Can I Drive in Finland?

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Kemars
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Post by Kemars » Fri Feb 13, 2004 2:27 pm

turbodank23 wrote:To answer your questions yes I can drive manual car, Yes I can drive on packed snow and ice I actually sometimes enjoy it. I also can ride a motorcycle, snowmobile, atv pretty much anything. I grew up in a very small town where you could get away with driving illegaly so i've drove stick since I was like 14-15. I mean I didnt drive all the time but I could go a couple blocks with out getting caught just some joy riding!!!! thanks everyone for input
Well, According the Helsinki Police (and acutally asking a police officer first hand), yes, if you are from the USA, and have a VALID DL you can drive here legeally without getting into trouble, IF YOU ARE VISITING ONLY!!!). IF you live here, taking the date you set foot into Finland, you have a total of 18month to get your DL transfered to a Finnish EU drivers license, following the steps that Wombat has layed foward.
Wombat wrote:The current cost is 40 € plus whatever it is for the medical certificate and two passport sized photos. If you're from the EU or the EEA, you don't need the medical certifcate but it is 1,30 € more expensive!
You just go to either the Helsinki Police station or your local police station and ask the night watchman where to get the drivers license paper works.

I did it within 8 month of coming here back in 2001. Had my fiance sign the paper work (she is Finnish) that I drove for 6 month and I got it.
the only thing is you have to surrender your Valid US Drivers License in order to get the finnish version. (you can get it back if you travel back to the US or do what I did and get a duplicate made stating in the US that you lost it and have to get a new one. just give the police the secondary "lost" one and you dont have to worry about picking up anything ifyou travel back and forth. =)


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Geri Bush
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Post by Geri Bush » Fri Feb 20, 2004 11:40 am

Hello,

I don't know but my opinion the AAA card is a joke! I've driven in much of Europe and have never had a problem with a US DL. Maybe I've just been lucky but I have never been asked for it. I have been pulled over by the men and women in blue in Helsinki. I gave them my Colorado DL, they asked how long I have lived in Finland, and told me to get a Finnish DL before the 1 year mark.

conrad
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Post by conrad » Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:55 am

Hi,

One question: I didn't want to leave my FLorida DL at the Police station so I'm taking the exam at "Ajovarma". Any place I can go and get some driving intructions/material for Finland/EU? I hope it's not that much different from the US...I've been drving with my american license for 1 year now and so far so good.

Thanks!

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Thu Mar 11, 2004 12:09 pm

'Ajovarma' sounds like a driving school. They'd have a CD for the test you need to take. And you take the test at a nominated car inspection station (Haaga in Helsinki). Your Florida DL will be costing you much money...
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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Kemars
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Post by Kemars » Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:02 pm

conrad wrote:Hi,

One question: I didn't want to leave my FLorida DL at the Police station so I'm taking the exam at "Ajovarma". Any place I can go and get some driving intructions/material for Finland/EU? I hope it's not that much different from the US...I've been drving with my american license for 1 year now and so far so good.

Thanks!
that was odd...why did you not want to leave your Florida DL with the police? you can get it back anytime and just leave your Finnish DL in place of it if you needed it to drive in the us...
How much wood would a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?

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Richard
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Post by Richard » Thu Mar 11, 2004 2:07 pm

Kemars wrote:
conrad wrote:Hi,

One question: I didn't want to leave my FLorida DL at the Police station so I'm taking the exam at "Ajovarma". Any place I can go and get some driving intructions/material for Finland/EU? I hope it's not that much different from the US...I've been drving with my american license for 1 year now and so far so good.

Thanks!
that was odd...why did you not want to leave your Florida DL with the police? you can get it back anytime and just leave your Finnish DL in place of it if you needed it to drive in the us...
Is a Finnish driving license not valid in US?

I had to exchange my UK one for the Finnish one. I guess as I come from EU?

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Thu Mar 11, 2004 3:20 pm

Americans use a DL for ID, so "stupid questions" cease magically with a local DL.
Cheers, Hank W.
sitting here like a lemon looking for a gin.

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bohica
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Post by bohica » Thu Mar 11, 2004 5:20 pm

Hank W. wrote:Americans use a DL for ID, so "stupid questions" cease magically with a local DL.
Yeah, but when you go home to visit you can just say you lost it and get a new one. Costs like $14.

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Hank W.
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Post by Hank W. » Thu Mar 11, 2004 8:07 pm

true.dat
Cheers, Hank W.
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Kemars
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Post by Kemars » Thu Mar 11, 2004 8:25 pm

bohica wrote:
Hank W. wrote:Americans use a DL for ID, so "stupid questions" cease magically with a local DL.
Yeah, but when you go home to visit you can just say you lost it and get a new one. Costs like $14.
Thats what I did, but I claimed that I lost mine prior to moving, and just got another reprint of CDL, and then gave the expiring one to the Finnish Polis.. ;) What they dont know is not going to hurt them.. :P
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bohica
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Post by bohica » Thu Mar 11, 2004 8:33 pm

Kemars wrote:
bohica wrote:
Hank W. wrote:Americans use a DL for ID, so "stupid questions" cease magically with a local DL.
Yeah, but when you go home to visit you can just say you lost it and get a new one. Costs like $14.
Thats what I did, but I claimed that I lost mine prior to moving, and just got another reprint of CDL, and then gave the expiring one to the Finnish Polis.. ;) What they dont know is not going to hurt them.. :P
I plead the 5th on that one. :wink:

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Post by dusty_bin » Thu Mar 11, 2004 9:57 pm

What they dont know is not going to hurt them..

Who reads this board?

Maybe they do now... :twisted:

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tjawatts
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Post by tjawatts » Fri Mar 19, 2004 7:39 pm

Jason wrote:The rules use to be that you can drive up to 1 year in the country that you did not get your drivers license in. After this it is then illegal. Well that is what it is in other countries in Europe so I guess Finland must have the same rules being part of the EU.
I was just reading some stuff on AKE and noticed this
Driving licences issued in EU/ ETA member states are valid in Finland. The exception to this rule is for licences originally issued outside the EU/ETA, which are not valid in Finland.

Driving licences issued in countries belonging to the Vienna or Geneva Conventions (not including EU/ETA member states) are valid in Finland for a period of one year after arriving in Finland.
So I can drive on my UK license forever if I want to (as long as I have an address in the UK). But if you are outside the EU you have to exchange for a Finnish within a year.

Tony

grahamb
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Post by grahamb » Thu Mar 25, 2004 12:37 pm

Tony wrote:So I can drive on my UK license forever if I want to (as long as I have an address in the UK). But if you are outside the EU you have to exchange for a Finnish within a year.
There was a discussion about this a few weeks ago on here. Someone there said that the UK licences are only valid for 12 months here and then need to be converted to Finnish licences. IIRC, according to that post, the rules changed a year or two ago. I'll try to find the link to that post and add it here.

Found it: http://www...com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=3139

Tom and Jerry talked about it in this post about 5 posts down...

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tjawatts
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Post by tjawatts » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:47 pm

Graham,

I read those posts before and was contributing rather than asking. I was quoting AKE which is the Finnish authority responsible for roads/vehicles. I have also checked it on the poliisi website and had a quick look at the EU site.

If your license comes up for renewal you have to do it in the state of "normal residence". However, you do not have to exchange your license within 1 year if you are from the EU, even if you have taken up residence or as the poliisi say suomeksi

"Ajo-oikeus on voimassa riippumatta siitä, onko henkilö Suomessa turistina vai onko hän muuttanut maahan vakinaisesti."
(The right to drive is valid regardless of whether the person is in Finland as a tourist or residing permanently.)

Tony


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