Driving

Hi everybody.

Do you know if people from Spain need an international driving licence to drive in South Africa? And, what do you think about it? is it a good idea? I mean, what about roads, southafrican way of driving? is it dangerous?

Is is better to rent a car from Spain, with an international company, Avis, Hertz, and so on, or, should we go for a local company? What about fares?

Thank you very much. Looking forward to your replies.

Rocimari

I don't believe you NEED an IDL but it's not a bad idea to have. South Africans drive on the left hand side of the road, which takes a little getting used to but apart from that, their road system is generally very good. On single lane highways, slower vehicles almost always pull over to let you pass. Like anywhere you got your fair share of numbnuts and Friday evenings are a good time to not be driving. There are some very good local car hire companies. Every time I go, I always rent from Tempest Car hire. They have a website so you can check. I suggest that you get an automatic as changing gears with the other hand while you are driving on the other side of the road just complicates things a bit.

I used an IDL. The roads are quite good except for the odd pothole here and there (so keep a lookout). Drivers will use their turn signal to let you know whether it's OK or not OK to pass them. I found that more than a few drivers signalled with the "wrong" signal, making for an interesting and sometimes enjoyable game. Of course, sometimes they are just turning too.

I am a lefty so the left-hand gear-shift was not an issue, but I will note that automatics are usually very expensive compared with standard-shift cars.

CK

"Driver’s licences
Any valid driver’s licence is accepted provided it bears the photograph and signature of the holder and is printed in English. "
source:
click here

Seb

I didn't need an IDL when I rented in SA (I'm American). I've rented a car in Spain before. SA wasn't more difficult than driving in Spain except that in SA it's on the left side of the road which you get used to fast enough because you have to. There were a fair number of maniacs in both countries as there are in the US, too. I always rent from Hertz and they were fine in SA but I don't know that they're the cheapest.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Is is better to rent a car from Spain, with an international company, Avis, Hertz, and so on, or, should we go for a local company? What about fares?<hr></blockquote>
We used Hertz last year... ordered from Norway. We were very satisfied. As for fares... what can you afford?

Chriskean1 is correct in that automatic are more expensive. Appromately R100 per day more. If you are used to driving a stick shift, it shouldn't be an issue. Picking a random date, however, Hertz are R40 a day cheaper on their basic rates. Be careful of the add-ons though as they tend to drive up the cost. Some have add-ons and other quote all inclusive.

Hi, you can check this post:

http://www.foro.geoplaneta.com/Default.aspx?g=posts&t=15870

Thank you very much to everybody. Your comments have been very useful, but one more question. What abour driving through the Swaziland region? We want to go from the Kruger Park to Durban via Swaziland.

Thanks.

The way I understood it was you don't need a IDL to drive in SA if your drivers license is in English.

No International Drivers Licence required for visitors from EU countries for stays up to three months (possibly more), so don't bother. A bigger problem may be that SAfrica drives on the left (so you'll get a hire car with the steering wheel on the right!). It doesn't really matter whether you book in Spain or take your luck in SAfrica when you arrive, but picking up a car at the airport as you arrive is usually convenient - and by booking well in advance you increase your chances of being 'bumped up' if the company are short of cars! ...or so I'm told.
Ndlovu

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>No International Drivers Licence required for visitors from EU countries ...<hr></blockquote>

Make sure you have the current credit card type & size EU drivers license (introduced since the 1990's).
The earlier EU cardboard licenses as they were issued in the late 1980's and early 90's or until introduction of the cards are usually fine as well.

If you still have one of the ancient national drivers licenses you will have to apply for either a new license :-) or an international one.

In my experiences of driving in SA I have had no problems at all, the roads in the north are great and easy to drive. You can easy do 700km in one go in the same time it would take you to do half that in the UK.

On my last trip used Holidayautos who are simple to use. About GBP230 for 2 weeks hire for the basic car. That's all you need if there are 2 of you.

I drove from Jburg to Kruger, back through the north to the Western side down to Cape Town then out to Hermanus and back to CT. Never had a problem at all with the distances covered and saw absolutely everything we wanted to.

In fact this lulled me into a false sense of distance as I went Canada and thought we would cover the same distances... No way, had to adjust our schedule right away.

