Automobile Association Of Ceylon

[Sifaan]

Hi!

I got membership of AAC when I wanted an International Driving License earlier this year; at the office they said I had to become a member of AAC to get the IDL (although after reading this I think I could've been ripped off)

I've got a reminder saying my membership is due for renewal at the end of the year and am wondering if there are any AAC members here and if they feel the membership is worth the money?

[Watchman]

Like i'd said in that thread, No you DONT need to get the membership.

The RMV has only authorized the AA to be the issuing agent for IDLs. Nothing more. The AAC is a private entity and the RMV cant (and doesnt) force people to join it.

[YALA]

you dont need to get it..i got mine and i didnt get the membership..i know what you are talking about since when i called them up to ask how i need to proceed with getting it they wanted me to pay 7000 something saying membership cost will be xxxxx and IDL cost xxxx amounting o 7000 approx. but then i said i just need the IDL then she said well then you only need to pay a far less amount...i guess you werent specific enough to tell her what you want

[Sifaan]

you dont need to get it..i got mine and i didnt get the membership..i know what you are talking about since when i called them up to ask how i need to proceed with getting it they wanted me to pay 7000 something saying membership cost will be xxxxx and IDL cost xxxx amounting o 7000 approx. but then i said i just need the IDL then she said well then you only need to pay a far less amount...i guess you werent specific enough to tell her what you want

I was getting it in a hurry and the impression they gave me was that I had to become a member; tend to agree with Watchman's view that it's a cheap trick to get in some extra membership revenue.

Anyway, what I would actually like to know is if there is any benefits in the membership - the legal advice, the discount on the towing, whatever?

[madmax]

FYI: Anyone traveling to the US for a short term need not get a International Drivers License. US authorities honor the Sri Lankan Drivers license. You can drive upt o 3 months in most states on an foreign license that is accepted.

[MadMMX]

Actually membership isn't a total ripoff - they have a pretty good subsidized car washing service that actually works on sunday as well (try getting a high pressure car wash for less that 150 bucks !!), the towing service is also available and there are a few pluses to the membership. All in all the yearly sub costs peanuts so I don't think its a bad thing to have.

Just my two cents.

Cheers,

Madmmx

[jdnet]

FYI: Anyone traveling to the US for a short term need not get a International Drivers License. US authorities honor the Sri Lankan Drivers license. You can drive upt o 3 months in most states on an foreign license that is accepted.

used mine for one year and never had a problem. Even got a speeding ticket like 9 months after I first started using it and had no problems. The insurance company never asked anything either. When I finally got my state dl I had a clean record and no rate hikes.

[eyepea]

Anyway, what I would actually like to know is if there is any benefits in the membership - the legal advice, the discount on the towing, whatever?

My Dad has a life membership. Life membership, if it had been got ages ago, would have cost only a fraction of yearly membership renewal fees btw .

He used to get AA mechanics for little little problems like car hesitating to start etc. Also he got AA drivers when going on long distance trips. The charges, much less than if you get from elsewhere and a record of the people sent is with the AA.

But all this was many many years ago. I dunno how the service is now. (whether an AA mech will make a mess of your car or whether an AA driver will wreck it or hi-jack it now-a-days I cannot comment).

[SeanD]

They have a nice bar as well, if you're into that kind of thing...

[Bugatti]

FYI: Anyone traveling to the US for a short term need not get a International Drivers License. US authorities honor the Sri Lankan Drivers license. You can drive upt o 3 months in most states on an foreign license that is accepted.

I had an issue in California.. while trying to rent a car. They pulled out a huge book like dictionary which had all driving licenses from around the world, except SL...!

[SeanD]

I had an issue in California.. while trying to rent a car. They pulled out a huge book like dictionary which had all driving licenses from around the world, except SL...!

This all depends on your luck, and the best thing is to have an IDL on you at all times because they will not argue with this, (doesn't matter if your license is in English - if they've never heard of SL, it's suddenly your problem and not theirs). If you're not on a tourist or business visa then you must get a US license as well within 3 months. A couple of months before I left, (in Texas) a friend of mine visiting from Argentina (tourist visa) was pulled over for some taillight issue in his rental car (that he had rented using that license). The cop was damn rude, insisted my friend had no right to be driving without a US license or an IDL. Argentina is one of the countries where you can use the license for up to 3 years I believe in the US, but the guy was having none of it. When another friend pulled up this info on his phone, all the cop said is "I can read, I know the law, I was in the Army" (wtf has the Army got to do with knowing the law?) and proceeded to ticket him for $500 dollars. Which was thrown out by the court ("he fined you for that? Doesn't he know the law?") that was a laugh, but it's a damn hassle especially when you're just visiting the country.

US cops are no different to the cops here (and trust me, I've dealt with my fair share), they think they know everything and especially in the south tend to be ignorant racist pr***s. And unlike some of our jokers they will not spend time with arguments. If you're going to the States, don't let a 60 dollar IDL stand in the way of having things easy should you run in to such a situation - no matter what the actual law may be. Go ahead and get it, just for peace of mind. For other countries - it probably varies.

[SeanD]

Repost - these autolanka "fatal errors" are starting to get me down...

Edited November 19, 2010 by SeanD

[charithtg]

FYI: Anyone traveling to the US for a short term need not get a International Drivers License. US authorities honor the Sri Lankan Drivers license. You can drive upt o 3 months in most states on an foreign license that is accepted.

im just wondering, im planning on visitng US this year and doing a roadtrip so that i can visit my friends who are scattered all over the country. i just wanted to know that this IDL you guys are mentioning, is that the cardboard ID thinlg (looks just like the postal ID they issue) with a photo of the holder and bunch of purple stamps stamped on it. or do they issue something new now..

im asking coz i had one like 10 years back. and i never used the damn thing in US cos i was ashamed to show that peice of paper as an internationally recongnized doucment . any intel on this would be much appricated..

[Watchman]

Yes what you describe is the International driving license. And it's valid for only a year mind you. I too obtained it when I went to the US about 7-8 years ago. But as per madmax you might not need to worry about that anymore.

[YALA]

I think its valid for one year but the catch is its valid for one month from the date of entry to a country..atleast that's the impression the US folks gave me. though that was mentioned i used it for 6 months at a stretch without a problem for two years.

[iRage]

Actually YALA is correct...different countries have different validity periods after entering the country although the license itself maybe valid for 1 year, and sometimes depending on your visa status that changes....

[Crosswind]

im just wondering, im planning on visitng US this year and doing a roadtrip so that i can visit my friends who are scattered all over the country. i just wanted to know that this IDL you guys are mentioning, is that the cardboard ID thinlg (looks just like the postal ID they issue) with a photo of the holder and bunch of purple stamps stamped on it. or do they issue something new now..

im asking coz i had one like 10 years back. and i never used the damn thing in US cos i was ashamed to show that peice of paper as an internationally recongnized doucment . any intel on this would be much appricated..

MAchan, don't be so ashamed of that piece of cardboard. It's apparently a global standard!

I know it first hand because when I tried to rent a car in Australia, a Paki friend had a plastic card IDL and I had the cardboard thingy. Hertz rent a car accepted the cardboard saying it's the correct one and refused to accept the Paki's plastic card!

[iRage]

As Crosswinds said....the cardboard card is universal. This is my Japanese ID Permit; true the quality of the cardboard the inner sheets of paper and the priiting might be better than the SL one but it cost 3 times more than the SL one and has the exact same purpose. The instructions say you need to always have your actual plastic license with you. However, thus far no one has bothered to look at it.

Edited February 14, 2014 by iRage