afterglowefx
Junior Member
I'm not sure what forum is best suited to this question, so please advise if I ought to move it.
Two weeks ago I was involved in a minor traffic accident in Japan while on a driving holiday in the south of the country. I was at fault, no injuries, minimal damage to both vehicles. I am presently living here in Japan on a work visa, although my driver's license is issued by Washington State. The police brought to our attention that my International Driver's Permit is invalid - AAA had failed to stamp the appropriate box which indicates the class of vehicle the holder is legally permitted to drive. Because of this error they hounded us for the rest of the vacation, requesting copies of said document, calling my workplace (any legal issue whatsoever is taken very seriously in Japan - people have lost their jobs for driving without a proper license), and otherwise making what should have been a relaxing holiday quite stressful. On top of that, it turned out that I had been driving illegally for some 8 months. Again, this is a very serious offense in Japan with a fine of around $4000 USD. The vacation was ruined, my girlfriend who absolutely hates driving in new places was forced to drive us the entire 1000 miles home with nobody to help, and several drives I was greatly looking forward to were robbed from me.
We do not have word on whether or not the police will charge me with driving without a valid license. If they do there will be a substantial fine. Additionally, when I obtain a Japanese license at any future date (which I will have to do), it will be automatically suspended for a year. There's also a very real risk that my company would choose not to renew my contract or my visa, forcing me to leave a job and country I love. Needless to say it's been very stressful.
I contacted AAA right away and they admitted fault, faxed me copies of the application form I had filled out which clearly indicates that I was applying for a passenger car International Driver's Permit, and a notarized letter explaining their error. They also agreed to mail me a new IDP with what they had on file. During the week this was occurring I was forced to drive illegally to work every day as I had no other means of getting there. Now they have mailed me a second IDP, and it has the exact same error. If I had not double checked their work, I could easily be charged with driving illegally at any routine traffic stop.
Despite the fact that a vacation I had been looking forward to for two years was ruined, despite all the stress caused by the possibility of being charged over the invalid IDP, despite being stuck at home these past couple weeks due to giving up all unnecessary driving, despite being forced to drive illegally on a daily basis to work, I did not deem it necessary to pursue a legal course of action. AAA had been helping to fix the error, and although I was extremely upset, I understand - mistakes happen. But when they make the exact same error twice in a row, it's unacceptable. Is there any legal recourse for this mess?
Two weeks ago I was involved in a minor traffic accident in Japan while on a driving holiday in the south of the country. I was at fault, no injuries, minimal damage to both vehicles. I am presently living here in Japan on a work visa, although my driver's license is issued by Washington State. The police brought to our attention that my International Driver's Permit is invalid - AAA had failed to stamp the appropriate box which indicates the class of vehicle the holder is legally permitted to drive. Because of this error they hounded us for the rest of the vacation, requesting copies of said document, calling my workplace (any legal issue whatsoever is taken very seriously in Japan - people have lost their jobs for driving without a proper license), and otherwise making what should have been a relaxing holiday quite stressful. On top of that, it turned out that I had been driving illegally for some 8 months. Again, this is a very serious offense in Japan with a fine of around $4000 USD. The vacation was ruined, my girlfriend who absolutely hates driving in new places was forced to drive us the entire 1000 miles home with nobody to help, and several drives I was greatly looking forward to were robbed from me.
We do not have word on whether or not the police will charge me with driving without a valid license. If they do there will be a substantial fine. Additionally, when I obtain a Japanese license at any future date (which I will have to do), it will be automatically suspended for a year. There's also a very real risk that my company would choose not to renew my contract or my visa, forcing me to leave a job and country I love. Needless to say it's been very stressful.
I contacted AAA right away and they admitted fault, faxed me copies of the application form I had filled out which clearly indicates that I was applying for a passenger car International Driver's Permit, and a notarized letter explaining their error. They also agreed to mail me a new IDP with what they had on file. During the week this was occurring I was forced to drive illegally to work every day as I had no other means of getting there. Now they have mailed me a second IDP, and it has the exact same error. If I had not double checked their work, I could easily be charged with driving illegally at any routine traffic stop.
Despite the fact that a vacation I had been looking forward to for two years was ruined, despite all the stress caused by the possibility of being charged over the invalid IDP, despite being stuck at home these past couple weeks due to giving up all unnecessary driving, despite being forced to drive illegally on a daily basis to work, I did not deem it necessary to pursue a legal course of action. AAA had been helping to fix the error, and although I was extremely upset, I understand - mistakes happen. But when they make the exact same error twice in a row, it's unacceptable. Is there any legal recourse for this mess?
