International driving license?

[tintin]

Tintin, driving here everyday is the mistake.If l was unfortunate enough to hit anybody it wouldn't make any difference if l had a licence or not.You would have to pay the others expenses regardless.
An International licence expects one to adhere to the rules of the country where they drive...well here there are no rules...try and get a rule book in Indonesia and l'll give you $1000.000

OK, motormouth, you know better. I have driven a motorcycle everyday and everywhere on the island while in Bali, from 1988 (when my wife first taught me to drive one, here in the States), until 2007, the last time I was in Bali. I bought a Tiger in 1991, and for the 4 - 6 months each year I was in Bali, I averaged about 2,000-2,500 kms per month. It was one of the most enjoyable things I ever did. A car is like a box which isolates you from the rest of the world, but a motorcycle...now, that's REAL freedom:icon_biggrin: Believe me, you are the one who is making the mistake. :icon_rolleyes:

 

[Fred2]

Bali has a lot of problems with bogans from Australia riding motor bikes with no license, Strange when a license is so easy to get in Indonesia & international license is easy to get in you home country, I can't see why you wouldn't get one. I'am want to stay here for a long time so just easy to do the right thing, then you have no problems.

 

[T.J]

There are also fake licenses available here too. A 5 year international version which is a plastic one just like Australia costs Rp 350.000 and a paper version like the one your get from the NRMA costs Rp 100.000. Im not suggesting anyone break the law here but I know from experience that the police accept these.

 

[alphonso]

It's an International Driving Permit, not licence. The licence to drive is the one you hold in your home country. The permit that this thread is about is just a translation document. It's not a licence at all.

And whether you have this translation document or not, just like we all know, if there's an incident it's gonna be the bule's fault anyway.

 

[ronb]

...................if there's an incident it's gonna be the bule's fault anyway.

I don't see it as a matter of who is at fault because if it is quite clear that the local driver/rider was at fault, they will still hope or expect the westerner to pay.

The reasoning is more like: "Accidents are really unfortunate and cause damage to both parties which usually requires money to rectify. This person clearly has money, and this other person can hardly scrape together any, so isn't it it more equitable if the person with the money makes the bigger contribution."

The western reasoning which is more like "A was to blame and B was blameless, so therefore A should pay for everything even if he/she has no money" maybe just does not work here.

 

[motormouth]

Tintin...@1997 was about the time that the cheap credit was offered for motorcycles and bang the roads started clogging up.
I reckon you would be amazed if you came back.
As for a car being a box and isolated. Hey, driving to the surf at 5am with with stereo on is fine by me, likewise coming back in the dust and heat...turn on the A/C on relax.
As for pure freedom, l ride my pushbike @20klms every day,when the surf is crappy, like today, l'm up at 4.30 am ...not a sole on the roads.
Fred...l have a licence...not an International Permit....in my street alone , kids from the age of 8 ride without one, just like me

 

[motormouth]

Alphonso...well said

 

[alphonso]

Fair enough, the reasoning is understandable. It's all about bule money on this island. And every single local is of course dirt poor. :apathy:

But the premise or logic behind it is flawed. The suggestion that

This person clearly has money

is actually about as clear as mud.

And where the reasoning is that

the person with the money makes the bigger contribution

the word "bigger" may as well be omitted there, 'coz the local ain't contributing nuthin.

And if a local crowd starts forming, the bule is even more up the creek.

And if the polisi shows up, you're really up to your neck in it.

Regardless of fault.

