Driving Licence and ferry mess up

Harrybelafonte

Am to take a ferry to UK on Friday, but licence is expired. Did a search on here and it said there were emergency procedures in such cases. Just been to the Motor Tax offices. THese procedures no longer exist because all licences are off-site.

I HAVE to get this ferry. What are my options? Chance it? Photocopy of old licence and receipt for new one?

dave1982

Not sure but it worth a chance, maybe they might not notice the exirpy date

coylemj

It's a few years since I took a ferry to the UK but do they even ask for a driving licence and if they just want id, wouldn't the passport do? I don't think they care if you're licensed to drive in the UK, if they ask for identification you can always produce your passport and say the driving licence is in the boot.

zagmund

I'm pretty sure that I got to France and back on the basis of my passport with no need for the license. It will be a different matter if stopped in the UK, but unless I'm mistaken it's not a criminal offence so the worst you will have is a fine. And a delay. But you will have got the ferry which is the requirement.

z

nompere

I've caught quite a few ferries over the last twelve months.

I have sometimes been asked for identification at Holyhead, on the way back. A passport is all they need. I have once, I think, been asked for identification at Dublin Port. My passport did that.

I have never been asked to produce my driving licence.

How the UK police will react to your not being able to prove that you are allowed to drive on their roads is quite a different question.

coylemj

I've been twice to France on the ferry and wasn't even asked for a passport at the other end, the French cops just waved us off the boat. Have never been stopped in the UK and asked for a driving licence, either at the port or on the open roads.

schemingbohemia

OP I don't think the ferry is going to be the worst of your problems, it will be driving without a valid licence in the UK, they tend to treat these matters a bit more strictly than your local Garda here.

twistyj

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Travel_Area

Harrybelafonte

Thanks for the advice all. I think I'm going to leave it. I'm going to lose a huge amount of money either way, either fines or fares etc.

Just remember, no more emergency driver's licences. There are about 20 other posts on this site and others stating how easy it is to get a renewal on the day, this is not true since 12 January 2013. It's a 10 day minimum wait no matter what your situation.

keithclancy

schemingbohemia wrote: »

OP I don't think the ferry is going to be the worst of your problems, it will be driving without a valid licence in the UK, they tend to treat these matters a bit more strictly than your local Garda here.

+1, If stopped you're facing detainment (Since you're not resident in the United Kingdom and this has been the case for example if you were stopped for speeding in the North for example)

and also a 1000 pound fine, which even applied to UK motorists when their cards expired:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1054636/More-40-000-unwitting-motorists-face-1-000-fines-thousands-photocard-driving-licences-expire.html

m.j.w

How long is your lisence out of date? My mums was 2 years out of date (she didnt even know) and she was pulled over by the psni and they let her away with it just saying to get a new one. Your still insured as far as im aware so would you not just chance it and play dumb.

Harrybelafonte

Since Sunday.

leeroybrown

Being stopped by the UK traffic police is your big problem. As you'll be a foreign visitor, if you can't produce a license they'll impound your car on the side of the road and will likely chose to detain you. The UK police do things by the book unlike here.

keithclancy

m.j.w wrote: »

How long is your lisence out of date? My mums was 2 years out of date (she didnt even know) and she was pulled over by the psni and they let her away with it just saying to get a new one. Your still insured as far as im aware so would you not just chance it and play dumb.

I had a mate that 'played dumb' renting a German car and driving it in the Netherlands while he was still resident.

He ended up with a over 3 thousand euros in bills and legal costs + a fine from Customs.

On the other side I know a guy that does it all the time and never had a problem.

Harrybelafonte

What about having the receipt to show I applied for it?

coylemj

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

What about having the receipt to show I applied for it?

Usually no good outside the original country as the local cops won't know if it's genuine or not so they'll assume it's a fake.

Fatswaldo

I use the ferry each month and drive in the UK on a weekly basis. You dont need your licence to get on the ferry and you will only need it for the Police if you are stopped by them for a traffic offence. I lived there for 12 years and am now there almost every week and I have never been asked to produce my drivers licence.:D

CelticRambler

Photocopy your current licence, photocopy your application, put your application in, get on the ferry and take everything with you. You are qualified to drive and these kinds of "administrative" glitches are relatively common.

Harrybelafonte

CelticRambler wrote: »

Photocopy your current licence, photocopy your application, put your application in, get on the ferry and take everything with you. You are qualified to drive and these kinds of "administrative" glitches are relatively common.

Would that not confirm that I had knowingly driven with an invalid licence? I'm going back to the tax office tomorrow to confirm whether I have any options. Just in case.

nompere

I did a google search.

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=UK+police+impounding+cars&gbv=2&oq=UK+police+impounding+cars&gs_l=heirloom-hp.3...1823.7976.0.8527.25.23.0.1.1.0.447.2903.6j16j4-1.23.0...0.0...1c.1.EE4B4ABbHOM

It might be that the police exceeded their powers, but they have impounded cars where the driver couldn't produce a valid licence.

That's the first story on the page. A bit further down is the story about the impounding of the millionth car on British roads. The police just don't do flexible in Britain the way we are used to here.

CelticRambler

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Would that not confirm that I had knowingly driven with an invalid licence? I'm going back to the tax office tomorrow to confirm whether I have any options. Just in case.

You are licenced to drive - you did the test, you're not being asked to do another one, and you haven't been told you can't drive any more. Your licence is not invalid, but the the document that proves this (that pink thing everyone calls "the licence") needs to be renewed, and you've taken the appropriate steps.

(Same situation as your "birth cert" - that bit of paper with your name and dob on it is a copy of your birth registration. It's an official copy of the details, but it's not your actual birth certificate. The state hangs onto that.)

Harrybelafonte

Motor Tax office cannot guarantee that the UK police would accept a receipt from them. So that's the end of that.

coylemj

Harrybelafonte wrote: »

Motor Tax office cannot guarantee that the UK police would accept a receipt from them. So that's the end of that.

You actually asked them that question? What possible answer did you expect other than the one you got?

Harrybelafonte

coylemj wrote: »

You actually asked them that question? What possible answer did you expect other than the one you got?

Oh, I don't know I figured I should ask them a specific question, just to be sure, rather than relying solely on info given to me on the internet. That's what got me into trouble in the first place. There was no consensus on the thread and though I was confident those saying that I'd have trouble with the police in the UK were right, they provided no offical sources that there definitely wasn't another option provided by the RSA. Now anybody who comes across this thread has an "officialish" answer.

I originally asked the question, to see if anyone had been in a similar situation and had found a resolution. No-one has. This situation has only existed for about two weeks.

Yes, maybe I was a bit silly going back, but are you worried that I embarrassed myself or wasted my time? I'm ok, my time to waste and my dignity to toss away.

coylemj

If I was you I'd just go there. As long as you observe the speed limit and lane discipline on the motorways, the cops won't bother you. See the post above where the poster said he has never been stopped in 12 years.

I know there's always a first time but I have never been stopped in NI or GB or France by the cops and in almost 40 years driving here I've only once been asked to produce my licence and that was after an accident. Even at dozens of checkpoints the Gardai have never asked to see my licence.