News - 2009 Archive

• Driver training
• Total cost of ownership
• Rise in Rentals
• European fleet risk management
• Green Debate
• Confused by LOLER regulations?
• Public Sector Growth
• Car jacking - beware
• Whole life costs
• Parlez vous TCO?
• State of the Industry
• WLC what fleets need to know
• Driver Licence Checking
• Diesel particulate filters

Is your driving licence about to 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 small print on their photocard 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 situation has come to light a decade after the first batch of photo licences was issued in July 1998, just as they start to expire.          

A mock-up driving licence from 1998 when the photocards launched shows the imminent expiry date as item '4b'

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 photocard 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 credit-card-size photo licence, which is used in conjunction with the paper version. 

4b: The small print on the back of the driving licence is easy to miss

Just below the driver name on the front of the photocard 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'. 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.             

The DVLA said failure to update the photocard after 10 years fell into the same category as failing to inform them of a change of address.                                                                                             

Both offences fall under Section 99 of the Road Traffic Act, specifically 'failure to surrender a licence without reasonable excuse.' 

The DVLA said it did not affect entitlement to drive, but was still an offence carrying a maximum £1,000 fine. The Association of British Insurers and the Department for Transport said that insurance cover was not affected if drivers failed to update their photocard.                                                                                  

A DVLA spokesperson said: 'The DVLA has written to each and every person when their photocard driving licence is due for renewal on how to go about renewing it and the penalty for not doing so. Drivers are also required by law to notify the DVLA if they change address.'                      

He said: 'It is important that photocards are updated every ten years to ensure the police and other enforcement agencies have the best possible tool to help them correctly identify whether a driving licence is being used fraudulently, and so help prevent driving licence impersonation - and stop disqualified and perhaps dangerous drivers taking to our roads.' 

Today the DVLA said the date of expiry was carried on the new-style licences, even though the AA says this is 'not clear'. The Agency was unable to say whether motorists were told the licences would expire when they were first issued.                 

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