Hi everybody,
Next august, we will spend a fortnight in the U.S. (East Coast : Boston; N.Y., Philadelphie, Washinghton, Cleveland, one night in Toronto, Niagara falls).
It's the first time I go to USA, the second time for my wife. We hope we will speak a lot in english there.
I'm wondering about one thing : my driving license is in poor shape (washed 2 times in the washmachine 20 ou 25 years ago). I was sometimes controlled in France and it can go for French policers. But I don't know whether American policers are more strict or not (all the numbers a readable on the paper, but it's in three pieces, and the photograph has not the original colors). I rent a car for travelling from Washington to Cleveland, Toronto and N.Y.). My wife doesn't drive, and my daughter - 19 - can't drive in the US because she's not yet 21.
Has somebody any advice about this ? If I ask for a new driving license, I think it may take some weeks, so I have to hurry !!
Thanks in advance for your help.
Fabrice
Hi fabrou, and welcome to the forums. It looks like you've got a very full trip planned, which will be quite fun. I'm originally from Washington, and I've been to Philadelphia briefly, but those other places I have not, so I hope you have fun! And yes, you will definitely be speaking lots of English.
As for your question if American police are stricter about that, I'm not 100% sure, because I don't know how strict the French police are. However, since your license is in three pieces, I would recommend asking for a new one if at all possible.
To be honest, since you will be using your passport for most everything, the only time you should need your license is when you rent the car (I believe most car rental places in the US will photocopy your license, not sure if it's the same in France), so you might want to email the car rental company and ask them if the condition of the license matters. Of course, if you get pulled over by the police for speeding or something, that's a whole different situation :P
Hi Thomas,
Thank you for the informations. Actually, I began the process to change my license, and it seems to be less complicated than I thought.
And I would like to reassure you : I have no intention to speed in the USA, besides you know that in France we can no longer do it ;-)
Best regards
Fabrice
I'm glad it's going to be less complicated for you, that should make your vacation easier.
As for the speeding, most people here do speed, usually 5-10 mph over the limit. I find that for me, driving in Europe always makes me go slower, because I see the speed at say 110 or 115, of course, I forget that it's kilometers instead of miles, so my mind goes "wow, I'm going too fast, I should slow down" :P
So I have to be careful for not having the opposite result ...
Haha, yes, exactly.
Hi,
Actually I have now a new driving license. It was a piece of cake (I don't remember the lesson #...).
Now I'm reassured about driving in the USA.
We say in French "pas d'embrouilles avec la police..."
Bye
Fabrice
Good to hear, that really didn't take long at all!
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