tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post7843896820500316289..comments2023-11-05T09:55:13.077+02:00Comments on Itching for Eestimaa: kükita, alabamaGiustinohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-46169539325255024582013-09-07T11:13:14.462+02:002013-09-07T11:13:14.462+02:00I googled Martasmimi's last question and got a...I googled Martasmimi's last question and got a forum post with a possible answer: "Remember, an International Driving Permit is required in Schengen countries for Americans. You may never get asked for it if you have it with you. Then again, if you do get asked for it and don't have one, you will have problems." <br /><br />Estonia is also a Schengen country. <br />As with the police's attitude.. I agree it's a cultural thing, you may experience super friendly service or the opposite - very cold or impassive. <br />If a cop would suggest to drive a middle aged or older Estonian to home in the US for the same reason, this Estonian would be embarrassed by it. Not in front of the cop, but in front of the neighbours etc. It's the dead hand of the past: fright to act wrongly. <br /><br />But it is said, driving while being tired is the same as driving while drunk. 80 km/h would not make things better, maybe only worse for those cars who follow you with 90 km/h.Krkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16031770708549303678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-72472277234238903082013-08-23T15:32:17.978+02:002013-08-23T15:32:17.978+02:00Yes, I am the new Libahunt. No, I am not whining a...Yes, I am the new <i>Libahunt</i>. No, I am not whining about it.Giustinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04756707910693785516noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-31853492399581683182013-08-22T21:45:45.436+02:002013-08-22T21:45:45.436+02:00Lot of Estonia(ns)hating by patronising foreigners...Lot of Estonia(ns)hating by patronising foreigners going on here. That Liivimaa guy should go and try bribing Estonian police few times, moron would end up in jail real quick.<br /><br />Funny how everybody forgets what Justin himself honestly is saying, how he was dead tired riding dangerous Tartu road. police was informed by another driver, who obviously was pretty worried about his reckless driving style (trust me, Estonians dont call police just because someone is driving a little slow or a little fast, usually, when they see real danger to other drivers).<br /><br />i agree police could have had a little more empathy, but kind of funny of potential road murderer to whine about it :) Did you have any empathy for the children you were putting in danger?<br />Btw, police comment on this (did you Justin or your wife go to Delfi.ee to shove it on them?): https://www.facebook.com/politseijapiirivalveamet/posts/583814251665510 Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00429502474892201875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-57424283314949355212013-08-22T20:18:59.753+02:002013-08-22T20:18:59.753+02:00That said - the rule that you have to give up your...That said - the rule that you have to give up your existing driver's license to get one in Estonia is beyond ridiculous. I can't think of any reason why that would be necessary.Lihtsa Elu Taavihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04895911213171344102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-66374991866183857922013-08-22T20:16:31.663+02:002013-08-22T20:16:31.663+02:00Not sure about NY laws, but in Estonia you cannot ...Not sure about NY laws, but in Estonia you cannot legally drive if you're so tired you cannot stay in your own lane and have to go 20 below the speed limit. Especially with 2 kids in the car, didn't it occur to you that stopping and resting a little bit might be a better solution than potentially going off the road and getting all of you killed? Maybe you should take local traffic school?Lihtsa Elu Taavihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04895911213171344102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-33054899823529694502013-08-22T13:17:22.526+02:002013-08-22T13:17:22.526+02:00If a tourist rents a car in Estonia or anywhere el...If a tourist rents a car in Estonia or anywhere else in EU, usually there's no problem with U.S or any other driving licence, but law acutally requires international driving permit which is basically a translation of driving licence. But in Justins situation, it doesn't help because licence has to be changed to Estonian driving licence if a person lives in Estonia more than 185 days a year. <br /><br />Justins problem was that maybe he was trying to be to honest. Don't say to policeman more than you are asked and everything will be fine. You gave yourself away when you said you've lived here for 11 years. From this moment, policeman saw the probable violation and he had to act like he is required. You should have said that you live in NY but you visit Estonia quite often. Other thing is that don't ever try to speak estonian with any policeman, it shows that you aren't just a tourist and you'll be treated as a local. <br />Have you ever driven a car with foreign licence plate in Estonia and then switched to car with local licence plate? Then you see how other drivers treat foreigners and how they treat locals. It's the same with policemen attitude.