UK licence..

HashSlinging

Someone just told me that if you have a uk licence while driving here you cannot get penalty points, just a fine, is this true?

Seth Brundle

you can - but only if you are in the UK or Northern Ireland. The system here is not connected to the UK system.

Nuttzz

correct, you only get a fine

John R

You do have to change the licence to an Irish one if you are living here more than 6 months. In the UK the points are attached to your record even if you don't have a UK licence, If you get one subsequently the points are added.

dermot_sheehan

You don't have to change your UK licence anymore, recent EU legislation means you can use a UK (or indeed any other EU licence), until it expires.


They however are working on a way to transmit penalty points from one state to the licensing authorities in another.

Robbo

gabhain7 wrote:

You don't have to change your UK licence anymore, recent EU legislation means you can use a UK (or indeed any other EU licence), until it expires.

This is correct.

Although they may try and tell you to change (as I have been told), they are wrong. Of course, my English license doesn't expire for another 49 years or so, but paperwork can be such a pain

unkel

gabhain7 wrote:

They however are working on a way to transmit penalty points from one state to the licensing authorities in another.

They're thinking about it. It'll be years yet

leeroybrown

unkel wrote:

They're thinking about it. It'll be years yet

Which of course means that a certain group of Northern drivers can continue to cross the border and raise all hell here with only a requirement for a small few of their £STG if they get caught.

Seth Brundle

leeroy - it works both ways!

Nuttzz

I cant see the cross border points working TBH, in the same way that the gardai here cannot charge you with shoplifting in london, they cant convict you (which is what points are in a way) for speeding on the way to hollyhead. If they were to allow this there could be a strong civil liberities challange to it

loz_the_boz

i have been causght speeding twice - and each time i got a fine - but also a note saying 2 points have been added to my record - a total of 2 points so far !

the second time i got the same - 2 points and my total was still 2 points -

dont think they know how to process the sheets when you put in a uk licence number ( that takes up most of the sheet )

MrPudding

leeroybrown wrote:

Which of course means that a certain group of Northern drivers can continue to cross the border and raise all hell here with only a requirement for a small few of their £STG if they get caught.

This is a point people seem to miss. Southern drivers in the North are as bad. At least if you see a Northern driver you can be pretty sure they have passed a driving test.

MrP

Capt'n Midnight

MrPudding wrote:

At least if you see a Northern driver you can be pretty sure they have passed a driving test.

ROFL - except it's not really funny.

If you get an international drivers license perhaps ?

Out of curiousity what other countries can you get a local license without doing a test on the basis of having an Irish license ?

mackerski

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

If you get an international drivers license perhaps ?

Notwithstanding the name, that's not a driving licence, just a piece of paper to complement the real one you already have.

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Out of curiousity what other countries can you get a local license without doing a test on the basis of having an Irish license ?

Anywhere in the EU. Probably a few other places too. I know that Germany has an two-way exchange programme with a number of US states. (Always struck me as a handy way for Germans to avoid paying for driving school).

Dermot

unkel

Only if you have a full license

You cannot convert your Irish Provisional License (Legal document to prove that you are incompetent and incapable of driving) into a EU driving license, obviously :rolleyes:

StRiKeR

my uk license was exchanged from irish and i came back as before i went over i had a case with my insurance and it went bad, so i came back for appear, which wasn't good for my new job, i lost the job as i was away too long, anyway i got 4 yrs endorsment because my insurer refused to take resposiblity and then my uk license got taken off me and that was like nearly 2 months ago and i haven't seen it since, gonna have to call them soon as i need to renew my insurance and i'm gonna need it!

i dont know why but i always get pull not so much now but used to get pull all the time, mainly i change my car alot and they were all sportscars but i think they dont want me to use a uk license because they cant give me points!

but i'm not plainging to stay forever so i dont want to exchange my license and haven't to change back again when i go back to uk, i must change back to uk license as my insurance is a good bit higher if its non uk license!

