|
Post by romily on Jan 29, 2024 10:05:36 GMT -5
Just wanted to get my drivers permit for Barbados, and realised my UK licence has expired 22nd Fen 2022 (!!!) - I was sure they are valid for 10 years not 5, basically been driving illegally for 2 years! Never got a reminder letter!
Can't renew online so just on hold with the DVLA. Hoping I can still get it renewed in the next 8 working days otherwise I am screwed with driving in Barbados.
In shock, I'm usually so on top of this! I even hired a car in Germany with my expired licence, no idea why this wasn't flagged, or during my test drive a year ago when I bought new car,
Slightly freaking out! This obviously also means my insurance is invalid, so I hope it can be resolved quickly...don't care about costs.
So - check your licence!
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Jan 29, 2024 10:40:31 GMT -5
That is absolutely bizarre! It’s so unusual that it was missed by the car rental place. Hope it can be resolved today!
|
|
|
Post by romily on Jan 29, 2024 10:50:07 GMT -5
Panic over - spoke to the DVLA and they said the license is expired for lorries (I have that entitlement to drive up to 7.5 tons from my German license) but not expired for cars. But at the front they print the first expiry date whcih is the one for lorries - on the back in even tinier print it shows my license is valid until Fen 2042 (when I turn 70).
I might still get the license exchanged and take that lorry entitlement off to make tings easier but for my Barbados application I use the 2024 date, and worst case scenario will have the discussion then and there if I get stopped by the police. But the back clearly shows - car - expiry 2042.
Still a bit dodgy but the turn around for a new license is 3 + weeks if I have to do it by post so not an option. And at least I am not driving illegally!
|
|
|
Post by romily on Jan 29, 2024 11:03:34 GMT -5
Well, I submitted my application for Barbados - with picture of front and back of UK licence - let's hope their isn't a query, or if there is I can easily resolve it.
I should have uploaded a snip with the car and valid to date highlighted but can't amend the applications
|
|
|
Post by romily on Jan 29, 2024 11:05:35 GMT -5
Gosh, the permit was grated in less tan 1 minute - guess they just want the USD 5 and nobody cares about the license because nobody could have checked it, I could have uploaded a picture of my cat.
Phew - on that note bot cats give me the evil "Feed me it's dinner time" so I will do that now!
|
|
|
Post by sophie on Jan 29, 2024 12:23:53 GMT -5
After all that stress, the end seems anti climactic!!!
|
|
|
Post by sprite on Jan 29, 2024 13:14:46 GMT -5
I think I would have crapped my pants! Glad it wasn't anything serious.
|
|
|
Post by romily on Jan 29, 2024 13:36:36 GMT -5
I was close to doing just that!
Will get the bus / lorry license removed when I'm back so I don't have that hassle again, if I would need an international driving license the post office could not issue it,
It's just that back in the day in Germany you got as part of your car license the entitlement to drive a lorry up to 7.5 tons and a bus - in the UK the system is different so when I transferred my license I was not aware that I need to renew the HGV/bus part every 5 years - and I have no intention of driving a lorry or bus in the future!
What worried me as well was the thought I was driving illegally for 2 years with no valid insurance, thankfully that also wasn't the case.
|
|
|
Post by lillielangtry on Jan 29, 2024 13:48:02 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by romily on Jan 29, 2024 14:25:08 GMT -5
Oh yes, I remember that - I got a letter and was just WTF? I have a great job and you want me to drive lorries? I used to work in that industry and know what a shitty job that is, both working hours, conditions and pay!
Wit the flu I'm fighting right now I would probably be on statutory sick pay, about £100 a week, not enough to survive! At least now I can take time to recover, and all I fight with is my guilt - but that's a thread for tomorrow...
|
|
|
Post by kneazle on Jan 29, 2024 15:14:00 GMT -5
My mum recently renewed her licence (you have to renew it every 2 years once you're 80) she had to stand in a line for 2 hours to get it. She said the only plus side is the building was airconditioned. She got the licence and said that as the photo was taken after standing for 2 hours she won't be showing it around!
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Jan 29, 2024 17:36:10 GMT -5
Whoa and phew! Thank you for reminding me to check my license expiration date.
|
|
|
Post by psw on Jan 29, 2024 20:09:22 GMT -5
I checked mine, too, and I have a year and a half until my birthday in 2025.
Licenses are for 5 years. Up to age 70 you can renew once on line without taking the vision test but over 70 you have to renew in person every time. The AAA office near me does renewals so I don't have to deal with the mob scene at the registry, thank FSM.
Mr.W and I were once road-tripping in Canada and somehow wound up on a toll road through a busy downtown. The toll was 25 cents and we had no Canadian change. So I said let's try a US quarter, which worked. Not cool to get busted abroad for toll evasion! When we got home Mr.W looked at his license and realized it had expired while we were up north. We had visions of his being arrested in Canada for driving on an expired license - aaarrrggghhh! I drove him to the registry for this one, and it turned out to be no big deal to renew a recently expired license. Whew, indeed.
|
|
|
Post by groo on Jan 29, 2024 20:56:04 GMT -5
fwiw I drove unknowingly for a couple of months in Canada on an expired NSW (Australia) licence. My main worry was that when I went to be tested for my Ontario licence they'd ask me how I'd got to the test site with my car and demand to see my NSW licence. They didn't.