<br />Policeman was just doing his job and he had to drive your attention to this violation. Otherwise if he starts to treat people by choice, he wouldn't be a policeman anymore. In your case, he turned his head away later to let you go, you just were to honest again and didn't understand it. Estonian traffic law in english, answer to your questions is under § 99 s6'1. It's odd that ARK clerk didn't know it. http://www.legaltext.ee/et/andmebaas/tekst.asp?loc=text&dok=XXXXXX10K4&keel=en&pg=1&ptyyp=RT&tyyp=X&query=liiklusseadusSerial_https://www.blogger.com/profile/15318785420664095266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-40346143013799008212013-08-22T12:18:49.210+02:002013-08-22T12:18:49.210+02:00I personally feel like the drivers license system ...I personally feel like the drivers license system in Estonia is quite complicated, especially for foreigners. It is yet another example of being stuck in old ways and making travel and living in different places on earth hard.<br />I live in GB currently and I did my drivers license in Estonia. I drove for 2 years with my "beginners license" and then moved to GB. The whole confusion on the topic was just stressful. I went to visit Estonia during winter and wanted to apply for another license again, because Estonian beginners license works as a full license in UK, when I was told in quite a "I really don't care" manner that you can't have a license anymore, before you go and do the ice driving test. Apparently the laws had changed in the summer and you couldn't get another beginners license. <br />So I just felt let down really, because I had paid a huge amount of money for my drivers lessons and exams and then after two years I am apparently not a capable driver in Estonia, because I haven't done some winter driving test. Yet I was allowed to drive during two rough winters with my beginners license. It really makes me feel like it is all for just making some extra money.<br />Gladly though, I could change my Estonian license which had expired, into UK drivers license with a little bit of money and I didn't even have to do any tests or anything, although people in UK drive on the other side. If I ever wanted to go back to Estonia again, I could change my UK license into FULL Estonian license, without having to do any ice driving tests. So there are loopholes in the laws too.<br />I wish things were made easier, it is 21st century and people do travel and move to other countries for various reasons, I don't see why it has to be made so hard. After all, all I want to do is just live and have a normal life, without being pulled around and having to pay extra for everything, just because I am foreign.Katlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12109300613100022312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-5399798645684241502013-08-21T21:16:53.295+02:002013-08-21T21:16:53.295+02:00I rented in Tallinn with my NY license and the pro...I rented in Tallinn with my NY license and the problem that arose was with insurance coverage, not Estonian motor vehicle regs. Seems that the insurance carrier did not want to accept my NY license without an IDP - which I didn't have at the time.<br />In the end Europcar wanted my business more than they wanted to worry about their insurance carrier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-48370332492207567262013-08-21T20:50:53.502+02:002013-08-21T20:50:53.502+02:00*We rented a van in Roma... and drove all over Ita...*We rented a van in Roma... and drove all over Italia for 10 days with a New York Drivers License...<br /><br />* rented for several days in Germany no problem.<br /><br />*Switzerland for a week no problem.<br /><br />* Ireland no problem<br /><br />*UK No problem<br /><br />St John VI no problem<br /><br />Tortola VI no problem<br /><br />Canada never a problem<br /><br />They always rent to us and we don't have international licenses.<br /><br />So is there a problem ?<br /><br />Martasmimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00904404170845733669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-5211253800165084262013-08-21T20:49:46.568+02:002013-08-21T20:49:46.568+02:00*We rented a van in Roma... and drove all over Ita...*We rented a van in Roma... and drove all over Italia for 10 days with a New York Drivers License...<br /><br />* rented for several days in Germany no problem.<br /><br />*Switzerland for a week no problem.<br /><br />* Ireland no problem<br /><br />*UK No problem<br /><br />St John VI no problem<br /><br />Tortola VI no problem<br /><br />Canada never a problem<br /><br />They always rent to us and we don't have international licenses.<br /><br />So is there a problem ?<br /><br />Martasmimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00904404170845733669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-46017536752475494872013-08-21T20:18:02.434+02:002013-08-21T20:18:02.434+02:00I'd accuse the officer of record of not being ...I'd accuse the officer of record of not being lenient enough only if it's certain that the stop was not documented. It might be HIS job on the line - we don't know that. <br /><br />I do see why there IS some confusion with US licenses. It wasn't until recently that there was a national database of driver's licenses IN the US. Asking a foreign country to deal with 50 different license designs is a little unreasonable. On the face of it. Doesn't excuse what happened, of course. <br /><br />It just sounds like a bureaucratic problem. Maybe Estonian police officials don't take enough trips to Interpol conferences where they can learn about best practices and how these things are done in countries like Germany and Britain. <br />Kristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394211030848077681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-73944809915558332212013-08-21T20:09:18.667+02:002013-08-21T20:09:18.667+02:00Marko, Eesti juhiluba ei ole siin ka aktsepteerita...Marko, Eesti juhiluba ei ole siin ka aktsepteeritav dokument, see tõendab sõiduõigust ainult, mitte isikut.luizehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03792480556799860442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-74492121729667982502013-08-21T20:04:15.363+02:002013-08-21T20:04:15.363+02:00The comments above are a little confusing.
