Do you carry your license at all times when driving?

The Singing Beard

The number of people who don't astounds me. Why wouldn't you?

If you're caught without it, you have to produce it at a Garda station within a few days.

The thing is, how does a Garda know when and where to expect the person and how do they know whom to expect if the person didn't have their license in the first place.

If you're driving a rented car or a friends car where the registration isn't tied to you then what's to stop you saying "my name is joe blogs".

Is it not easier to make carrying your license compulsory??

jca

It's always kept in the car

Strawwwbreeezz wrote: »

The number of people who don't astounds me. Why wouldn't you?

If you're caught without it, you have to produce it at a Garda station within a few days.

The thing is, how does a Garda know when and where to expect the person and how do they know whom to expect if the person didn't have their license in the first place.

If you're driving a rented car or a friends car where the registration isn't tied to you then what's to stop you saying "my name is joe blogs".

Is it not easier to make carrying your license compulsory??

I thought it was compulsory.

The Singing Beard

It's always kept in the car

jca wrote: »

I thought it was compulsory.

Then why do you have a grace period to produce it?

Mycroft H

I could end up driving more than one car during the day. So I'll leave the licence in the wallet. Now whether I remember to bring the wallet with me is another thing

allthedoyles

Its not compulsory , but would want to keep the licence in their car in this day and age of robberies / handbag snatches .

Keep it in a safe place at home under lock and key , in case your home is broken into , and produce when necessary .

Mycroft H

Plus my paper one is in tatters so the less handling it gets, the better.

_Kaiser_

I keep it at home

It doesn't comfortably fit in the wallet so I leave it in the car (if my car went missing I think I'd be a little more upset about that then where my license is!)

As a result though my license is almost like new!

djimi

I keep it at home

Not all the time, no. Its in the glovebox of my car, which means its on me 90% of the time when Im driving, but if Im driving the girlfriends car then I almost never bother transferring it. Im really not bothered; I havent passed through a checkpoint in years and genuinely have no recollection of the last time I was asked for my license.

Last time I kept it in my wallet it was in tatters after a month. Im not buying a bigger wallet just to accommodate it...!

Sam Kade

I drove for 3 years with an out of date licence :eek: about a year after getting it I was asked for it at a routine checkpoint only time in 33 years I had to produce my licence.

SpaceTime

Can you update it to the card version? I'm sick of the big huge papery thing

djimi

I keep it at home

Sam Kade wrote: »

I drove for 3 years with an out of date licence :eek: about a year after getting it I was asked for it at a routine checkpoint only time in 33 years I had to produce my licence.

Mine was out of date for 8 months before I realised. I honestly never look at the thing.

Not that it matters in the grand scheme of things; youre either licensed or youre not. You might get a ticking off but renewing your license is essentially only a tax (and a chance to stick a more up to date picture on it!).

djimi

I keep it at home

SpaceTime wrote: »

Can you update it to the card version? I'm sick of the big huge papery thing

If you were to lose it or put it through the wash then you could replace it and would get a new one.

String

I keep it at home

Have the old licence and its always in my car. When I get the new card one I will keep it in my wallet

Cantona's Collars

Sam Kade wrote: »

I drove for 3 years with an out of date licence :eek: about a year after getting it I was asked for it at a routine checkpoint only time in 33 years I had to produce my licence.

Are you me? I did the same,it sat in the glovebox ignored until somebody mentioned the subject and I checked it.
It's always in my car,I leave it there even if I change vehicles,knowing my look if I was one of these sticklers for having it with me no matter what I was driving,I'd end up losing it.

Snake

SpaceTime wrote: »

Can you update it to the card version? I'm sick of the big huge papery thing

You could just misplace it

gipi

It's always kept in the car

allthedoyles wrote: »

Its not compulsory , but would want to keep the licence in their car in this day and age of robberies / handbag snatches .

Keep it in a safe place at home under lock and key , in case your home is broken into , and produce when necessary .

