the probable worst case scenario would be exchanging French DL for an English one. Which I would not do, would take the test.
More problematic potentially is insurance. Hence my earlier post.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Never
Get a Green Card - it's free
Although I don't think for one moment you will need one,get an INternational Drivers Permit - I'm going France in April and I've got one. For the sake of £5.50 it seems a no brainer to me...just in case. You get them from your Post Office and it takes about 10 minutes for them to fill in the form.
Exchange your licence before 29 March and you'll be okay.
Edit:- Is your licence even valid? DVLA should be informed of address change and this can't be abroad AFAIK.
Last edited by Kingstepper; 9th March 2019 at 22:20.
At the moment, but it probably won't be after the 29th of March. There used to be a charge of about £15 if I remember correctly.
I just switched cars, so switched insurance. I initially went through Direct Line.
Then I asked them a Green Card. And I learned that while I was indeed insured to drive on the continent, it was third party only although UK was comprehensive. To get the green card comprehensive cost about £54 a fortnight.
Fortunately I was in my cooling off period and I switched to NFU. Comprehensive and worry-free
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Saga, for those of a certain age, provide 365 days European use.
Insurance seems no problem. I've had letters from most of my car/Bike insurance companies confirming my cover remains the same, for all the countries in currently covered for, but I may need a green card, in which case they need 5 days notice, no charge.
The lists I've seen on the government website indicate we need idp's everywhere, but that conflicts with my experience and e.g. the RAC website.
https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/country/turkey/
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Try this: https://internationaldrivingpermit.org
My impression is that an IDP is used for countries with a different alphabet (like Chinese). On a Dutch license, there's 'driving license' in 3 languages, including English. So, English as a language for an official document is accepted. I'm sure that's enough. It's not as if we lost the knowledge to read English after the UK has stepped out.
A green card and a IDP are totally different. The green card goes with the insurance (of the vehicle) the IDP is a personal document. One can not replace the other. What the others said: check your insurance. We (Dutch) have heard nothing from our insurance about the fact that the green card would not be valid anymore when driving to the UK. I suppose it's the other way around as well.
Menno
Last edited by thieuster; 10th March 2019 at 08:56.
In the UK Menno insurance don’t give you a green card: you must ask for it.
It wasn’t necessary as long as we were in the EU, the normal A4 ‘Certificate of Motor Insurance’ was enough.
Many insurance companies are surprised as they used to need the green card for people travelling to non EU countries, which was a different type of insurance (not covered by a normal policy.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Yes, exactly, whilst we were in the EU the insurer did not have to issue a green card for the EU countries plus the others on the certificates like Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein. I’ve had to get a green card most years for places like Bosnia, Montenegro, Morocco or buy border insurance which has sometimes been a pain - for example I could get Bosnia but not Serbia. Mostly I had an IDP for these counties too, largely so I could hand it over if stopped by local plod and not mind riding off in case they “retained” it.
However, my question is, do I really need an IDP now for say Switzerland, or the US, or Australia, when I didn’t before. I rode in Aus for a month last year on a hired 1200GSA and didn’t need an IDP but now the government advice says I do, and in fact always have.
I’ve been with Direct Line for the last 4 years.....they’ve always charged for a Green Card.
They might charge to extend cover to comprehensive, not the same as a green card.
Let’s look at Australia. The post office list says an IDP is required for Australia.
But the Australian government website (https://www.australia.gov.au/content...erseas-licence) says you can drive with your own national licence as long as it’s in English, except for in the Northern Territories.
So why does our gov insist that after Brexit we need an IDP? If this is wrong, probably more is wrong.
What I suspect the list on the PO site means is that, if an IDP is required by that country, this is the one you should have, but that doesn’t mean it’s actually required.
I’ve been riding my bike in weird places for years and always check the requirements, but now all the advice on our gov websites is for *after* Brexit and I’m sure it lists loads of countries where we did not need an IDP before.
I’ll have to get one anyway as I’m off to Mongolia later this year, but may get the full set!
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Because with a no-deal Brexit we'll have no (EU) arrangement with Australia. In absence of any arrangement an IDP is required.
Yes... the charge does extend cover to fully comp.. I expect they use the Green Card terminology to explain travel abroad. Their website does say that the Green Card provides the minimum cover required.... so you’re correct👍👍 and I missunderstood🤪
Over here in Northern Ireland some insurance companies (eg Admiral) have written to their customers stating that as you are a resident of Northern Ireland we will be issuing you a Green Card in due course. They also say that in addition to the basic cover the Green Card gives they will also match all the benefits of your current policy for up to 90 days in the following countries:
EU
EEA
Switzerland
Andorra
Serbia
I contacted my own insurer (Aviva) and they said they’d advise by mid-March.