Ameri...The comments above are a little confusing. <br /><br />Americans *can* drive and rent cars in Europe with their US licenses. Germany and Sweden are no problem, but there are quite a few countries (even Italy is one) where you will need an international driving permit, which is issued in the US by AAA. They do tend to be the ones with former Napoleonic legal systems, so why Estonia is behaving this way is odd..<br /><br />I have successfully rented cars in Italy and Austria without the IDP so it appears to be loosely enforced, if at all. Estonia used to be cool with it too, but in 2006 I was pulled over in Põlva County for doing 106 in a 90. I was fined 600 kroons for driving without a license and told I couldn't drive any further. Luckily my wife was in the car. I'm trying to track down why the change in policy happened, but they are certainly being strict about it. My information is that no other country in Europe is so strict. Giustino's point about why this is is well taken. I suspect a misunderstanding in the mid-level bureaucracy. <br /><br />Ever since, I have driven with a Virginia license and an IDP and I have been fine, but have not been pulled over by Estonian police, so haven't really had a chance to test it. Was pulled over in Austria (a country that requires the IDP) but the cop was confused and uninterested when I proffered it to him. Kristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01394211030848077681noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-36857836220027056552013-08-21T19:50:16.640+02:002013-08-21T19:50:16.640+02:00Martasmimi, *can't drive* as in *not allowed t...Martasmimi, *can't drive* as in *not allowed to drive*. Sorry, in British English can't and not allowed are interchangeable terms.<br /><br /><br />It's nothing to do with these coppers being from Soviet generation. Why can't you just call a spade a spade. You can meet unprofessionally behaving officials all over the place. I'm sure there's a disciplinary procedure in place, Justin just has to make sure it will be followed through. Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-54989214534667411782013-08-21T19:42:42.901+02:002013-08-21T19:42:42.901+02:00They gave Justin a riddle. They could not answer i...They gave Justin a riddle. They could not answer it. The answer was right there. Hence the empty stares. The right answer was: you drive home after we are gone.<br /><br />They did not take your car keys, confiscate the car or probably even write you a ticket.<br /><br />It was a riddle and they were probably wondering how come you cannot see the answer.<br /><br />Could it be?<br /><br />It was a sort of an IQ test, was it not?<br /><br />And the jackassery tolerance test as well.<br /><br />I think you did good in the end.<br /><br />How come it ended up in the news? Never mind. It's Estonia. Everyone knows everyone. <br /><br />LOLLPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-66909268249465151932013-08-21T19:16:16.084+02:002013-08-21T19:16:16.084+02:00Martasmimi ütles ...
