New Format Driving Licence

onedmc

Anyone know when the new format driving licence is out.

My current one is in tatters and got a hard time about it from a car rental company today.

CageWager

1st January 2013

coylemj

An article in the Indo last October said 'next year' i.e. 2012 but I don't know if it's been put out to tender yet. There was talk of it bring farmed out to a private contractor, presumably to avoid local authority workers holding out for a 'productivity increase' as part of the transition and to make sure it happened in the 21st century.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/new-credit-card-style-driving-licence-to-replace-tattered-paper-version-2903035.html

CageWager

lets hope this happens asap, the existing licence is a joke.

Stinicker

CageWager wrote: »

lets hope this happens asap, the existing licence is a joke.

I've got quite a few funny looks whilst present it abroad and in Sydney a car hire place would not rent me a car until they looking online and saw that it was actually the type we use!

mad muffin

CageWager wrote: »

1st January 2013

Really?! :eek:

So I need to carry around 1930's type drivers licence for another year?! :mad:

CageWager

mad muffin wrote: »

Really?! :eek:

So I need to carry around 1930's type drivers licence for another year?! :mad:

Unfortunately it looks like it, from what I gather it will be issued on a trial basis at some stage in 2012 but from 01/01/13 all NEW licences issues will be the new format. It's not a case where they'll just send everyone a new licence. If you want one you'll have to apply and pay for it.

The Irish Times - Wednesday, January 18, 2012


MICHAEL McALEER

THIS WEEK: Getting ready for the new-style driving licence

From NK: My driving licence is due for renewal in September of this year. I was delighted to read in your paper in October of the introduction of the new, credit card-type licence, which is far more convenient to carry. However, having called Dublin City Council last week, I was informed that the new licences will not be introduced until 2013. So I will have the inconvenience of the old-style licence for the next nine years. My question is, will they introduce some type of trade-in where I can exchange the old for the new without incurring the cost of the new licence?
The new licenses come in to effect from January 1st, 2013, although they are likely to be trialled before that in some areas. The Government has confirmed that they will allow motorists to change to the new credit card license after its introduction – but for a fee.

ballooba

Stinicker wrote: »

I've got quite a few funny looks whilst present it abroad and in Sydney a car hire place would not rent me a car until they looking online and saw that it was actually the type we use!

In Brisbane I was asked in a club if I had made it at home. I was denied entry. Incidentally, their own digital licences were years behind schedule.

CageWager

On a side note, I hope the new one isn't pink!

pcardin

ballooba wrote: »

In Brisbane I was asked in a club if I had made it at home. I was denied entry. Incidentally, their own digital licences were years behind schedule.

I was asked the same in Germany by Autobahn Polizei

pcardin

CageWager wrote: »

On a side note, I hope the new one isn't pink!

unfortunately, it will be in pink :rolleyes:

coylemj

I think the reason why there hasn't been any urgency about the project is because the driving licence is hardly ever used in Ireland for identification and you're hardly ever asked to produce it by the Gardai, except maybe after an accident.

I have never been asked for my driving licence at a Garda checkpoint. Even where I was pulled into a layby for an excise (green diesel) checkpoint and where they had loads of time to do it, they never asked me to produce my licence.

RSA stats used to show a huge number of older people driving (obviously for years) on provisional licences (now learner permits), a lot of these people should have been put off the road when the rule about always being accompanied by a person with a full licence came in a few years ago - could it be that there is a blind eye being turned to the problem?

The RSA website no longer publishes the breakdown of full vs. learner licences.

Stinicker

I imagine it will be something like these Polish and German ones, substitute the flower with a Harp and IRL in the EU flag, it will be an Irish state licence of the European Union. Similarly to how you have a New York or California state drivers licence in America.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Prawo_jazdy_katB.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_SE_r3OzE9Ek/TQ-WTAEwDAI/AAAAAAAAKa8/i8Ux-oUPmoQ/s1600/GermanDrivingLicense.jpg

PCPhoto

coylemj wrote: »

I think the reason why there hasn't been any urgency about the project is because the driving licence is hardly ever used in Ireland for identification and you're hardly ever asked to produce it by the Gardai, except maybe after an accident.

I have never been asked for my driving licence at a Garda checkpoint. Even where I was pulled into a layby for an excise (green diesel) checkpoint and where they had loads of time to do it, they never asked me to produce my licence.

RSA stats used to show a huge number of older people driving (obviously for years) on provisional licences (now learner permits), a lot of these people should have been put off the road when the rule about always being accompanied by a person with a full licence came in a few years ago - could it be that there is a blind eye being turned to the problem?