I've driven automatic and manual hired cars. Can't say it really mattered either way, depends on what you are used to I guess. Driving an automatic is a novelty for me and cruise control is. My UK car has cruise control but the only time I've managed to use it is after midnight on the motorways!!!

I've only ever been stopped once in SA by the police, no problem, just looked at my UK driving licence, looked very puzzled as it looked like the first one he had seen. But just us go on our way. Just a random stop I think at the beginning of a village by a bored copper!

In september we're doing a similar trip but going Jburg, Kruger, Swaziland (covering letter required from hire company), stops on the way to the Garden Route (including the big bunjy at Bloukrans), Hermanus which is one of my favourite places in the world, and Cape Town.

I'm not expecting that route to be as easy driving as the northern way but it's still very doable. This is my first trip that I have actually booked some accommodation (Kruger) as it is a school holiday at the beginning of our time there).

Love the country, one of the easiest to visit in the whole world which is why I keep coming back and will keep coming back for ever.

i used eurocar when i was there - they are pretty friendly and reasonable - just make sure if you want air conditioning to ask because they have cheaper cars w/o it -

they also told me just a drivers license in english is ok

**eurocar lets you cross borders with neighboring countries, no problem, they'll even give you maps and have 24 hour telephone access (whoever you choose you need this) and unlimited mileage -

roads are mostly good but some are gravel - check your maps you can see which are and which aren't - driving in the city is a bit spooky, be careful, be on alert etc.

have fun!
easybreeze

I need further information about the topic of this post...

I understand that "Any valid driver’s licence is accepted provided it bears the photograph and signature of the holder and <b>is printed in English.</b>" (replies #3, #4, #9).
However, the Lonely Planet Guide for South Africa, L & SZ states that:
<blockquote>Quote
<hr>In South Africa, you can use your driving license from your home country if it is in English <b>(or if you have a certified translation)</b> and if it carries your photo; otherwise you'll need an international driving permit<hr></blockquote>
I worry about this difference because my driver's license is from Colombia and printed and Spanish... but the international driving permit costs here much more than I expected (around 110 USD), worth a couple of days of car renting at least. It would certainly be cheaper to hire a certified translation.

Would the car company rent a car with a certified translation of a license in Spanish? Would the policemen on the road be OK with it?

Other posters (#10, #11) seem to have detailed information about this... I would be very grateful if you could help me. It is just that I do not want to spend the 110USD unnecessarily on a greedy local motoring organization. If it is necessary, well... but then I would email the folks at LP to change the info on the guide.

Here's what Avis says on their website:<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Renters and additional drivers must be in possession of a valid unendorsed driver's license of country of residence. If driver's license is non-roman alphabet, an international driver's license is required. Please note that Foreigners must also produce a valid passport.<hr></blockquote>Note that it doesn't say English, but "non-roman alphabet". And that's what I've heard said many times before when this question has come up.

Surely it's no different to my driving in Germany (as I've done, through Avis as it happens), with my S.A. English-language licence? My own opinion is that getting an International Licence (although it's a lot less cost here) is a revenue stream for the issuer (the AA here) and unnecessary. I've had one at least once before, but that was when I was young and naive.

That's the S.A. Avis website of course.

As far as I know you do not need an IDL to hire a car. But if you are stopped by the police you need to produce either a valid unendorsed drivers' licence from your home country that is in English, or else you have to produce an international drivers licence - which is simply a translation of your licence into English, Spanish, German, Russian, Chinese (or is it Japanese?) Afrikaans (I live in South Africa), Italian and French. Note that there are two conventions governing International Drivers Licences - one of 1949 and the other of 1968. On the inside of my IDL (which I have in front of me as I type this) is a list of countries in each of the continents and a note of which IDL is recognised in each country. When we visited Europe in 2005 I needed two IDL's - one for France and a different one for Croatia.
A certified translation is not an IDL.
If you want to Google for information you will find plenty.

What I don't understand is why an IDL is such a big issue when travelling abroad. It takes ten minutes to get one, cost a negligible amount in comparison with the overall cost of the journey, it weighs nothing............what is the big deal about getting one?

