Friend got pulled for no insurance paid fine but got to wait for replacement license

sheramber

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/motorists-reminded-of-the-importance-in-renewing-their-photocard-driving-licences

Motorists must renew their photocard licence when it expires. If they fail to renew their licence and supply a photo that is a recent and true likeness, they will be breaking the law and may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000.

Car_54

sheramber said:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/motorists-reminded-of-the-importance-in-renewing-their-photocard-driving-licences

Motorists must renew their photocard licence when it expires. If they fail to renew their licence and supply a photo that is a recent and true likeness, they will be breaking the law and may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000.

True, but have you ever heard of anyone being prosecuted?

TooManyPoints

Motorists must renew their photocard licence when it expires. If they fail to renew their licence and supply a photo that is a recent and true likeness, they will be breaking the law and may have to pay a fine of up to £1,000.

Correct. But the driver could only be convicted of driving with an expired photocard, not of driving without a licence. A licence holder remains a licence holder until age 70 (subject to the exceptions I mentioned) and not being in possession of the actual photocard or of having one more than ten years old does not alter that. As Car_54 says, prosecutions for expired photocards are very rare.

To help explain that a bit better, before photocards were introduced the old paper driving licence did not expire (until the holder reached 70). The only reason the photocard has to be renewed is because, like a passport, the likeness becomes less reliable. But the holder's entitlement to drive does not lapse.

user1977

My understanding was that "I've lost my licence and have applied for a replacement" is an acceptable excuse for being late in sending in your licence. But sounds like she's complicated matters here by initially sending them a licence which she had previously declared "lost". And we don't know whether she has in fact lost the second licence.

In ye olde days of paper licences it used to be a common dodge to declare your licence "lost" rather than have endorsements added to it, and keep the clean version for waving at the cops if they stopped you. But I doubt that works any more (if it ever did for serious matters).

Car_54

user1977 said:

My understanding was that "I've lost my licence and have applied for a replacement" is an acceptable excuse for being late in sending in your licence. 

Not so much an acceptable excuse, as the fact that the police can quickly check entitlement online .

TooManyPoints

To concentrate on the OP's friend's predicament, if she does end up in court, the court will need to be satisfied that the reason that she could not submit her licence was due to something out of her control or not of her making. We don't know all the circumstances behind this so we are guessing.

Grey_Critic

Drivong without insurance - for how long - Day - Week - Month - Months. - Has your friend now got insurance? Has your friend informed them that they are have been caught driving without insurance?

Sorry but this is half a tale - submitted a licence they claimed to be lost - what else are they guilty of I wonder? Is it a friend or is it YOU?

Standingstrong

Grey_Critic said:

Drivong without insurance - for how long - Day - Week - Month - Months. - Has your friend now got insurance? Has your friend informed them that they are have been caught driving without insurance?

Sorry but this is half a tale - submitted a licence they claimed to be lost - what else are they guilty of I wonder? Is it a friend or is it YOU?

She was Driving WITHOUT insurance from April till august … 

she’s got insurance now and a new car , 

Standingstrong

She has applied for new license in her address and not a old one , and she’s worrying when it will turn up with her 

Standingstrong

Anyone advise