The testing officer (an English bloke) was quite charming - we talked of this and that and even stopped to say hullo to one of his friends. At the end he didn't even mention my driving - just said that he'd enjoyed our little chat.
Different story with Jude. It was snowing and she drove off on the wrong side of the road. The testing officer just said "When in Rome ....." and passed her.
When she went for her NSW licence it was at the local police station. The constable just said: "Yes, I've seen you driving around town. You'll do." and passed her without a road test.
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Jan 30, 2024 2:39:33 GMT -5
Phew, Romily. Glad you are still legal. Just checked mine - it’s due in April this year. Not sure what hoops I’ll have to jump through, but ophthalmologist wrote a report for me recently, when I applied for my disabled parking permit, as did GP. When I was working in Solomon Islands I got a local licence, which was issued because I had an Australian one. All they wanted to know to give me a truck licence as well was if I could drive it. 3-ton trucks are standard public transport over there.
|
|
|
Post by groo on Jan 30, 2024 2:56:14 GMT -5
Would appreciate your advice, ozziegiraffe (no need for too much detail), Oz , on how one goes about getting a disabled parking permit. I've reached the stage where I'm planning my shopping around ease of access.
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Jan 30, 2024 3:09:13 GMT -5
Would appreciate your advice, ozziegiraffe (no need for too much detail), Oz , on how one goes about getting a disabled parking permit. I've reached the stage where I'm planning my shopping around ease of access. Your GP should have the forms. It is a matter of asking them for one. They complete them, then you have to take them to Service NSW. It is important to check that all i’s are dotted, t’s crossed and boxes ticked, or Service NSW will send you back to the doctor. One of my friends had to go back 3 times.
|
|
|
Post by romily on Jan 30, 2024 4:54:37 GMT -5
See,in Germany licenses don't expire, you have them for life. Stepdad is still happily driving at the age of 92 and I swear he would not pass any test. He doesn't drive long distance anymore and is fine locally, but his reaction time and awareness of others in the road is scary.
|
|
|
Post by sprite on Jan 30, 2024 6:38:16 GMT -5
Yup. I know that elderly drivers have a lower collision/injury rate than the youngest drivers, but it's still a time of life when there should be more checks on us, as our bodies and abilities change rapidly.
(I also think there should be more controls on the youngest drivers, like graduated licensing etc)
|
|
|
Post by snowwhite on Jan 30, 2024 7:47:36 GMT -5
Panic over - spoke to the DVLA and they said the license is expired for lorries (I have that entitlement to drive up to 7.5 tons from my German license) but not expired for cars. But at the front they print the first expiry date whcih is the one for lorries - on the back in even tinier print it shows my license is valid until Fen 2042 (when I turn 70). I might still get the license exchanged and take that lorry entitlement off to make tings easier but for my Barbados application I use the 2024 date, and worst case scenario will have the discussion then and there if I get stopped by the police. But the back clearly shows - car - expiry 2042. Still a bit dodgy but the turn around for a new license is 3 + weeks if I have to do it by post so not an option. And at least I am not driving illegally! I'd suggest you just leave it. Assuming this is a British license, the photocard has always had to be renewed every ten years and now they say the whole thing has to be renewed every ten as well. If you have an 'old' non photocard version, hang onto it! This caused me some hassle a while back because I couldn't find my physical license when I needed to renew it (found it months later when looking for another document - everything is now back together where I would start looking for all this stuff, long story) -so I applied for a replacement license, the application was returned because close to renewal, and with instructions on what to do about the situation. And the renewal isn't free either and I also don't have to do anything apart from this hassley paperwork until I'm 75.
|
|
|
Post by romily on Jan 30, 2024 9:02:03 GMT -5
I have a British photocard license - the problem is that because of the lorry entitlement on the front page expiry is 22nd Feb 2022, even on the back it says 2042 for cars. But the post office stated yesterday they would not be able to issue me with an international license as they have to go by the date on the front, so will have to exchange it to avoid hassle in the future.
No idea if I will have to renew every 10 years as my expiry is 2024 and it says German license on it, I'll see. But worst case, you can renew online for £14 every ten years, that won't kill me and will give me peace of mind going forward.
In theory we will all need an international license for driving in the EU - thanks Brexit! - which I ignored so far but if I want to hire a car say in Spain I'll need one.
|
|
|
Post by psw on Jan 30, 2024 10:19:17 GMT -5
Re: older folks driving
Having to show up in person every five years for a vision test is a good way to make people voluntarily stop driving because they know they'd flunk. A nearby state started doing this and immediately noticed a steep decline in renewals among the elder population.