Actually it is compulsory, and has been since 2003. See first para here.
http://www.idia.ie/driving-licences

jca

It's always kept in the car

gipi wrote: »

Actually it is compulsory, and has been since 2003. See first para here.
http://www.idia.ie/driving-licences

I knew that but just couldn't find the info. I'm on my phone which makes it more difficult. We got notification in the job from their insurance company to carry our licence with us at all times. Was it 11 years ago?? Jesus time for a new job me thinks....

bazz26

It's in my car all the time.

Dord

It's always kept in the car

I have the new one so I just leave it in my wallet. The only time I've taken it out was to show people who were interested and hadn't seen the card yet.

The Dagda

gipi wrote: »

Actually it is compulsory, and has been since 2003. See first para here.
http://www.idia.ie/driving-licences

Some problem was found with the legislation so it's not enforced now.

Another defunct law.

corktina

It's always kept in the car

The Dagda wrote: »

Some problem was found with the legislation so it's not enforced now.

Another defunct law.

Link? That it isn't enforced isn't the same as saying the regulation was changed

The Dagda

corktina wrote: »

Link? That it isn't enforced isn't the same as saying the regulation was changed

I didn't say it was changed, it's not enforced due to problems with the legislation.

I'm on the phone so I'll try to find a link later.

MortGoldman

Of course I always have it, because if I didn't, it'd be ILLEGAL.

It got awkward once though, I was driving my girlfriends car around, miles from home, and I suddenly remembered I hadn't got my licence with me. Well, I immediately pulled over and stopped driving because I couldn't be doing anything illegal.

Had to get a friend to come collect me and then drive me and my girlfriend out to collect her car.

dgt

I carry my flappy paper one in my wallet and my wallet is on my person everywhere I go (unless I take my trousers off and even then they're never too far away)

Sam Kade

zerks wrote: »

Are you me? I did the same,it sat in the glovebox ignored until somebody mentioned the subject and I checked it.
It's always in my car,I leave it there even if I change vehicles,knowing my look if I was one of these sticklers for having it with me no matter what I was driving,I'd end up losing it.

I kept putting off renewing until I found out that if it isn't renewed after 5 years you have to resit the test.

passatman86

I keep it at home

Only passed full test last month. Second time I tried after 8 years driving. So licence is in the car a month and will stay there.

pablo128

Could be a bar stool story, but I heard that no-one has yet been convicted for not producing a licence, once they had produced it afterwards at a garda station.

On any given day I could be driving one of at least 16 different vehicles, from a Yaris to a truck, so needless to say I leave mine at home where it's safe!:D

Sam Kade

passatman86 wrote: »

Only passed full test last month. Second time I tried after 8 years driving. So licence is in the car a month and will stay there.

You just escaped the N plate.

Sam Kade

pablo128 wrote: »

Could be a bar stool story, but I heard that no-one has yet been convicted for not producing a licence, once they had produced it afterwards at a garda station.

On any given day I could be driving one of at least 16 different vehicles, from a Yaris to a truck, so needless to say I leave mine at home where it's safe!:D

Are you a car jacker by any chance

pablo128

Sam Kade wrote: »

Are you a car jacker by any chance

If I was, I certainly wouldn't be jacking a fcuking Yaris, that's for sure!
Although it's the only petrol yoke among all of them.:)

passatman86

I keep it at home

Sam Kade wrote: »

You just escaped the N plate.

Had to apply for full in order to renew provisional . Wouldn't of bothered other that that. Happy to get it all the same

budsalt

Mine is at home as a precaution against identity theft. Only once in 50 years did I have to show it at my local cop shop after I was stopped doing 74 mph on the M48 in South Wales.

Brasso

It's always kept in the car

Yeah I have the card version and always keep it in my wallet. The end that sticks out of my wallet is getting a little bit worn though, like chips in the top layer of plastic but I'm sure it will last for ten years. I've only been through one checkpoint in my (relatively short) driving career and I wasn't asked to produce it, I was asked after being pulled over for speeding though.

Noccy_Mondy

Mine fits perfectly into the ashtray and that's where it always stays.

CiniO

It's always kept in the car

Always carry it with me.
I also usually carry VRC and insurance cert with me. Those 2 are only compulsory when driving abroad, but I normally don't bother taking them off my wallet.

djimi

I keep it at home

Bringing the logbook especially in the car seems like a pretty dumb idea to me, unless you keep it on your person at all times when away from the car?

