#174 – Navigating Driver’s Licenses and Cultural Nuances in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:03] Hi everybody, I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America. The show that tells you what it's really like to live, work, play and or retire in Latin America. I tell it just like it is, not the version they give you in those glossy travel magazines or the picture they paint for you in those international traveler websites where they're only trying to sell you something. What's it really like for expats living in Latin America? Well, if you stick around a while, you'll find out. So let's get started. For the moment I like to address a comment I got from one of my new friends that I met at my seminar. Seems he was investigating into the driver's license thing down here in Latin America. And he knows I mentioned before about the international driver's license you can get. And I mentioned that it's a legal way to drive down here in Latin America if your first world

[00:50] license expires and you're still down here. Though some people have expressed doubts about that to me. Well, let me clear the air right now. So about that international driver's license. And I think I mentioned on my show that it's good for four years. But it seems that when my friend went and checked it out on the internet, he was somehow directed to AAA, you know, American Automobile Association, where you can get an international driver's license, but it's only good for one year at a time. And now, according to how I understand it, the U.S. State Department has somehow intervened and you can't get that international license for more than one year at a time. That is if you have a current U.S. license and you order it from a U.S. company. However, that's not entirely true. It seems that if you get that international license from AAA, yes, it's going to be only

[01:37] for one year. But now here's the trick. There are some other issuing agencies out there that you can find online where you can get that international driver's license for four years, five years, even ten years without ever having to renew it. Now, let me explain about these driver's licenses for a second. Of course, if you're going to rent a car down here in Latin America, like anywhere else, they're going to ask you for your driver's license and some ID and a credit card and all that. And they're going to try to make sure your license is valid, that is, not expired. However, here's the thing. If you come down here to Latin America with your Ohio driver's license, for example, of course it's good for driving and renting a car as long as it's valid. And depending what state you're from, your driver's license could be valid anywhere from three to five years.

[02:23] And a lot of people who are thinking about moving down here to Latin America are a little concerned about that. They're worried that if their stateside driver's license expires when they're down here, then they're going to be in trouble if they get pulled over. But let me just tell you this. You wouldn't believe how lax the police are down here in general, especially when you get pulled over and you pulled out a first world driver's license. Now, if you're on the tourist trail, like Costa Rica and Panama, and the cops have seen a lot of tourist licenses coming from the states, Europe or Canada or wherever, the first thing they might try to do is nick you for a little bribe, like I talked about before. After all, you're the rich gringo or European tourist. And if they try to explain to you that you've committed a certain kind of violation, which you probably haven't, they'll still say you can pay it right there.

[03:09] 20, 40, or even 50 bucks means nothing to a tourist. You just want to get the hell out of there and get back to the beach, right? Now let me explain one more thing. The cops down here in Latin America are not going to check the validity of your driver's license. They have no way of checking it. Now, if you're a sneaky or even a snakey kind of person and have a fake or a forged license from up in the states, you know, you read things like that happening all the time in the big cities up north. That's the basis of a lot of identity thefts up there. You can download and Photoshop almost anything these days. And I know some of them are so real, the average person would never be able to tell. And how do I know this? Because when I run into Latins down here that have been deported from the states because they were there illegally and somehow got caught, they come right out and tell me about

[03:54] it. In fact, they show me these completely illegal and fictitious California and Texas driver's license that they purchased from people who sell that kind of stuff to illegals on the black market for like 500 bucks for the good quality ones and even cheaper for the kind of iffy looking ones. In fact, I've seen one or two Illinois ones. And I can't tell them apart from the real thing. So if I can't tell the difference and I had one of those things for years, how can you expect a cop down here in Latin America whose minimum requirement for the job is a sixth grade education? How can you expect a guy like that to tell the difference between a real and a fake driver's license from any state up north? Because you see, when you're off the tourist trail, your average traffic cop is not going to pull over people like you with first world driver's licenses, except maybe once in a

[04:40] very blue moon. Because there are so few gringos and Europeans driving cars down here off the tourist trail. And the funny thing, when I used to have my first world license and I don't anymore because I've been down here way too long and the only way I can get my Illinois license renewed is to go back there. And surely I'll have to take the whole damn written and road test again too, because my Illinois license expired something like 17 years ago. Actually if I took the test again, I'd probably fail it. And you see, that's a real worry of people who are down here on their first world license. If they're down here long enough and become permanent expats, what do they do for a driver's license? Do they just go down to the local Belize City driver's testing station, show them their expired or nearly expired US license, and get a brand new one from Belize or the country

[05:27] that they're living in? Well no, it's not quite that easy. And it's not really a difficult problem either. You've got two choices there. You can either fly back to Ohio for a day and renew your license for another four years, and then you're safe down here in Latin America too. Or you can apply for residency in the Latin country that you're in, and as soon as your lawyer files those residency papers, he can take you down to the local driver's testing station and you will be able to get a local license and it's usually good for from one to five years, depending on the country you're in. But don't take that wrong, when I say one to five years, they're all good for at least four to five years, if you pay the full fee for that four or five years. But they give you the option to buy the license for only one, two, or three years instead of the four or five.