Arthur and RudiK,

thank you very much for your helpful replies -- I have decided to get an IDL to avoid problems, although I found a link on another thread to an official South African government site where they explicitly say an IDL is not needed if a translation is produced for a roman-alphabet non-english license.

Regarding RudiK's question: in my case the IDL is a big issue because in my hometown (Bogotá, Colombia), its cost is definitely not "negligible in comparison with the overall cost of the journey": the price is 200.000 colombian pesos, equivalent to around 105 US dollars at the moment. This is (at least for me) quite an investment, considering that the license is only valid for one year (i.e., one trip), and that a day of car rental in SA costs around 25 to 40 USD (on the cheap side of the car fleet scale). Therefore, the IDL by itself is worth 3 to 4 car rental days. The price is set by the local motoring association (the AAC), which has a monopoly over the IDL issuing.

I am looking forward to having a wonderful time in SA, thank you again for your help...

Wow. That is expensive. For two IDL's (for my wife and for myself) the total cost was less than Rand 200, i.e less than US$15 each (plus the cost of the photograph) through our local Automobile Association.

And wow from me too. Especially as I'd not even be willing to pay R50 or R100, let alone the wasted hour of more getting to an AA office, when it's totally unnecessary. Both for visitors to S.A., and for South Africans travelling abroad. Or at least (for the latter) in my own experience. I'm also puzzled why there is any reference on S.A. Gov. websites to translations of non-English licences being required, when major car hire companies clearly don't require that.

Arthur, as far as I know the car hire companies do not require a IDL - but the traffic cops do, if and when you are stopped, run a red light, or are involved in an accident.

I'd say that if the traffic cops do, then that's possibly because they don't know th Law, and/or it's potential to solicit a bribe. So I suppose an Int. permit would be safer, even if unnecessary. I also don't want to be the one who says categorically that there will not be a problem, and then there is. For likely an unjustified reason.

But . . . just for the record, I can't see anything in the National Road Traffic Act of 1996 to say anything about a foreign licence needing to be in English, nor even using a "Roman alphabet". And there is not even any mention of the licence requiring a photo. Chapter IV Section 23 under the preface "When licence not issued in terms of this Act deemed to be driving licence" simply says:<blockquote>Quote
<hr>a licence authorising the driving of a motor vehicle and which was issued in any other country. . . shall, in respect of the class of motor vehicle to which that licence or permit relates and subject to the conditions thereof, be deemed to be a licence for the purposes of this Chapter<hr></blockquote>In the next paragraph of 23 it then goes on to say:<blockquote>Quote
<hr>The period in respect of which a licence or an international driving permit referred to in subsection (1) shall be deemed to be a licence for the purposes of this Chapter, shall be as prescribed.<hr></blockquote>In other words (I think) this means that of you have a foreign licence in any alphabet, any language, it will be valid for as long a period as it is valid for in the issuing country.

So unless those words are amended in some other obscure place, I'd say that it's very likely that the car hire companies are imposing more stringent rules, so as to make it less likely that they'll be renting a car to an incompetent driver.

But to rephrase what I said at the beginning of this post, the traffic cops can sometimes be a law unto themselves. And I hasten to add that I'm not a lawyer.

I've now found what seems to be more recent S.A. Law. So let me retract my #23. I've found a Gov. doc that has a later date, 1999. And at a guess that was probably the time that we moved to the new "credit card" licences. I don't have time now to read the doc carefully, but a .pdf file on a Gov. website here is headed "NATIONAL ROAD TRAFFIC ACT, 1996" but also sub-headed " NATIONAL ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATIONS, 1999" And it has something (pages 74/75) about

1. A licence needs to be in an official language of the Republic. (I did wonder about all our 11 languages, when we were talking about "English or Afrikaans". Although I don't know if licences in any other S.A. official languages exist, the words are probably there to be "PC".)
or
2. There is an "authenticated" translation attached.
and
3. "such licence contains or has attached to it, a photograph and the signature of the licence holder"

It then goes on to say (as previously) that an Int. Driving Permit can be an alternative to the above.

So if your "foreign" licence is not in English with your photo, then yes, it seems that you need either an Int. Driving Permit or an attached "certified" translation.