CiniO

It's always kept in the car

djimi wrote: »

Bringing the logbook especially in the car seems like a pretty dumb idea to me, unless you keep it on your person at all times when away from the car?

"but I normally don't bother taking them off my wallet."

Well... Surely I don't leave my wallet in the car anyways.

It's just I was abroad in January, but only took my VRC and insurance cert off my wallet last week, so I carried them everyday for the last half a year.

Jesus.

Never have done.

Supergurrier

It's always kept in the car

Keep it in my Wallet.

Why wouldn't you ?

pablo128

Supergurrier wrote: »

Keep it in my Wallet.

Why wouldn't you ?

I don't carry a wallet.

encore1

Mine was in the pocket of my jeans and ended up in the washing machine about 6 months ago. It didn't take too much of a battering but when it dried out it curled in on itself so I put it in a book to try and flatten it out and have no idea which book it was. Haven't had the time or the want to go through all the books in the house but sure its safe where it is...

PeteK*

I keep it at home

I don't use wallets so it's always in my car.. except for the time it was stolen.

goz83

It's always kept in the car

Kept old paper license in car, sun flap.

Keep new card license in wallet.

PeteK*

I keep it at home

goz83 wrote: »

Kept old paper license in car, sun flap.

Keep new card license in wallet.

You get the keep your old licence when you're getting the newer card one? That would be handy.. but I thought when mine expires, they take it to send me a new one. Unless it's.. lost?

jca

It's always kept in the car

CiniO wrote: »

Always carry it with me.
I also usually carry VRC and insurance cert with me. Those 2 are only compulsory when driving abroad, but I normally don't bother taking them off my wallet.

Not a good idea to carry all those documents in you car. Years ago my father used to do that. He was out at work one day and the gardai called to our house asking my mother had she heard from him at all during the day, she hadn't as was normal. The guards told her to contact the station if he was unusually late and if he did turn up on time to go to the station immediately. When he arrived home at his usual time it transpired that someone had hired a car in his name having stolen the docs from Da's car and committed suicide in the hire car. Very sad thing. It was the old purple licence without a photo. He never left his docs in the car after that incident.

keithclancy

jca wrote: »

Not a good idea to carry all those documents in you car. Years ago my father used to do that. He was out at work one day and the gardai called to our house asking my mother had she heard from him at all during the day, she hadn't as was normal. The guards told her to contact the station if he was unusually late and if he did turn up on time to go to the station immediately. When he arrived home at his usual time it transpired that someone had hired a car in his name having stolen the docs from Da's car and committed suicide in the hire car. Very sad thing. It was the old purple licence without a photo. He never left his docs in the car after that incident.

The chances of this happening I would think are pretty slim.
Kind of like saying, don't park near any trees, I know someone that had a tree fall on their car once.

I keep my license in the car, stupid paper one, must swap it for a Dutch one but the City Hall tells me it will take some weeks and I drive to work every day across the border to Germany.

In the Netherlands a photocopy of your driving license (According to the City Hall and the RDW) is enough while its being exchanged, however in Germany I don't think they would be that flexible.

Pro Hoc Vice

The Dagda wrote: »

Some problem was found with the legislation so it's not enforced now.

Another defunct law.

I have seen convictions for non production on demand. They do happen.

Alun

It's always kept in the car

pablo128 wrote: »

I don't carry a wallet.

PeteK* wrote: »

I don't use wallets so it's always in my car.. except for the time it was stolen.

I'm confused, where do you keep your money, credit cards etc. then?

keithclancy

Alun wrote: »

I'm confused, where do you keep your money, credit cards etc. then?

I know a good few people that only carry a Debit card and cash on a money clip.

Cabaal

I'd carry it with me all the time in my wallet if I had the new style of license, but because I have the old style that doesn't happen

JillyQ

SpaceTime wrote: »

Can you update it to the card version? I'm sick of the big huge papery thing

I mislaid mine & got a new one that way it still has the same expiry date.