[06:13] Now you certainly got to be wondering who would do that? Who would go down to the Bolivian Motor Vehicle Department and only get a driver's license for one year? That means you'd have to come back every year to renew it, right? And stand in line for another four hours, because that's what it usually takes. I mean, that just doesn't happen in the States, you buy it or renew it for four or five years and that's just what it is. That's what you get. There's no other choice. Well, having that one, two, or three year option just shows you that the economic status of the average Latin person who has a driver's license is pretty damn low, because if to renew your driver's license down here for five years is 50 bucks, that means for the person who's really short on cash, if he's got 10 bucks, he can at least renew for one year. And if he's got $20, then two years and 33 years, etc.

[06:59] Now here's the thing, just because the average guy down here could never afford a car, that doesn't mean the average Joe doesn't have a driver's license. In fact, down here in Latin America, it's been estimated that there are about six times as many or more people with driver's licenses than people who actually own cars. Whereas up in the States, things are drastically different. That number is more like one to one. There are actually more vehicles on the road in the United States, some 230 million, than licensed drivers, of which there are about 190 million. So the point is, about five or six times as many Latins go out and get their driver's license than can actually afford a car or a motorcycle. And there's two reasons for this. One is, it's a point of pride and considered a very cool thing to have a driver's license.

[07:45] It's the first step on the road to actually having a car, although that dream almost never comes true. Anyway, not for your average Latin American. Just like in the United States, it's considered a point of pride and kind of a cool thing to have a passport, even though in the US, most people who have passports never actually use them. But then again, it is the first step to actually planning a trip out of the country. But in reality, more than three quarters of the trips outside the country for Americans end up being quick jaunts across the border to Tijuana or Montreal, or a cheap package deal to Costa Rica or Cancun. And then there's those famous three and four day carnival cruises, where you land for a few hours in Kingston or Nassau, and you get off the boat, walk a few blocks, buy a few trinkets and you're back on board. That is, unless they have a casino nearby where you disembark, then you'll hang there

[08:34] for a while, lose some money, and get back on board a real seasoned third world traveler. Then when you get back home, you'll show your friends the photos of that great third world foreign adventure that you had. Yes, we plucky Americans have always been quite the risk takers, haven't we? But back to those driver's licenses. Now, like I said, there's no way the average adult Latin American could ever afford a car. He just doesn't have the resources. But he probably has a driver's license, one he either renews year after year or has just given up on and doesn't renew at all. But there is a second reason besides ego that the average Latin American does have a driver's license. And that's because so many job wanted ads have that as a qualification. You must have a driver's license, in a way that kind of pre-qualifies a guy for the job.

[09:21] And the fact is, down here, most retail outfits and almost all restaurants have a motorcycle delivery or carry out service, where they bring the stuff right to your house. And a lot of people have asked me about this, they say, they're surprised that Wendy's and McDonald's and Burger King and Subway, as well as pharmacies and hardware stores and auto parts stores, all have a fleet of motorcycles and or small trucks for home delivery. So that just means, Latins who actually do drive, are driving someone else's vehicle. The companies are the bosses. But what about you? What if you come down here for three months and you really like it, and you stay on a long long time and your Ohio driver's license expires? Then what happens? Well, I'll tell you what, in that case, no matter how lax the car companies are down

[10:08] here, they won't let you rent one. However, I'm telling you this, and you can take it to the bank, that if you're off the tourist trail and you get pulled over for any reason or stopped at a roadblock, even if you don't know any Spanish at all, and in fact it's probably better if you claim no hablo español, in the case that your first world license has actually expired. Though, as I'll explain, it's really nothing to get nervous about. Now, I'm not really straying here again, but there's something you should really know about the way Latin Americans write down and read calendar dates, because this has some bearing on the way cops will read your driver's license. You know, when we first world people say August 20th, 2012, for example, we write the numbers out 8-20-2012. But all throughout Latin America, they write the day first, the month second, and then

