大咖福利影院

EuropaExpat wrote:

Got a little question... has anyone directly converted a non- European car driving license to a Hungarian one before? It was my understanding that probably only European ones could be converted without the need to do any driving tests.....

You don't say from which country you have a driving license.

If I remember correctly, it depends on treaties which Hungary ratified with other countries for mutual recognition. These are UN conventions and there are several and there's inconsistency - not every country agreed to say, both treaties.

For example, in the UK, there are designated countries (where you can exchange licenses) and these are:

Australia, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, Zimbabwe.

With the above, you can change your license after 5 years without taking a test. There's probably a similar list for Hungary but you'd have to look for it. It won't be the same as the UK one as these are (I think) bilateral arrangements, not UN convention.

My other suggestion is to ask someone at the Magyar Autoklub.

EuropaExpat wrote:

So, if I'm in the situation where I arrive in Hungary with only a NZ license, could I just convert that to a Hungarian one without all the pain of having to re-do license tests in Hungarian etc?

Cheers.

Dunno, but you could try and get a UK license by swapping your NZ license but to do that you need a UK address (might not be a problem). Then you have an EU one which is 100% recognised here in Hungary. On the other hand, you can drive a year (I think) on any EU license in another EU country and then just change it after a year. The same would go for the Dutch license as the UK one.

You might find the NZ license is recognised. I think, try calling the Magyar Autoklub. In many countries, the car club is often the place to get this kind of thing answered.

borschelrh wrote:

but paradoxically won't drive after drinking.

Because there is a zero percent blood level alcohol law in Hungary for drivers. If you are caught, the fines can be huge.

borschelrh wrote:

but the danger from speeding and very poor driving habits (no signals, tail gating, passing on shoulders etc.) is perhaps even worse now.

Agreed. I grew up in LA, so I am use to pretty poor driving habits, but the passing behavior here is unconscionable; such as passing on blind curves and at hill crests. I have seen more than one accident because of this here. Some fatal. All those little crosses and flowers by the side of the roads are stark reminders of how bad they drive here, yet do not learn.

But I have seen DE and AT license plate vehicles do the same in Hungary, so the disease spreads.

borschelrh wrote:

Also, note that all traffic fines have been doubled by the Fidez government in an attempt to increase tax revenues.

Yeah, that is the current government in a nutshell: punitive to gain revenue, even to the point of making homelessness a crime punishable by fines and imprisonment. And if you can't pay the fine, you have to work it off as "community service" which amounts to free labor.

borschelrh wrote:

I recently received a fine for sailing without a life preserver (I was wearing a float rated wetsuit and trapeze harness also float rated but that wasn't sufficient to the Rendorseg who ONLY accept a licensed and tagged personal floatation vest) for 30,000 forints.

Good grief. I will add that to my growing list of silly fines I have heard about here.

borschelrh wrote:

as another scheme to get more money.

What a shock....... not.

borschelrh wrote:

My earlier point was if they would re-do the translation of the traffic laws to EU standards they could bring in all the fines from foreign plated vehicles and perhaps increase safety.

But that assumes politicians can be rational, smart, transparent and responsible.....

borschelrh wrote:

I have also seen a fair number of US plated cars with long expired license plates from California and New York so there appears to be some gap in the law covering that as well.

Gaps in enforcement for sure.

borschelrh wrote:

Luckily, I am able to find humor in everything

Yes, that at times is the only option.

borschelrh wrote:

S..... So, these problems are broader than just Hungary and the US, just as in the EU, has no standardization between states as for Driver's licenses and this is the real problem.

All EU licenses are standardised for classes etc. They all use the same model, contain the same information in exactly the same format. Class B in say, Netherlands, is the same as Class B in Hungary or Germany or wherever.

However, there are very minor inconsistencies locally. The driving age in the UK is (or was) 17 whereas in most places, it's 18. So a fully licensed driver in the UK was not able to drive in most EU countries. But none of these minor variations are shown in the license.

It's the same with EU passports. They are all the same basic design (e.g. red cover) although the order of pages and the style of photos may differ they are basically exactly the same. The main information categories are described in multiple (EU) languages in the inside.

borschelrh wrote:

As I understand it the EU is mandating consistent driver's license rules between all member countries which also includes standardized reciprocity for certain foreign countries.

That's possible but I think the main thrust (in recent years) has been organising/limiting the options for newly qualified drivers, e.g. carrying of passengers, weight limits, speeds, use on major highways etc. It's called "Graduated Licensing".

borschelrh wrote:

But in the case of the US anyone licensed to drive in one state may drive in another. It is the insurance requirements that causes problems between states.

It's the same in the EU. Any EU driver can drive elsewhere in the EU. There's a minimum level of insurance between all EU member states and some others (e.g. Croatia, Switzerland, Norway). So if you drive a Dutch car in Germany, you are insured, but only to the amount required to cover the German insurance laws. Minimum liability.

borschelrh wrote:

In fact most Europeans are unaware that it is not a requirement in the US to have any identity documentation whatsoever.聽 Only around 20% of US citizens even have passports and many do not have a driver's license at all, particularly in large cities.聽 Other than a driver's license there is no accepted standardized identification for individuals.

The rules vary by country. There are no mandatory requirements to carry identification at all in the UK and Ireland. Officials demanding ID are often unexpected by British and Irish people when they are abroard. Some countries demand it (e.g. Hungary), but that's their internal policies. There also no ID cards in The Netherlands. While you may see ID cards in Hungary, that is not the same in all EU countries. In fact, the UK revoked its ID scheme a couple of years ago due to public pressure over imposition of a police state. ID requirements a matter for the member states.

borschelrh wrote:

In fact when arrested you do not have any requirement to speak to the police ever which includes identification information. That comes under the "right to remain silent" which is part of the Miranda Act. But, I am certain this is not true in the EU.

Yes, it is same everywhere. However in the UK, the right to remain silent can, in exceptional circumstances, e.g. terrorism, be waived, although it's hard to see what could be done when faced by a silent suspect.

borschelrh wrote:

Anyway, I am hoping that Hungary at least adopts the standardized reciprocity so I can finally get a driver's license.

It is standardised, just not with the USA. Mutual recognition depends on bilateral or UN treaties and the EU would only do this as a bloc, not per country.

borschelrh wrote:

As a side note Pilot's licenses (I am a licensed pilot) are not managed by the state but are in fact Federal so one wonder's why the Federal government hasn't done that for driver's licenses as well. I won't even start on the problems of getting a US pilot's license cross certified here in Hungary. They are only beginning to get that sorted out.

Remember the EU is not a federal state. It's (supposedly) a trade pact. Aviation is a competence of the local country authorities.

You should be able to just hire a plane on your US license in the same way that you can rent a car聽 in the EU on your US license. Quite a lot of pilots get their licenses outside of the EU (as it's so much cheaper to get licensed outside of the EU), then convert to locally issued licenses eventually.

fidobsa wrote:

.... When I took my car test back in 1982, that allowed you to drive lorries up to 7.5 tonnes and minibuses up to 16 seats. They have restricted this in more recent years but it looks like my new Hungarian licence covers me for the same vehicles.... the biggest vehicle I used. I told them it was my 3.5 tonne van but it looks like I can still drive a 7.5 tonne lorry with a trailer.

Yes, it's true. People passing after a certain date, no longer have the 7.5t category. I think it was fairly recent, perhaps within 10 years that it was removed as a category for newly qualified drivers. I believe it was never a category in Hungary and most of my Hungarian circle do not have the 7.5t category on their licenses.