Mocking Burd

i dont know why but i always get pull not so much now but used to get pull all the time, mainly i change my car alot and they were all sportscars but i think they dont want me to use a uk license because they cant give me points!
[/QUOTE]

I don't think they give you points for driving sports cars :rolleyes: - it might have to do with the speed you're driving...

Is there a smilie for Muppet?

StRiKeR

i did got points for speeding once, wasn't looking at the speedo and the speed build up slowly, i was on the motorway, but i did get pull twice when i first got my car for no tax, i only got the car the first time so it was ok but the second time was 4 weeks after, so my car got locked up, it took me a few weeks to get the last owner to sort out the tax book, got it the evening my car got locked up and it was friday, so taxed the car monday and pay a fine, but this is where it leads to getting points and endorsment!

I had to produce my insurance and tax, stupid me never check the cert when i got it, assuming that for the pass 2 yrs the details was right!but it wasn't, so i got sue for no insurance, got in touch with my insurer and they dont want to know, i wouldn't say which company but they are known to do this kinda thing, well i was told when this happened! my solicitor go on to them and the would not reply!

sold the car few months after bought a new car privately and got home late as i got the car late, as i was bringing the car home, got pull and this was 12am there was no number plate on the back which i wasn't able to get one after shops are closed, no insurance display cos i only bought the car but i did transfer my insurance just didnt make it to the shop for number plate, so got fine! what can i do?

seamus

Nuttzz wrote:

I cant see the cross border points working TBH, in the same way that the gardai here cannot charge you with shoplifting in london, they cant convict you (which is what points are in a way) for speeding on the way to hollyhead. If they were to allow this there could be a strong civil liberities challange to it

No, but the Gardai can charge and a London person for shoplifting in Dublin. Points are part of the punishment, and probably the most significant part. Foreigners are exempt from this, and cross border citizens take advantage of that fact. I'm sure it drives the police in the north crazy too.

Travelcard

gabhain7 wrote: »

You don't have to change your UK licence anymore, recent EU legislation means you can use a UK (or indeed any other EU licence), until it expires.


They however are working on a way to transmit penalty points from one state to the licensing authorities in another.

Old thread, but still a high ranker in Google, so worth clarifying this as I've just been onto the DVLA.

You have to change the address of your driving licence from your old UK address to your new Irish address. The DVLA are unable to change it to a non-UK address so you have to get it converted to an Irish one anyway.

Yes, you can drive legally in the EU with another EU state's driving licence, so that is fine if you are just visiting or on business, but if you don't update your address then the licence is not valid any more.

I'm sure your insurance company would love to use that get out clause in the event of an accident.

mackerski

Travelcard wrote: »

Old thread, but still a high ranker in Google, so worth clarifying this as I've just been onto the DVLA.

You have to change the address of your driving licence from your old UK address to your new Irish address. The DVLA are unable to change it to a non-UK address so you have to get it converted to an Irish one anyway.

Yes, you can drive legally in the EU with another EU state's driving licence, so that is fine if you are just visiting or on business, but if you don't update your address then the licence is not valid any more.

I'm sure your insurance company would love to use that get out clause in the event of an accident.

This goes against the spirit of this information:
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/faq/driving-license/index_en.htm#8

Granted there is a subtle difference. The page I've linked indicates that all EU countries have to recognise licences issued by other EU countries, and may not oblige you to exchange your licence.

If I'm reading your post correctly, it seems like the DVLA is suggesting that they will invalidate your licence if you don't update the address, but that they won't provide a mechanism to do so. If this were in fact the rule, there would be no value in the mutual recognition procedures described on the page I link.

Seems a lot like FUD to me. If they don't actually disqualify your licence, it licences you to drive.

Alun

I asked this very same question of the Dept. of Transport when I was driving here on a Dutch licence and they stated categorically that no change of address was required (not that it's possible either).

Alanstrainor

Take it to a new thread lads. Dragging up 6 year old threads is just not on.