No insurance, tax, MOT or licence for 40 years

MouldyOldDough

I have recently been told that my Granny drove for over 40 years without a licence, car tax, insurance or MOT

She was apparently stopped by the police on numerous ocassions and always gave the same excuse "The tax is in the post"

She drove a brand new Triumph Toledo !

She died 40 years ago - so can't be proscuted today

elsien

Presumably it wasn’t always brand new unless she changed it extremely regularly.
Driving without insurance was a particularly silly thing to be doing. 

lincroft1710

MouldyOldDough said:

I have recently been told that my Granny drove for over 40 years without a licence, car tax, insurance or MOT

She was apparently stopped by the police on numerous ocassions and always gave the same excuse "The tax is in the post"

She drove a brand new Triumph Toledo !

So what was her excuse for no insurance or licence? How was she able to drive a new car from the dealer without tax? 

p00hsticks

lincroft1710 said:

MouldyOldDough said:

I have recently been told that my Granny drove for over 40 years without a licence, car tax, insurance or MOT

She was apparently stopped by the police on numerous ocassions and always gave the same excuse "The tax is in the post"

She drove a brand new Triumph Toledo !

So what was her excuse for no insurance or licence? How was she able to drive a new car from the dealer without tax? 

Given that the OP is talking about a timespan 40 to 80 years ago, didn't the dealer used to tax the car before it left the show room ? 

It sounds to me like one of those family stories that gets passed on down through the generations and exaggerated a bit more on every re-telling....

lincroft1710

p00hsticks said:

lincroft1710 said:

MouldyOldDough said:

I have recently been told that my Granny drove for over 40 years without a licence, car tax, insurance or MOT

She was apparently stopped by the police on numerous ocassions and always gave the same excuse "The tax is in the post"

She drove a brand new Triumph Toledo !

So what was her excuse for no insurance or licence? How was she able to drive a new car from the dealer without tax? 

Given that the OP is talking about a timespan 40 to 80 years ago, didn't the dealer used to tax the car before it left the show room ? 

It sounds to me like one of those family stories that gets passed on down through the generations and exaggerated a bit more on every re-telling....

This is precisely the point, the dealer taxed the car, listed the cost of the tax on the invoice to the customer and so the car was taxed. I agree with your second paragraph

user1977

Had she started driving after tests were introduced? (1935) My gran never had to pass a test (I think you could tell from the standard of her driving...)

MouldyOldDough

user1977 said:

Had she started driving after tests were introduced? (1935) My gran never had to pass a test (I think you could tell from the standard of her driving...)

Probably not 
She was born in 1903

Aretnap

user1977 said:

Had she started driving after tests were introduced? (1935) My gran never had to pass a test (I think you could tell from the standard of her driving...)

They were introduced in 1935 but stopped again during the war, so it was possible to get a full licence without passing a test as late as 1947.

oldernonethewiser

Bet she never had to put petrol in it either

binao

Petrol Suez rationing,

6 months provisional

Drive unaccompanied

As if passed test.

strawb_shortcake

I had a great Aunt that always claimed to have never sat a driving test, I'd imagine given her age she could avoided it during the war as Aretnap refers to. 

She was a very competent driver, but she always sat on a yellow pages and at least one cushion despite being 6ft tall - no idea why. 

She'd have also happily ridden the occasional motorbike into her 80's if anyone had have been brave enough to let her have a go on theirs.