The RSA website no longer publishes the breakdown of full vs. learner licences.

if it was handy to carry and not easy to create a forgery then it would be used as an ID - hopefully the government get the finger out and make a simple card with anti-fraud technology.

my licence is due for renewal in 2013 so I'm looking forward to the new licence....my current one is tattered and recently a Garda mentioned that its illegal to have your previous address on the licence - I didn't ask him to tell me the exact law but thought its strange considering I've never heard this and have moved house 4 times in the last 6 years (I'm renting).

eth0

Ah feck sake I must be the only one here who actually likes the old style license. wonder how resistant these new yokes will be to fading

Guy:Incognito

What do people be doing with their licences? I renewed mine in 09 but the previous one was still grand. It spent a good chunk of its life in a wallet that folds in 3 aswell as being thrown in the car or in my pocket at various times.

pred racer

pcardin wrote: »

I was asked the same in Germany by Autobahn Polizei

He musn't have been too bright then, coz the french ones are exactly the same;)

seamus

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

What do people be doing with their licences? I renewed mine in 09 but the previous one was still grand. It spent a good chunk of its life in a wallet that folds in 3 aswell as being thrown in the car or in my pocket at various times.

My last one was destroyed living in my wallet so the new one lives in my car.
On the rare occasion that I'd be driving my wife's car, I'll just tell the guard that I'll produce. If I ever happen to be asked for my licence.

I've yet to hear of someone in Ireland being fined for failing to carry their licence.

pcardin

pred racer wrote: »

He musn't have been too bright then, coz the french ones are exactly the same;)

That was not my job to test if he is bright or not but I could see where was he comming from as it really looks like home made. I've never seen french driving licence so couldn't argue on that.

ForzaSaints

I like the current one, don't see any problems.

pred racer

I use my licence about once a year (normally in the bank) so i really dont care.

In the states it wont matter what you have if its not american.
I was refused entry to an irish bar in san fransico because my irish passport was not a california drivers licence

Ot: im glad we live in a country where you dont have to produce 'id' every 2 seconds.

pred racer

pcardin wrote: »

That was not my job to test if he is bright or not but I could see where was he comming from as it really looks like home made. I've never seen french driving licence so couldn't argue on that.

Do a google image search, its exactly the same.
I could understand him having never seen an irish one, but not even knowing what their best buddies (at the moment ) use is a bit thick:D

vetstu

Stinicker wrote: »

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Prawo_jazdy_katB.jpg

OT
Isn't that the lad with a couple hundred penalty points.

Typewriter

http://www.languedoc-roussillon.eu.com/driving%20regulations.html

Carstuck

I never carry my license nor have I ever asked to produce it. I know a few who leave theirs in their car but I think thats a really bad idea in case anything happened the car.

El Guapo!

Carstuck wrote: »

I never carry my license nor have I ever asked to produce it. I know a few who leave theirs in their car but I think thats a really bad idea in case anything happened the car.

I leave mine in my car constantly and it's in mint condition like the day I got it.
If my car is robbed or anything, my lost licence is the least of my worries.

coylemj

Dean09 wrote: »

I leave mine in my car constantly and it's in mint condition like the day I got it.
If my car is robbed or anything, my lost licence is the least of my worries.

Same here. It has my photo on it so isn't really of any use to the thief who robs my car and as I've never been asked to produce it, the delay of a few weeks getting a replacement would be no big deal.

charlemont

vetstu wrote: »

OT
Isn't that the lad with a couple hundred penalty points.

The Gardaí won an award for their stupidity over it..

Gardai track Prawo Jazdy... driving licence if you're Polish.(News)


Daily Mail (London)
October 3, 2009 | Copyright

Permalink
Byline: Andrew Bushe

GARDAI thought that they were on to a serial rogue motorist when a Polish menace called Prawo Jazdy kept coming up on their radar.

Eventually the boys in blue discovered Prawo Jazdy was in fact the Polish phrase for driving licence.

Now An Garda Siochana have won this year's 'Ig Nobel literature prize' for stupidity for writing more than 50 traffic tickets for Prawo Jazdy.

They join a list of luminaries, including the inventor of a bra that can be turned into a gas mask, and Japanese researchers who demonstrated how kitchen waste can be reduced by 90 per cent using bacteria extracted from the faeces of giant pandas.

…

bijapos

pred racer wrote: »

He musn't have been too bright then, coz the french ones are exactly the same;)

As were German ones up until a couple of years ago when they introduced the credit card ones. In fact our pink one was modeled on a German licence introduced in the 80's. Where there used to be confusion was with the older Irish ones issued until the 80's that had no photo in them. Older German ones incidentally were for life, I've seen men in their 70's carrying licences issued when they were in their 20's with a photo taken in their 20's. Made no sense really.

Having said that, I've met some fairly thick German cops in my time, I lived there and speak fluent German so its not as if its a language problem.