[10:58] the year. So, they'll write August 20, 2012 as 28-2012, and that's something that takes quite a while for us first world people to get used to, and the average Latin is oblivious to the way we do it. So, if on your US driver's license it says, the license expires on 12-1-2012, to you and me that means December 1st, 2012, but to Latin's reading that, or any Latin cop, he's thinking January 12, 2012, because they always read the day and the month in reverse from the way we read it, and that goes for the way they write it down too. So, if you're down in Peru in August of 2012, and you get pulled over and that cop reads

[11:44] your license, and it expires on December 1st, 2012, he's going to think it's expired already by about seven months. Now, do remember, when you're dealing with cops, these are very basic guys with a very basic education, like sixth grade or so, and trying to explain our numeric calendar conventions would be like them trying to explain to us the difference between salsa and merengue, and since we're gringos and don't have that dancing gene, we'll just never get it. But speaking of that license dilemma, here's the good news, in fact it's great news. Don't even worry about it, unless of course you're in one of those first world wannabe countries like Panama, Costa Rica, Chile or Argentina. And let me include Mexico in on that too, because they're very big on stopping first

[12:31] world tourists with first world plates on their cars for bribes and fines. But off the tourist trail, an expired first world license is not a problem. And what mostly happens is, pulling over a gringo or first world person is such a novelty for the average cop, that a lot of times they actually try to become buddies with you, since practically every lower and middle class Latin American, including cops, has a relative up in the states. Illegal of course, but they don't mention that. Which is why they want to bond with you. In fact I personally have had cops pull me over and start telling me stories about when they were in Chicago or New York or New Jersey, and of course it's easy to figure out a guy like that was there illegally and deported. You can always tell by the bad broken street English.

[13:17] Of course they'll never tell you they got kicked out, because that's a little too embarrassing. But you see, that's what commonly happens down here. Many of the cops and transit people themselves are former deported aliens from the states. And you see, because they were up in the states for a while and learned a bit of English, usually very badly broken English, it still looks very good on a cop's resume down in Latin America. That and a sixth grade education will get you the job. Anyway, my point is here, you've got that gringo advantage going for you when you get pulled over by the cops too. Again, off the tourist trail. In fact I know that for some years, ex-pat Eddie was using his cousin's expired Texas driver's license. And like all of us, Eddie gets pulled over once in a while at these roadblocks. And one time I was with him in Salvador when he did get pulled over with that Texas driver's license.

[14:07] Now it was about four years expired already. And the photo on the license, well, it didn't look much like Eddie, but who can tell with those kinds of photos anyway? And Eddie's always got a good story. He says if they ever question his photo, he's ready and willing to tell him that he had a nose job and a chin implant. But you know, he's never had to use that story because they always accept that license. Even though the time I got stopped with him, not only was it expired, but it was pretty moldy around the edges. And by the way, there's one thing you gotta know about Latin America, especially if you're in the beach areas and the lower altitudes. Things get moist, and sometimes they stay moist for a long time. And moisture tastes its toll, especially on wallets and anything leather. And of course, anything you've got inside that wallet is also susceptible.

[14:53] But you can forget what I said about that when you're in the Altiplano region. You know, the eternal spring hire elevations that I talk about. Yup, you still have a tropical rainy season for about half the year, but you don't sweat. You don't have that constant cap of sweat on you that you do down in the lower elevations. And just a little heads up when you are buying things or doing business, in those lower elevations where it's hot and humid. Your dollars and the local money will often be just limp with moisture, and actually kind of smelly and disgusting. In fact, I don't even want to think about what kind of tropical germs and parasites and disgusting organic bits that are embedded in that stuff. That's why it's a very good idea to wash your hands after you've done some kind of transaction with any of the local money. And I'd bet on it, that's the source of a lot of Montezuma's revenge for gringos that

[15:41] come down here for short spurts. Few people think of washing their hands after doing a monetary transaction up in the States, because the money is usually dry and kind of clean looking. Kinda. And of course, that money's not clean either, and it has an organic remnants of the last hundred people that touched it too. Just try not to think of the sterling hygiene you saw last time you were in a public bathroom. But no matter how bad and contaminated the money is up in the First World, in reality, Third World paper money isn't a class by itself. I try not to imagine what kind of horrible stuff is setting up shop on the faces of their dead presidents. Yuck. Certainly there are a few mutant organisms that have never been cultured before. But I was speaking about driver's licenses now, wasn't I? Man, did I get off track. But you know, you can't stretch that expired First World driver's licensing too far now.