In a nutshell, in a traffic incident here in Bali an International Driving Permit won't save you. But a fistful of Rupiah will. :greedy_dollars:

 

[tintin]

Tintin...@1997 was about the time that the cheap credit was offered for motorcycles and bang the roads started clogging up.
I reckon you would be amazed if you came back.
As for a car being a box and isolated. Hey, driving to the surf at 5am with with stereo on is fine by me, likewise coming back in the dust and heat...turn on the A/C on relax.
As for pure freedom, l ride my pushbike @20klms every day,when the surf is crappy, like today, l'm up at 4.30 am ...not a sole on the roads.
Fred...l have a licence...not an International Permit....in my street alone , kids from the age of 8 ride without one, just like me

What can I said, I really enjoyed driving a motorcycle in Bali and found it lots of fun and very practical. I used to commute practically everyday from my village in Nyuh Kuning to Sanur, and when not busy, I would drive all over the island, just for the fun of it, and fun it was, and certainly the best way to commune with nature and with the people. You'll probably think I am crazy, if I told you that I really enjoyed the driving even in the mad house which is Denpasar (But I would not set foot (a figure of speech) in the s**t holes, which are Kuta, Legian, etc) . Since I have been in Bali every single year, since 1984, I've seen the huge changes in all the aspects of the Island, and as you said, I did see the remarkable increase of the number of bebeks on the road in the late 1990s, but nothing to compare with what happened starting around 2005: that's when one could buy a bebek with only Rp750,000 down payment! In 2007, however, I remember that I did not enjoy so much riding the Tiger, first because I could not see very well any more, especially at night (I since have had a double cataract operation, so now it's 20/15 again in both eyes...), and I found my reflexes had rather diminished suddenly with the old age: so it was good bye the Tiger and I sold it.:icon_cry:

 

[motormouth]

Tintin, the minimum down payment now is 250.000rp, can you believe that.Every pembantu and all the kids have a bike now...can we turn back the clock??
No wait, just stop the petrol subsidy that would get rid of about 30% of the cars and bikes.
I read today that the government spends annually 200 trillion rp on petrol subsidy and only 100 trillion on infrastructure !!!

 

[JohnnyCool]

alphonso said:

It's an International Driving Permit, not licence. The licence to drive is the one you hold in your home country. The permit that this thread is about is just a translation document. It's not a licence at all.
And whether you have this translation document or not, just like we all know, if there's an incident it's gonna be the bule's fault anyway.

That's true. The "logic" is (or used to be), "if you weren't here in the first place, the 'accident' wouldn't have happened". Hard to argue with that.

As for:

In a nutshell, in a traffic incident here in Bali an International Driving Permit won't save you.

No - but if you survive being beaten to death by concerned locals, your insurance company will want it.

Driving cars or riding motorbikes around Bali without a "proper licence" or International Driving Permit, is plain stupid. What locals do has little to do with it. It gets really important if somebody gets seriously injured or killed, no matter where the "fault" lies.
The "fault" may be ambiguous, but telling the police you were unlicensed won't help matters.

:cold:

 

[Gurkha]

This is the real situation.
In the past, you could apply to IMI, the Indonesian Motor Touring Association (who were at Puma Motors, opposite Ace on GATSU). You needed the following documentation:
1. Copy of your local driving license
2. Copy of your KITAS
3. A completed application form
4. IDR 350 K
The process took 3 days, and the IDL was valid for 1 year.

In 2011, the procedure was changed and the POLICE became involved. They decided the validity of the license would be for 3 years!
Now, the procedure is as follows:
1. Fly to Jakarta.
2. check into a Hotel.
3. Go to the HQ of the Traffic Police near Semanggi
4. Submit your original KITAB ( a KITAS won't do) and local driving license. Take photocopies.
5 Pay RP. 1,500,000
6. Wait 3 weeks for your license.
If you want an IDL for a Car and Motorbike, you have to make 2 separate applications.
The total process should cost about 12 - 15 million rupiah ( hotels, flights etc.)

However there is a way around this typical official bureaucratic tangle.

Many countries ( eg. New Zealand) will accept your local license if it is accompanied by an approved official translation. My wife and I did this last month in preparation for a trip to NZ. The total cost for the translation (including couriering the translation from Auckland) was NZ $ 160 - and it took 5 days.

Now, if everyone did this, the sum total would be an enormous loss of revenue (both official and unofficial) for the 'boys in brown'
you can also get translations that are meant to be 'international' on the web but I question the validity of these documents.
GO FOR IT!