Some classics being told that my Irish reg car was stolen in the UK as they are the only country to have RHD, that the plates are fake as the year is on them and this is illegal. But if you're looking for something stupid on Irish Licences then you should note that they have 2 numbers which is confusing.

But the best was about 10 years ago when the cop in Leipzig asked me where my German visa was, I told him we are in the EU and I don't need one. He said that was a lie and asked me how long is Ireland in the EU. I said "17 years longer then you are". Cue 2 hours in the station yard having the car and its contents stripped out. Worth it though as he knew he looked like a thick cnut in the end.

opinion guy

pred racer wrote: »

I use my licence about once a year (normally in the bank) so i really dont care.

In the states it wont matter what you have if its not american.
I was refused entry to an irish bar in san fransico because my irish passport was not a california drivers licence

Ot: im glad we live in a country where you dont have to produce 'id' every 2 seconds.

Were you wearing trainers ?

pred racer

opinion guy wrote: »

Were you wearing trainers ?

Nope:D

seamus

pred racer wrote: »

In the states it wont matter what you have if its not american.
I was refused entry to an irish bar in san fransico because my irish passport was not a california drivers licence

I know someone who managed to get drink for an entire summer on a J1 in San Fran using a false Irish licence. But that was more than ten years ago now. And before anyone asks; Yes, I saw it, he wasn't telling tales, and no, he cut it up and burned it before he left the US and obtained a real licence at home.

pcardin

bijapos wrote: »

But the best was about 10 years ago when the cop in Leipzig asked me where my German visa was, I told him we are in the EU and I don't need one. He said that was a lie and asked me how long is Ireland in the EU. I said "17 years longer then you are". Cue 2 hours in the station yard having the car and its contents stripped out. Worth it though as he knew he looked like a thick cnut in the end.

:D I was asked something similar in 2006 when stopped at checkpoint on my way to Sligo.

BrensBenz

Sorry - I'm way out of touch. Will the new license fit into a standard wallet without being folded and scrunched up? Have you ever tried finding a wallet that takes the old license?

mad muffin

BrensBenz wrote: »

Sorry - I'm way out of touch. Will the new license fit into a standard wallet without being folded and scrunched up? Have you ever tried finding a wallet that takes the old license?

I swapped a UK licence for an Irish one because it expired. Had to get a bigger wallet (one of those with the Velcro and tat folds into three) still doesn't fit properly.

puppetmaster

BrensBenz wrote: »

Sorry - I'm way out of touch. Will the new license fit into a standard wallet without being folded and scrunched up? Have you ever tried finding a wallet that takes the old license?

Yes is the answer there, they will be the size of a credit card.

murpho999

Why is everyone saying that the design of old licence is an Irish issue?

It's an EU design and when I lived in Holland my Dutch licence was the exact same.
Also, all the licences in Europe have 'Driving Licence' in all European languages on the front, including Irish.

Find it hard to believe that a car rental office had never seen one before to be honest.

What I don't understand is why it takes so long to get new card licence introduced as the government first announced it about 4 years ago.

Del2005

murpho999 wrote: »

What I don't understand is why it takes so long to get new card licence introduced as the government first announced it about 4 years ago.

The same reason it's taken so long to give us post codes and integrated ticketing on public transport.

Useless politicians and lazy civil servants, spend millions of our money to reinvent the wheel and still manage to make it square.

biko

mad muffin wrote: »

Really?! :eek:

So I need to carry around 1930's type drivers licence for another year?! :mad:

What's another year?

The Quadratic Equation

onedmc wrote: »

Anyone know when the new format driving licence is out.

Whenever a govenment politician gets one of their family or friends fat asses on the board of the company that will be awarded the supply contract, along with some nice tasty share options/dividends. Obviously the correct package deal has not materialised yet. Patience, dear friend, when the right 'deal' comes along for someone, you'll get your shiny new card no bother. You should know how it works in little old Ireland Inc. at this stage.

mad muffin

The Quadratic Equation wrote: »

Whenever a govenment politician gets one of their family or friends fat asses on the board of the company that will be awarded the supply contract, along with some nice tasty share options/dividends. Obviously the correct package deal has not materialised yet. Patience, dear friend, when the right 'deal' comes along for someone, you'll get your shiny new card no bother. You should know how it works in little old Ireland Inc. at this stage.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

murpho999

The Quadratic Equation wrote: »

Whenever a govenment politician gets one of their family or friends fat asses on the board of the company that will be awarded the supply contract, along with some nice tasty share options/dividends. Obviously the correct package deal has not materialised yet. Patience, dear friend, when the right 'deal' comes along for someone, you'll get your shiny new card no bother. You should know how it works in little old Ireland Inc. at this stage.

This is just total barstool politics rubbish.

When the project was announced they said it would take a number of years.

The Quadratic Equation

murpho999 wrote: »

This is just total barstool politics rubbish.

