Road safety in any country is always a top concern especially when there are foreigners with international driver’s licenses who are unfamiliar with local road and traffic laws.  It is for this reason that some countries only validate international driver’s license for several months. After this grace period, a driver planning to stay in the host country must apply for a local driver’s license.

Visitors must understand that many road accidents happen because of ignorance of the law. In fact more than a million people die every year as bystanders along the roadside because of vehicles that lose control or from inability of the drivers to follow certain road laws.

 

Aside from this there are other concerns that can be provided to foreign drivers when attending a road safety/driver’s course. Two of these issues would be how to avoid being a victim of carjacking or how to adjust to driving on the opposite side of the road. International driving permits can be obtained should be obtained before leaving your home country and you should have a valid driver’s license with no pending violations.

If you are traveling to a country where the drivers stays on the left side of the road, do be sure to practice once you get to that country. Choose roads that are sparsely used and avoid heavy traffic. It’s disorienting to say the least for the first few runs, and will take days if not weeks to get used to it.

In some countries, aside from the international driver’s permit, one must also get a road permit. Check with local authorities if it applies to the foreign country you are in. If you are caught driving without the legal papers, you will face large fines that could knock your budget out of the park. It would be much easier to ask instead of waiting for something catastrophic to happen to ruin your sty.