getting a polish license to avoid speeding points

mazza111

My OH as many of you know is Belgian, got caught speeding, couldn't send his license to them as it was a EU license, points cannot be added to this, as they do not have this system in EU, so he had to go to court. However, the fine was almost double what we would have paid if he had a British license and when he applies for his British license, 3 points will be added to it. Many people he works with have advised him to say he only works in the UK and to keep an address in Belgium so that if he does get fined again, they won't chase him so hard for it So it seems that a lot of people he works with are doing this.

JonBoy_SCFC

Inactive wrote: »

Any EU person may drive for up to 3 years after becoming resident in the UK on their valid ordinary EU licence, issued by their home country, after that period they must exchange their licence for a British one.

Different rules apply to non EU nationals.

didn't sound right to me. i got a mate from spain who's been here longer than 3 years and i'm sure he still has his euro license.

anyway i checked it out on the DVLA website and you can keep the euro license up until 70 years old. Hope this clears things up

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/DriverLicensing/DrivingInGbOnAForeignLicence/DG_4022556

Happychappy

Hi

A foreign national driving in the uk on a foreign driving licence is dealt with at court for whatever the offence and points are awarded, however, the points are not awarded on the foreign driving licence, instead, the DVLA create a driving licence record for the foreign national, almost a shadow licence and retain those details which are then accessible from the PNC police national computer for all officers should the same foreign licence be produced.

JonBoy_SCFC

thank you but my concern is that those foreign drivers with a euro licence, whilst they may get fined for their offences, they don't get the points added to their licesne, and therefore don't pay increased insurance costs like the rest of us. am i right in this conclusion?

I'm not racist before anyone says anything, but surely this system is not fair?

jeppy

The rules are there to generally protect people and promote safer driving!!

Avoiding getting points on your licence by using loopholes with foresight shows, to me, a thoughtless person who has little respect for other users and pedestrians!

Sorry to get on my high horse but how many kids are injured and to promote these loopholes is outragous

mazza111

euhm let's get off the high horse for a minute, I am not promoting what these people do, I am pointing out what a lot of them do. My partner not included, he messed up, he admitted to it, he paid the price, albeit without the points. BTW the area he was caught speeding in was where it came from a 60 - 30 in the flash of a light when he didn't know the area, a mistake that many people could have made, even regular UK drivers, not a built up area but in the middle of Eurocentral in Scotland, which is nothing but a great big industrial estate with motorway and single carriageways with 60mph roads all around it. Those familiar with the area will know what I mean. As I said, I am not condoning what he done, he has paid the price, he will pay the price if he ever gets a uk license, and I am certainly not promoting what these people do, just stating that they do it!

snowgirl_3

my sis bd is polish. He got court speeding. He sent the letter back and wrote polish licence on the speeding fine. They never put any points on his linence but he still had to pay the fine.

PolishBigSpender

I can give you the definitive answer to this.

You can drive in any EU juristriction on a full EU licence. You do not have to exchange it at any point, as long as you comply with the rules of the licence issued. For example, Poland insists on medical checks before a licence is issued. After this check, the licence can be restricted in any way that the doctor sees fit - one example is if you have to wear glasses. You may then have your licence for as little as a year - it all depends on what the medical condition is, and if it's likely to get worse.

Now, the problem in Europe is that there isn't a harmonised points system. I suspect this is due to mutual distrust of each other, although with the plans for the Common European Driving Licence, driving bans will become enforcable in every EU juristriction. At the moment, it's merely on paper - a UK ban should mean a ban in Poland, but in reality, it doesn't work like that.

Yes, you can obtain a licence from a different EU juristriction to avoid points getting placed onto the licence. But the key part is obtaining one - for example, you cannot obtain a Polish licence without being resident here for 185 days. Unlike the UK, there is a very clear path to proving residence - and you cannot get round this, as you require proof of residency combined with the EU citizen residence permit (which has the relevant dates on it!).

Given that many EU juristrictions are now creating 'ghost' licences (Ireland and Germany definitely do, I'm unsure about the UK) - an EU licence isn't the 'get out of jail free' card that it used to be. There's also the point that if you get your licence revoked in any EU juristriction, it will be sent to the issuing authority which will presumably enforce any ban.

Finally, as previously mentioned, the fines are likely to be higher in the UK due to the need to attend court. Many EU countries operate on a system of a roadside fine being a 'deposit' - in the knowledge that it would be highly unlikely for any foreign national to want to go to court, hence they can keep the 'deposit' which is usually the same as the fine issued to a domestic driver.

So - yes, you can obtain a Polish licence and not get points applied. Perfectly legal, provided you comply with all the requirements in Poland. But it's worth bearing in mind that any court may not look too kindly upon a UK citizen holding a Polish (or otherwise) licence for the purposes of avoiding points. It's legal, but they can hammer you with a fine if they choose.

seven-day-weekend

Here in Spain you can drive on a UK licence (photocard), even if you live in Spain. I'm sure it's the same throughout the EU - i.e. you can drive on your own country's licence providing it shows the EU symbol. It will have an address in your own country (this need only be a contact address according to the DVLA).

You do not ever have to exchange it for a Spanish licence, but you do have to comply with the regular medical tests the same as a Spaniard, this will be registered on a database at Trafico (Spanish DVLA).

They CAN however, now register the points - not on the licence maybe, but they can put it on the trafico database!

mazza111

likewise in UK. As stated above, my OH will get the points on his license IF he ever applies for a UK license. So I'm guessing they are sitting on a computer waiting for him to apply for his UK license.