Yes, lets try to pretend there is no corruption and nepotism in Ireland, no bondholders, no SCAMA, no banker bailouts, and it all never happened, that will solve it, and it will all go away then i'm sure.:rolleyes:

If it's good enough for Ray Burke and road sign contracts, it's good enough for the rest of them.

murpho999 wrote: »

When the project was announced they said it would take a number of years.

For a plastic photo card ? Pull the other one. lol

opinion guy

murpho999 wrote: »

When the project was announced they said it would take a number of years.

Why ?
Other countries with far more citizens haven't seemed to have any problems.

CiniO

opinion guy wrote: »

Why ?
Other countries with far more citizens haven't seemed to have any problems.

They did.
Poland swapped from old shape licences to new credit-card size ones in July 1999.
I passed my driving test only few months later (on September 1999) and I had to wait about 7 weeks for my licence until it arrived from the only one central place where all licences were printed. For those 7 weeks I was not allowed to drive, even though I passed my test.
Definitely it wasn't efficient system at the begining.
Now you wait for your licence up to 1 week after passing the test.
]

murpho999

The Quadratic Equation wrote: »

Yes, lets try to pretend there is no corruption and nepotism in Ireland, no bondholders, no SCAMA, no banker bailouts, and it all never happened, that will solve it, and it will all go away then i'm sure.:rolleyes:

If it's good enough for Ray Burke and road sign contracts, it's good enough for the rest of them.



For a plastic photo card ? Pull the other one. lol

Yes the stuff you said has happened, but has nothing to do with this. You've listed a load of issues there that are unrelated.

opinion guy wrote: »

Why ?
Other countries with far more citizens haven't seemed to have any problems.

As I've said I've no idea why it's taking so long, but they did say from the start it was a long term project, it is more than just a plastic card and will have a supporting IT structure behind it, but I still don't see why it takes so long either. Just know that corruption is not the cause, even though it would be very populist to say that.

mad muffin

CiniO wrote: »

They did.
Poland swapped from old shape licences to new credit-card size ones in July 1999.
I passed my driving test only few months later (on September 1999) and I had to wait about 7 weeks for my licence until it arrived from the only one central place where all licences were printed. For those 7 weeks I was not allowed to drive, even though I passed my test.
Definitely it wasn't efficient system at the begining.
Now you wait for your licence up to 1 week after passing the test.
]

No such problem would exist in Ireland, since people are more than happy to drive on their L's as the cops just turn a blind eye.

L1011

CageWager wrote: »

On a side note, I hope the new one isn't pink!

Pink's still the EU standard - our licences are the old EU standard design.

A lot of the stories of people having trouble with Irish licences in Europe are simply made up; and until recently our licence looked very snazzy compared to GB (NI has had a photocard element for years) with their massive paper-with-no-photo monster. Many people across Europe still have identical trifold paper licences because they don't replace them until expiry.

The Quadratic Equation

murpho999 wrote: »

Yes the stuff you said has happened, but has nothing to do with this. You've listed a load of issues there that are unrelated.

Of course they are related : that's exactly how the Irish political golden circle system works.

From Haughey Boland & Co, to Ansbacher, to PMPA, to planning tribunals, to the meat industry, to Eircon, to P-Pars to E-voting to Road signs, to supply of tyres for Gardai vechicles, to NAMA to Anglo Irish Bank. The area is irelevant, that's the beauty of the system for them, just as long as they can get their sticky fat fingers into the Jam Jar. You'll get your shiny new licence card as soon as some parasite political cronie and his famaily is set up nicely to make a mint from it, and not before.

How long have you been living in Ireland ?

Del2005

murpho999 wrote: »

Yes the stuff you said has happened, but has nothing to do with this. You've listed a load of issues there that are unrelated.



As I've said I've no idea why it's taking so long, but they did say from the start it was a long term project, it is more than just a plastic card and will have a supporting IT structure behind it, but I still don't see why it takes so long either. Just know that corruption is not the cause, even though it would be very populist to say that.

While it may not be totally due to corruption, there's definitely incompetence and lack of accountability.

It's not like we're trying to invent the CC type licence, they could just buy all the kit off the shelf since it's an EU standard licence we need to issue. But we've spend millions on it and send people all over the world on fact finding missions and still not have them several years after they were announced.

Taking years to introduce a pre defined EU standard licence means that there is too much fat in the system and someone is making money from it.

pcardin

Del2005 wrote: »

While it may not be totally due to corruption, there's definitely incompetence and lack of accountability.

It's not like we're trying to invent the CC type licence, they could just buy all the kit off the shelf since it's an EU standard licence we need to issue. But we've spend millions on it and send people all over the world on fact finding missions and still not have them several years after they were announced.

Taking years to introduce a pre defined EU standard licence means that there is too much fat in the system and someone is making money from it.

so true