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        General >> Off Topic Subjects >> Photocard driving license
        
(Message started by: Pegasus on Feb 17th, 2009, 9:27pm)
Title: Photocard driving license
Post by Pegasus on Feb 17th, 2009, 9:27pm
Hi All,
yet another way for good old DVLA to make more money out of some of you - if you've got a photocard license it needs updating every 10 years - or you get a £1000 fine.
See HERE (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/driving/article5741199.ece?&EMC-Bltn=GEN98A) for details.

Luckily I've still got the old paper version
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by pinto on Feb 17th, 2009, 9:47pm
Me too :)

Im afraid to chop mine in because i've been informed the DVLA like to "rob" you of the categories you used to get gratis on the old licences ( F, K, L, N & P )

Ok, so im not likely to need entitlement to drive a road roller that often ;D - but im d**ned if im paying them to return entitlements i already have...
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by Jonnycab on Feb 18th, 2009, 2:51am
Everyone has to have a photo card now & if your old one is paper then you don't exist  ;D

I got a photo card back in 2000 when I moved address & they gave it me free, but it's gonna cost me £17.50 next year to renew it  ???...P.S.....you still get a paper license as well so the DVLA can (Illegibly) fill in the points you get  ::)

It's a bit like renewing your passport, but not quite as expensive......updated passport is £72.00  :o
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by Snoopy on Feb 18th, 2009, 8:33am
JC What you say is NOT correct The old style paper licence is still valid. It is NOT a requirement of the law for you to purchase a photocard type licence.

If you apply for a new licence say moved house or changed name then they re issue your licence FOC and YES it is a photocard licence which has TWO parts . 1) the photcard  and 10 a paper counterpart. The potocard licence requires renewing every 10 years as stated by item 4b on the front of the licence.
Quote:
Thousands of motorists are at risk of being fined up to £1,000 because they are unwittingly driving without a valid licence.

They risk prosecution after failing to spot the extremely small print on their photo card licence which says it automatically expires after 10 years and has to be renewed - even though drivers are licensed to drive until the age of 70.

The fiasco has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as the they start to expire.
Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licences were for life.
Driving licence from 1998 when the photo cards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b'

To rub salt into wounds, drivers will have to a pay £17.50 to renew their card - a charge which critics have condemned as a 'stealth tax' and which will earn the Treasury an estimated £437million over 25 years.

Official DVLA figures reveal that while 16,136 expired this summer, so far only 11,566 drivers have renewed, leaving 4,570 outstanding.

With another 300,000 photo card licences due to expire over the coming year, experts fear the number of invalid licences will soar, putting thousands more drivers in breach of the law and at risk of a fine.

At the heart of the confusion is the small print on the tiny credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version.  Just below the driver name on the front of the photo card licence is a series of dates and details - each one numbered.  Number 4b features a date in tiny writing, but no explicit explanation as to what it means.

The date's significance is only explained if the driver turns over the card and reads the key on the back which states that '4b' means 'licence valid to'.

Even more confusingly, an adjacent table on the rear of the card sets out how long the driver is registered to hold a licence - that is until his or her 70th birthday.

A total of 25million new-style licences have been issued but - motoring experts say - drivers were never sufficiently warned they would expire after 10 years.

Motorists who fail to renew their licences in time are allowed to continue driving. But the DVLA says they could be charged with 'failing to surrender their licence', an offence carrying a £1,000 fine.

Before photo card licences were introduced, old-style paper licences were valid until the age of 70.  Many motorists still believe this to be the case with the new ones.

A DVLA spokesman said: 'Previous experience has shown that wide-scale publicity is less effective and can generate enquiries and concerns from those not affected. Instead, DVLA focussed on targeted publicity to ensure that we got the message to the right person at the right time.'

The Driving Standards Agency is allowing L-test candidates with out-of-date photo card licences to sit their driving tests as long as they provide a valid passport. This concession will end in January next year, raising the prospect that some L-test candidates will be turned away.

The DVLA said no one had so far been charged with failing to surrender a licence

See HERE (http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Motoringtransactions/BeforeyouapplyC/DG_066954)
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by dave44 on Feb 18th, 2009, 8:59am
I may be wrong but i believe the main reason for renewal of photo card is A) away of updating any information which requires updating ,change of name ,address etc which are usually one of those things that get forgotten about at the time. B/ and unless you are like me and can retain your youthful good looks, photo on card will also require updating (Retouching or air brushing etc.)
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by dave44 on Feb 18th, 2009, 9:26am
Just been checking my photocard (chripes i am one hell of a good looking boy). Still i digress it would appear that you still retain f.k.l.n.p catergoriesthey appear as italics beneath actual photo (GOD there i am again).
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by Jonnycab on Feb 18th, 2009, 11:53am
Sorry Snoopy, I was a bit wrong  ::).... didn't really mean to say that the old paper licence was invalid, was just saying that whenever you change your details with the DVLA, then you're now issued with a photo ID card as well, so it's easier for the law to ID you  ;)

Dave44....you been mucking about with that Photoshop again  ;D
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by dave44 on Feb 18th, 2009, 12:01pm
J.C  jealousy is not one of the traits i would have associated with you!!!!!!!!!!! Still i dont mind if you want to stand in my shadow!!!!!
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by Jonnycab on Feb 18th, 2009, 12:36pm
}{  }{.......... :P
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by - Mike - on Feb 18th, 2009, 6:29pm
How long do provisional licences last for?

My wife got one some years ago, both paper and photo, with every intention of learning to drive but so far hasn't bothered to do so, not even going as far as the theory test and most likely will never do so.
I was under the impression that they lasted only two years, in which case hers has now expired. Is this correct? I can't seem to find a straight answer on the internet.  Probably have to ring the DVLA and stay on hold for hours.  >:(
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by Snoopy on Feb 18th, 2009, 6:50pm
Mike the document that the link goes to should give some guidance DRIVING LICENCE (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/uploads/documents/fleet/TE445%20-%20Driver%20licence%20check%20guide.pdf)

From what I understand the licence does not loose its provisonal status check on the front of the licence, or email the DVLA.
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by - Mike - on Feb 18th, 2009, 7:43pm
Thanks Snoopy

Will have to do just that.

Shall check with her upon her return in a few days. (whoopee! I currently have freedom and peace)
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by 5stud on Feb 19th, 2009, 12:53am
dvla,s new money maker you can no longer clame back road tax unless you are the regesterd keper
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by gozz on Feb 19th, 2009, 9:06am
Or immediately previous keeper ! It prevents dealers from cashing in unless they register the vehicle to themselves.
                                                 GOZZ
                                     
Title: Re: Photocard driving license
Post by taliban aka Cheekyboy2 on Mar 4th, 2009, 11:19pm
i think the provisional licence has a 2 year expiry......


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