Florida says ‘sorry’ to British drivers after passing law forcing visitors to carry ‘international licence’

Valid: Drivers with a British licence do not need a permit to drive in Florida despite the law which was introduced last year

Authorities in Florida say a new law requiring British, Canadian and other English-speaking drivers to carry an International Driving Permit has been put on hold. 
Embarrassed officials were forced to apologise over the blunder which would have meant Brits and Canadians driving in the Sunshine State would have had to buy the permit at the cost of 25 Canadian dollars.
The legislation was passed largely unnoticed last year and was originally intended to make sure all drivers in Florida held a licence printed in English.

But The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has issued a statement which says the law would have been a violation of the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.

Residents who do not live in Florida still only need a valid licence with their name on issued from their home country.
But the Canadian Automobile Authority is still urging people to buy the international permit until the law has officially been changed.

Precaution: The Canadian Automobile Association is still urging people to buy the international permit until the law if officially changed

'Until the law is changed, we continue to recommend Canadians traveling to Florida should consider obtaining an IDP', its website reads.

Blunder: Florida state Republican Ben Albritton introduced the bill last year

Florida state Republican Ben Albritton introduced the bill in the hope it would make it easier for people to be identified if they were visiting from a different country.
But he told the Tampa Bay Times: 'This one I just missed. I want to tell the people in Canada I am sorry. If I messed something up, I am man enough to fix it.'
John Tupps, deputy press secretary for Florida governor Rick Scott, added: 'We will work with the legislature to amend the law this year so it does not burden international visitors to our state, who make up an important part of our tourism industry.' 
As many as three million Canadians visited Florida in 2011 compared with 1.3 million visitors from the United Kingdom.
It is still unclear when the law will be officially amended and what impact the legislation will have on car rentals as well as insurance coverage for foreigners driving in the state.