Thank you for your comments regarding prawo jazdy (drivers license). I thought that instead of just waiting for my readers’ input, I should do some digging as well. And guess what? I think I found what we’ve been after. I hope, anyway.
The link I found provides not only the correct (or supposedly correct) procedure for exchanging a foreign drivers license for a Polish one, but also comes with a handy list of countries whose lucky citizens don’t need to take (and pass!) the written test in Poland. In theory.
Why “in theory”? Because I do know several people from the countries listed on there, who were told they needed to take the written test, even though the list clearly states they should have been exempt. Ahhh… Poland…
In another official document issued by Wydział Komunikacji (Dept. of Transport) I read that an IDL is only good for 6 months from getting pobyt czasowy or stały in Poland. And that state issued American licenses are not recognized as legal drivers licenses in Poland, but American issued IDLs are. Confused? I know I am.
So to clarify the issue a bit, I thought it would be a good idea to call a lady I know who works for an insurance company. And just as I suspected… and what one of the commenters mentioned here on the previous post. While you might be able to wing it and drive on an IDL or a foreign license in Poland, it may get very complicated if you get in a car accident. Apparently, in order to get any kind of insurance money, if you are driving a car that is registered and insured in Poland, and you yourself are a resident in Poland, you need to have a Polish drivers license.
Actually, I know that some other EU countries have similar requirements (but of course the cars are registered and insured in those countries) so I suspect that it’s not just a convenient excuse from a Polish insurance company.
Oh, and what’s an IDL in Polish? Międzynarodowe prawo jazdy.
To be continued…