What disturbs me is that...Martasmimi ütles ...<br /><br /> What disturbs me is that these yahoo cops were willing to leave you my 9 year old granddaughter and your 15 year old niece on a dark road at 3 am.<br /><br />I agree with this. That's where the civilized world differs from an ex soviet republic. I'd imagine anywhere in the west the police would have driven the family home in such a situation. Or at least would have chosen not to enforce the law to such an extent where a family is on the road in a middle of the night.TMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12192098122045876085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-64558360741046003032013-08-21T19:13:54.121+02:002013-08-21T19:13:54.121+02:00Marko:
* "In Britain it's common kno...Marko:<br /> <br />* "In Britain it's common knowledge that Americans can't drive in Europe"<br /><br />Seriously, how was this "jumping the gun?"Martasmimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00904404170845733669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-9188347495905738922013-08-21T18:56:21.825+02:002013-08-21T18:56:21.825+02:00Martasmimi, jumping the gun much? I said that Amer...Martasmimi, jumping the gun much? I said that American licenses are not widely seen as valid ones in Europe. This is something you can take up with your local congressman and maybe they can come to a reasonable agreement with their counterparts in European Council. I just stated how things are, not if they're good or bad.<br /><br />Obviously this case should go to court. Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-36754071186764882682013-08-21T18:34:33.315+02:002013-08-21T18:34:33.315+02:00Marko:
American can't drive ? That's tota...Marko:<br /><br />American can't drive ? That's total bullshit .<br />Ask Justin, his father drives all over Europe ... all through Germany, on the autobahn and all over Italy (including Rome) in a bus size van.<br />I am so tired of all the ignorant stereotyping that gets written on this blog... You people live in small and think small.Martasmimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00904404170845733669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-13242114021736121132013-08-21T18:28:31.668+02:002013-08-21T18:28:31.668+02:00Whether or not you had a valid Estonian drivers li...Whether or not you had a valid Estonian drivers license you had a drivers license. <br />What disturbs me is that these yahoo cops were willing to leave you my 9 year old granddaughter and your 15 year old niece on a dark road at 3 am...<br />WTF were they thinking?<br />It's indefensible... You need to surrender your New York license ...why, some BS nationalistic Estonian law. <br />If they didn't make it so ridiculous for you to get a Estonian license, last night would have never happened.<br />Walk 7 K's seriously???<br />It's just crazy. <br />Not enough Lawyers in Estonia...<br />The Italian Mimi is very angry ! Martasmimihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00904404170845733669noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-71286749719315766262013-08-21T18:24:06.901+02:002013-08-21T18:24:06.901+02:00Omg. In Britain it's common knowledge that Am...Omg. In Britain it's common knowledge that Americans can't drive in Europe. European licenses are accepted in America but not vice versa. How did you not know that?<br /><br />Mind you there is a problem with some peoples attitudes in Estonia. I had never any problems, well maybe a raised eyebrow or two now and again, with my Estonian ID in Britain. But when these expired and i moved back to Estonia and the only thing i had was my British driving licence, people in Estonia did not accept it. They could obviously understand that I'm an Estonian and it even says so on the license but apparently it's not a valid ID in Estonia!!<br /><br />I don't drive in Estonia by the way, for the very same reasons and experiences that you have encountered. Markohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17501324932136870126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-51111514859290186402013-08-21T18:10:02.719+02:002013-08-21T18:10:02.719+02:00Autor on selle kommentaari eemaldanud.LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-76444439729020697322013-08-21T18:07:39.971+02:002013-08-21T18:07:39.971+02:00Autor on selle kommentaari eemaldanud.LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-50923777163183893282013-08-21T18:04:05.116+02:002013-08-21T18:04:05.116+02:00Giustino ütles ...The only English language school...Giustino ütles ...The only English language school is in the Big City<br /><br />you only need to register to school and have a paper showing you have completed it, all tests, everything is available online and in English. Also the official test can be taken in English. So you'd only need to communicate in Estonian with the local driving teacher perhaps... since you know how to drive and know the traffic rules, you should have no trouble completing your driving school in one day perhaps. Just go and talk to your local driving school.TMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12192098122045876085noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13406351.post-12632482034664009102013-08-21T18:03:51.523+02:002013-08-21T18:03:51.523+02:00Speaking of "enjoyment", I make them spe...Speaking of "enjoyment", I make them speak to me in English. On two occasions the cop gave up, handed me back my license and walked away. No goodbye, no nothing.<br /><br />I enjoyed it.LPRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09397977705898254598noreply@blogger.com