Ik heb een rijbewijs uit de Verenigde Staten, deze week gehaald vanwege een verblijf in Los Angeles van drie maanden. Ik ben Nederlander en woon officieel in Nederland, hoewel ik meer tijd in Duitsland doorbreng. Ik begrijp dat ik mijn Amerikaanse rijbewijs niet kan omwisselen in een Nederlandse. In hoeverre mag ik met een Amerikaans rijbewijs, eventueel in combinatie met een internationaal rijbewijs, in Nederland rijden? En in andere Europese landen, mag ik daar, zoals Amerikaanse toeristen bijvoorbeeld, met mijn rijbewijs uit Californie rijden?
Alvast bedankt.
Groeten,
Thomas.
p.s., hierbij mijn verslag van een ander forum, in het engels:
"i now have an interim california driver’s license, which functions as a regular license until they sent me the proper one in a few weeks.
the process took a week.
i went to the west l.a. social security office on monday last week to get a letter stating that, as a foreigner on a tourist visa, i’m not eligible for a social security number. the dmv requires either a ssn or this letter.
the next day i took the written test at the santa monica dmv without an appointment, they made me wait for about an hour so i had time to read the driver’s handbook. i passed the written test and they gave me a permit to drive as long as i’m accompanied by someone with a california license.
then i scheduled a behind-the-wheel driving test for today, for which a friend lent me his car. he had to come with me and show his registration and insurance papers. the test meant driving through santa monica for about 20 minutes. i passed the test and they handed me the interim driver’s license.
in the meantime, last week, i bought a 1988 chevrolet caprice, which i can now insure with the interim driver’s license. insurance was 170 dollars for three months.
they next question would be, is there any way i can legally drive with my california license when i come back to europe?
i know that it’s basically useless in holland, they just make you do the (expensive, difficult) dutch test from scratch.
would it make a difference if i got an international driving permit while i’m here?
also, although i’m dutch and officially a resident of the netherlands, i actually spent most of my time in germany.
since i’m technically not a german resident (although i have an apartment in berlin) would it be okay for me to drive there on the american license, as an american tourist could?
thanks for any tips"