In California at one time, I don't know if it's still true, they had a senior license for people over 80, I think, that restricted driving to something like 20 miles from home in daylight and no limited access roads so people could do routine shopping and errands and go to medical appointments and entertainment. The widower who lived next door to the house we rented in 1974-5 had such a license and it enabled him to stay in his own home.
|
|
|
Post by sprite on Jan 30, 2024 11:23:35 GMT -5
So, sort of the reverse of graduated licensing? I was really struck by how hard it is to survive in a lot of North American communities without a car. I'm not surprised at all that people drive even when they suspect they aren't very good at it--at any age.
|
|
|
Post by lisamnz on Jan 30, 2024 16:36:39 GMT -5
I took a flight once for work and had a hire car booked at the airport to get to the place I was going to be working which was about another hour drive away. Then the hire place said sorry, no, your licence is expired. Shit.
I was very lucky that the manager of the motel I was staying at said that he would go for a drive and pick me up, as there was certainly no way I was getting there with public transport.
And then the guy I was doing the work with said that he'd drive me back up to the airport afterwards.
Very lucky!
In NZ driving licenses have three stages. A theory test, which gets you your 'learners' licence. While you have your learners licence you can only drive with someone over 25 that has held their licence for a certain length of time sitting beside you in the front of the car, specifically the front not the back. The idea being they can grab the steering wheel if required.
Then a practical test, which gets you to your restricted licence, you can drive alone but only during certain hours, and you can take passengers but they have to be over 25 (I think??) so no 18 year olds driving their mates around.
AFter a period of time on the restricted licence, you automatically graduate to your full. You can shorten the time by doing a defensive driving course, or an advanced practical driving course where you get to speed around a racetrack and practice emergency stops, etc. I've done both, I did the advanced driving course for work years later.
And then you're on your own with a licence renewal every ten years (which includes a quick eye test).
Until you reach 75. then you have to sit a practical test again, and your licence is only valid for five years.
IT's a shame this didn't happen earlier, as it would have prevented my grandmother from having and causing numerous accidents before my mum and dad finally took her keys away. We used to joke that her Honda Civic was an extra-rounded shape because she maneuvered in tight spaces by touch.
|
|
|
Post by Liiisa on Jan 30, 2024 17:41:40 GMT -5
Wow!
When I got my license, I got it when I was 16 and it was like - take the driving test and if you pass, you've got your driver's license, now go do whatever you want.
Don't know what it's like now for new drivers - probably a little more strict.
Mine expires in April, so I need to start working on that soon.
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Jan 30, 2024 21:46:23 GMT -5
Australia is similar to New Zealand. When you first pass, you get red P ( provisional) plates, and after a year, green ones for 2 years. Both allow only zero alcohol consumption.
|
|
|
Post by groo on Jan 30, 2024 23:32:20 GMT -5
Over 70 over here you must present annual medical and eyesight documentation to show that you are capable of driving safely. Mental health is a whole different matter.
I used also to be licensed to drive buses and non articulated trucks, but forfeited this part of the licence as the medical requirements were somewhat more stringent.
I hitched around NZ in 1962 and at that time (it may still be the case) you could get your drivers licence at age 15. It was a little unnerving when the kind person who had stopped for you turned out to be a seemingly pre pubescent being perched on cushions so they could see over the steering wheel.
I met some very pleasant people on that trip.
|
|
|
Post by lisamnz on Jan 30, 2024 23:52:55 GMT -5
Australia is similar to New Zealand. When you first pass, you get red P ( provisional) plates, and after a year, green ones for 2 years. Both allow only zero alcohol consumption. Oh yes I forgot to say, learners and restricted licenses are zero blood alcohol. groo, rural new zealand is still a hitch hikers' paradise. Don't try it anywhere near a major city though.
|
|
|
Post by psw on Jan 31, 2024 0:51:09 GMT -5
What is the connection between drivers' licenses and plates? Can you only drive a car with red or green plates during those years? Do you have to have your own car? What am I missing? Here licensing a driver and licensing a vehicle are totally different transactions. At 16 you can get a restricted license and then if you have no violations a full license at 18. And I peeked into current California driver's license law. The restricted license is no longer specifically age related, but is tailored to the driver's specific situation if the person is unable to get a full license. As sprite observed, it's hard to exist without wheels in North America, so if someone can drive short distances in daylight they'll get an appropriate license for survival. There is, of course, lots of variety among the states on all these issues.
|
|
|
Post by ozziegiraffe on Jan 31, 2024 1:42:10 GMT -5
Over 70 over here you must present annual medical and eyesight documentation to show that you are capable of driving safely. Mental health is a whole different matter. It must be 75, not 70, unless you have a particular medical condition like Type 2 diabetes. I only had to do it because the medical questionnaire for my disabled parking permit indicated I had cataracts and glaucoma, which, at the time, weren’t affecting my vision. My friend, who has type 2 diabetes, though, must do it annually. Meanwhile, in answer to psw, the P plates are different to number plates. They are around the size of an iPad, with a large red or green letter P on a white background, and must be displayed on the front and back of any car you drive. Learners have yellow plates with a black L.
|
|