[16:33] And finally, in Eddie's case, he did get his residency in Salvador, so like I said before, once you have residency, you just walk down to the motor vehicle department with your lawyer and you qualify for a local driver's license. But you know, down here in Latin America, a lot of First World people don't ever get their residency. Instead, they prefer to stay way off the radar and keep renewing their tourist visa every 90 days, which involves popping over a border and staying overnight or not in an adjacent country and then coming right back in. Then you get another 90 day stamp. Now you can do that indefinitely. But it's not going to help your driver's license situation, because your own license from the First World, whatever state you are in, is going to expire eventually. So what are you going to do then?

[17:18] Only thing you can do is go back to the states and renew it, right? Well, some people, some expats, prefer never to go back to the states for whatever reason. So that First World license renewal thing is out of the question. And that's why so many expats I know who prefer not to get residency down here. Well, what they end up doing is buying one of those international driver's licenses. And these days it's a very nice First World looking document with a little official booklet that tells what it's all about. And it's in quite a few different languages. So if you ever get pulled over, you just pull that license out and you'd never have any trouble with cops or authorities, since of course it's in Spanish too. And it's good in nearly all the 200 countries in the world, except the country it was issued

[18:04] in. Which is kind of an odd thing now, isn't it? So if you get yours issued in the United States, then you can't use it in the United States. But that's not what we want to use it for anyway. So that part's really not important at all. Now here's the question that's always on everyone's mind. If you read the fine print, when you get one of these international driver's licenses, it says that you can only get that license if you have a valid license from another country, whether it's a valid license from the US or wherever. Well that means if your license is expired or you don't have one at all, you can't get an international driver's license then, right? Wrong. Because the fact is, they're going to take your money and they're going to issue a driver's license. Because you see, this is not a government issuing agency or a government authorized

[18:52] office. Sure, the license itself was authorized by the United Nations, which gives it its authenticity. And it was agreed to and signed off by at least 190 countries. But that was just the agreement to allow legal issuance of these licenses. And you know, when you fill out the form for one of these things, they ask you to scan your current valid license and send it to them with the application by jpeg file. And a number of expats that I've talked to have done that. Some sending scans of their first world licenses that are valid. Some sending scans of first world licenses that are expired. And some sending scans of first world licenses that they'd photoshopped to make look like they weren't expired. And guess what? They do get that international driver's license every time.

[19:37] As long as you pay that fee, which could be as cheap as 50 bucks. Now, again, I'm just reporting what long-term expats living down here have told me. I'm not suggesting you do any of this stuff, but I'm telling it like it is. Certain smart expats down here, who prefer to be on a perpetual tourist visa, once they get that international driver's license, they're legal again to drive. Even if that so-called valid U.S. driver's license expires, now they've got an international driver's license that's good almost everywhere. And it won't expire for 10 years. And I'm saying it's good for 10 years if you order it from the right place. Because some places, like I said, will only give you a four-year license. And others, like AAA, will only give you one that lasts one year. So what good is that? And you should know this.

[20:24] According to the international rules, or at least the rules you read on the websites that are selling these things, well, when you're driving in a foreign country, you're supposed to be carrying the international driver's license and your valid first world license, too. Then if you get pulled over, you hand both to the cop. Which to me is really pretty stupid, because why would you want an international driver's license if you have to carry a valid first world license, too? Sounds like money for nothing, right? But what these international driver's license websites always say is that your international license is in eight languages. So any cop should be able to read it, no matter what country you get stopped in. Well that to me is a pretty lame excuse, because like I said before, down here in Latin America, if you get pulled over, when you show that cop your first world Ohio or Missouri or Wisconsin

[21:13] license, to them it's as good as gold and you're in no difficulty at all. As long as if and when they ask for your passport, you're the same guy on the passport as you are on your license. Oh and by the way, I did say that Eddie was using his cousin's Texas driver's license for years. Now you're probably wondering if they pull him over and he pulls that out, it won't match his passport, so he'll be in big trouble, right? Well guess what, down here in Latin America, at least off the tourist trail, they never ask you for anything like that. No other ID documents at all, like passports. Here's what they ask you for, your driver's license and the paperwork on your car to see if it's registered, not stolen, and that the license fees have been paid for the year. In fact, as for me, I've been down here 20 years or so now and I've been pulled over