Jake
Hence the suggestion to get one now...they last until your renewal date.
I can also confirm that if anyone is insured by Tesco that the Green Card they issue extends your full UK cover abroad I.e fully comp in the UK = fully comp in France
When I was last insured by Tesco, insurance was just extended to EU, no need for a green card. With any insurer haven't had a green card for years.
You do need a green card - that’s the whole point. Your certificate of insurance, which may say you’re covered to drive in the EU, will not be accepted. EU countries will only accept the green card as proof of insurance.
You don't need one (if you mean now, pre-Brexit).
https://www.theaa.com/about-us/newsr...en-cards-again
If the company has no registration in the EU27, then it will post Brexit no longer cover even, despite that letter as it will be overruled by the later Brexit, depending on the type of Brexit the UK ends up choosing.
My insurer is offering a Green Card - for free - by request.
They sent a note to all policyholders I understand.
In the communication, there was no reference to IDP’s for what it’s worth.
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So they should as Brexit can be a change of policy conditions.
i suppose that could be it, but it’s not clear. The IDP scheme is run by the UN, not the EU. The current regulations apply to the EU plus a number of other countries, not within the EU mandate. And in the example of Australia, if you have say a French or Spanish driving licence then you will need an IDP for Australia (or authorised translation) and always have, whereas it’s only according to our government that we will now need one in Australia, the actual Australians don’t ask for one.
Wrong, as you would see if you have read above. My cover remains the same, regardless of the nature of how we leave. This is a contract in writing between me and my insurance company.
Just the requirement for green card may change, likewise the IDP, which is decided by each country, not the EU - hence different countries would require different IDP’s if they choose to require them.
The UK has decided it will not require IDP’s so any who is allowed to drive in the UK now on their national licence will still be able to do so, again, regardless of the nature of the exit.
Yes, they weren’t necessary in the EU for a long time, but oftentimes the reverse of the paper certificate did actually still contain a wording along green card lines confirming cover in EU, plus a separate Spanish Bail Bond wording too.
I don’t doubt that at all, but as noted above, those are technically two separate issues: 1) Cover level under your contract i.e. Comprehensive 2) Satisfying EU legislation re evidence of minimum Third Party cover i.e. the Green Card. It’s entirely feasible that an Insurer could provide a Green Card but not extend Comprehensive cover in addition - most will offer it automatically for a limited or maximum time during trips to Europe, but like many things it depends on the Policy, you get what you pay for & prior checking is recommended.
In Northern Ireland, this has the potential to be a major pain in the ar*e.
What he said. In the last couple of years I’ve noticed in the small print that cover abroad had reduced to legal cover (i.e. third party) when it had previously the cover was comp. Comp was still available but at extra cost, so I now do check as naturally it’s never pointed out.
Off topic, but the other change I’ve seen recently is cover for theft from home. Most of my bike policies now do not cover for theft within 500m of home, as I’ve stated the bikes are kept in a garage. Not even if I park on the drive and nip in for an emergency wee after a ride.
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Don't hold your breath if it's the BBC!
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
I can only speak for my own insurer and with regards Tesco it's not technical at all.
Question asked when requesting a Green Card - "Will my cover when driving in France be exactly the same as my cover in the UK I.e fully comprehensive?"
Answer - "Yes"
Pretty clear really.
Sorry mate, I meant after Brexit.
What's abundantly clear is that a Green Card has absolutely nothing to do with the level of cover you additionally happen to benefit from or negotiate on your individual vehicle.
A Green Card simply guarantees that your Insurer is offering at least the minimum level of insurance cover required by the EU country that you plan to drive in, in this case France. Similarly, if you are run-over by a French driver visiting the UK in their own car and clutching their own Green Card, all that means is that they have as a minimum UK Road Traffic Act liability coverage for injury to you as a Third Party.
I'm only mentioning this for the benefit of others in case some make the mistake of thinking a Green Card is simply an extension of 100% of their normal Policy benefits e.g. Comprehensive cover - it's most certainly not.
I appreciate they didn't say it this way, but Tesco are actually confirming two separate things to you - that they'll issue a Green Card and that they'll extend Comprehensive cover. The two do not necessarily go hand-in-hand automatically.
Believe me, it'll get pretty 'Technical' pretty quickly for someone who has a serious accident outside the UK with the mistaken belief their Policy extends Comprehensive cover automatically. Most Policies will, but it's worth checking.
^^^ That's certainly my understanding too.
R
Ignorance breeds Fear. Fear breeds Hatred. Hatred breeds Ignorance. Break the chain.
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