ciaranrb5 Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Copied from scoobynet This might be of interest to the speeders amongst you who might need to produce their documents only to find that you are out of date. Very Important for drivers. Unwitting motorists face £1,000 fines as thousands of photo card driving licences expire. 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 they start to expire. Motoring organisations blamed the Government for the fiasco and said 'most' drivers believed their licences were for life. A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photo cards were launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b' They said officials had failed to publicise sufficiently the fact that new-style licences - unlike the old paper ones - expire after a set period and have to be renewed. To rub salt into wounds, drivers will haveb 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. AA president, Edmund King said: 'It is not generally known that photo card licences expire: there appears to be a lack of information that people will have to renew these licences. 'People think they have already paid them for once over and that is it. 'It will come as a surprise to motorists and a shock that they have to pay an extra £17.50.' The AA called on the Government to use the annual £450million from traffic enforcement fines to offset the renewal charge. Just to say i just checked mine runs out 2012 Bar stewards
ANDYJDMSTI Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 still got the old paper thing lol me too!! that card thing is a waste of time as do you not still have to have the paper one with it?
scouk Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Yeah soooo many peopel have been caught out by this.. They say they send out reminders but they only did that for about 2 months then decided it cost too much. <cynical mode on> they probably just wanted to force people into the fine by not informing them </mode off> And it's a bloody crime that they force you to pay "admin" fees for renewing your licence.. They are the ones who want to renew it!! Not the driver! It's up to them to pay for it! I'd much rather stick with the old paper licence, it's cheaper!!! Grrrr! ANDYJDMSTI - Yep you stil get both.. The paper one holds details of provisional licencing and any endoresements..
st3ph3n Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 I got a reminder for mine back in October (10 years since I passed my test!). Completely agree with the "stealth tax" though. £17.50 to do sweet fa. The reason for the renewal is so they can make sure the picture matches your face. In theory if your look changes enough you should get a new one yourself.
RA Dunk Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 ANDYJDMSTI - Yep you stil get both.. The paper one holds details of provisional licencing and any endoresements.. appears, me and Andy have done the right thing then
ciaranrb5 Posted February 3, 2009 Author Posted February 3, 2009 appears, me and Andy have done the right thing then What your both old farts meaning your old enough to have a paper license
RA Dunk Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 yup it also means we dont have to pay for photos, postage, license fee`s every ten years too Enjoy your trips to the post office and lining the governments pockets with even more money!
iainc Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 yup it also means we dont have to pay for photos, postage, license fee`s every ten years too Enjoy your trips to the post office and lining the governments pockets with even more money! Bear in mind if you move house and notify them you'll get a photo card then... hence the reason I have one now as well
scientific steve Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Is there not something about our old fart paper one being fazed out? As in we need to get the new photo plastic licence by a certain date cause of the euro nutters?
emoe Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Thats a bit strange. My photo card has an expiry 10 years after issue. Just looked up what the deal is, and all photocards expire 10 years. None have expiry at 75 if its more than 10 years from issue date.
Richie Cross Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 Blimey....I'm plod and didn't know that!!! Mind you.....who does traffic!!!! Mine expires in 2011!!! Explanation for anyone who's interested http://www.dvla.gov.uk/media/pdf/leaflets/inf45.pdf
paddy247 Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 I still have the paper licence aswell Dipsy you should be fine, the paper ones out the kellogg's box dont have dates, Just checked mine, it runs out next year, cheers for the heads up, wasnt aware of this.
dipsy Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 (edited) Paddy is that were you and the outfit you work for got there mechanical skills out of a kellogs box because there good a losing things Edited February 4, 2009 by Dipsy
ally-b Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 still got the old paper thing lol Me too I still have the chiseled tablet of stone I received after passing my test in this - Al.
paddy247 Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 Paddy is that were you and the outfit you work for got there mechanical skills out of a kellogs box because there good a losing things ohh dear, Please explain Dipsy,
empty_heed Posted February 4, 2009 Posted February 4, 2009 i had to send mine away last year & when it came back it had my expiary in big letters/digits under my picture. i'm good till 2011
camcq Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 im fairly sure that if you still have the paper licence you are breaking the law as its meant to be compulsary to have changed over. but hey av recently passed (oct 07) so mines is good for donkeys years after being banned for ten strech
ally-b Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 im fairly sure that if you still have the paper licence you are breaking the law as its meant to be compulsary to have changed over. but hey av recently passed (oct 07) so mines is good for donkeys years after being banned for ten strech Never had a problem when I've had to take my old licence in with a HORT1 . Unless I move home I'll not be changing mine . I don't need an I.D. card - I know who I am Al.
ciaranrb5 Posted February 5, 2009 Author Posted February 5, 2009 I find it handy for ID as i quite often get asked if im 18 cheeky buggers im away to be 26
Maxxed_Ross Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 yeah it handy for that Mine runs out in 2012 apparently! I've not had it that long and it's almost finished already
the blue dragon Posted February 5, 2009 Posted February 5, 2009 I was on the phone to the dvla tonight for an enquiry so i asked about this and the guy told me its the photograph that expires after 10 years and has to be replaced, but your license is up until your 70th birthday. Ita all a load of bollards methinks, but someone needs to clarify the situation!!! cheers Iain
st3ph3n Posted February 6, 2009 Posted February 6, 2009 The clarity is that you renew the photocard every 10 years so that you look like the person in the picture, but that when you pass your test you don't need to resit (law breaking aside) until 70. It's not that hard!
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