[22:01] a lot of times. Not exactly pulled over, but just stopped at a routine roadblock and asked for my papers. Anyway, in all those years I've never been asked myself for my passport or any other ID document, but a driver's license and the registration papers for the car, that's it. The exception to that rule is if you're going across an international border, then you'll have to show them your passport, your driver's license, and your car's original paperwork. Because at Latin Borders what they're really interested in is that you're not driving a stolen car and bringing it through the border to another country. Now I know a lot of the things I've been talking about today are a bit dodgy, but that's just the way it is down here, that's why they call it the third world, and why in fact so many first world people who come down here for a visit end up staying. I mean imagine being stopped by a cop down here and you don't have a driver's license

[22:49] on you at all. Now the worst thing that can happen to you in this case if you're off the tourist trail is that you might get fined 40 or 50 bucks. And get this, it's not the driver without the license that gets fined, the fine is assigned to the car owner's license. So when his next license plates renewal comes up for that car, the car's registered owner will pay that fine, not the person driving without the license. Now imagine getting caught by a cop going the wrong way down a one way street. Down here, 9 times out of 10, they'll just figure you're a stupid gringo and wave you the other way. That's just typical of what happens down here in Latin America regarding traffic violations. But there are a few more points about those international licenses. Now suppose you get one for 10 years, and your regular Ohio driver's license expires

[23:39] after 2. Now you don't have a first world driver's license that's current. Well guess what, even though it says on those international driver's license websites that you have to carry both licenses with you, your international driver's license and your course, like I said, has expired already. Anyway, the good news is, down in Latin America, the police don't care. They never got the memo, they just want a driver's license document. And it's obviously apparent to every expat I know that police departments in Latin America never once read those international driver's license rules. But then again, they never learned anything about traffic laws either. Or maybe it's just because they're uninitiated and don't give a damn. Either way, an international driver's license is more than adequate.

[24:27] They never ask you for anything else. In fact, expat Eddie, who used to use one of these things all the time, after his Texas license got eaten up at the laundromat, well Eddie swears that when he'd pull out his international driver's license, occasionally the cop would ask him if he worked at the United Nations. Because you see, on that little card, it has a little blurb on it and a seal that says it was authorized by an international United Nations treaty. And obviously in the minds of some of these highly educated Latin American cops, they think that somehow you're connected with the UN too. You see, most cops have never seen one of these things before. And they seem to be quite impressed by them. And why not? They have a holographic imprint and a barcode too. But do remember, down here in Latin America, if you get pulled over for any reason at all

[25:13] and they take your first world driver's license and have a look at it, there's no way they can check on it. They can't check on the authenticity. If it's been revoked, how many points you've got against you? Nothing. They've got no computer connection to the first world on that at all. Even so, the cop cars are not equipped with any kind of internet. And after about a year, the radio in most cop cars doesn't work anymore either. Down here, the cop's own personal cell phone is his police radio. But anyway, even when you're pulled over, you've got that gringo advantage. Why don't you show them that first world driver's license, even if it's expired? That puts you in an entirely different category in a cop's mind. Because in fact, it's the kind of driver's license every Latin American would like to

[25:59] have. Oh, and by the way, if you want to get one of those 10 year international driver's license for yourself, just go to www.idlid.com. So skip AAA and the other ones that only give you one year or four year driving privileges, and go for that 10 year one. It's the expat's choice, so check it out. Oh, and by the way, I forgot to tell you, the international driver's license covers all types of vehicles from motorcycles to heavy trucks to big rigs and tuk-tucks and of course passenger vehicles. You just have to indicate on your application form which types of vehicles you want listed on your driver's license. So why not check them all off? You know, when you think about it, it almost sounds too easy, and you know, in some ways

[26:46] it's one of the few things in life that's too good to be true, yet it actually is for real. Now, I've been talking about the advantages of using one of these things, but if you try to use it in a first world country, you're going to have to produce that other valid first world license, and if you don't, you'll be in a heap of trouble. Because you see, not only do first world cops play by the book, they've usually made it past the sixth grade. Oh, and by the way, any time Eddie was asked if he worked for the United Nations, he always said yes. If you could say it with a straight face like Eddie, it's practically a get out of jail free card, and even if you hate everything the UN stands for, and think it's a corrupt bureaucratic nightmare. Like Eddie says, we've been paying for it, so why not profit from it?

[27:38] You've been listening to The Expat Files, living in Latin America, coming to you each week from somewhere south of the border, and don't forget you can email me on anything at all about Latin America, theexpatfiles at gmail.com. Once again, theexpatfiles at gmail.com. See you next time, nos vemos.