Posts Tagged ‘Driving licence’

Many motorists ‘driving illegally’

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Source:  Tracy Ollerenshaw, BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

driver_being_pursued_by_police1More than half of all new drivers banned in the first two years of passing their test don’t bother retaking it.  The law says after a ban you must re-sit a test before driving again, but many people don’t realise.

Road safety groups reckon many young people are getting behind the wheel illegally.

They’re asking courts not to send driving licenses back to banned drivers before they’ve passed a re-test.

Ollie from Essex was aged 17 and had only been driving a few weeks when he got pulled over.

“I got caught speeding,” he says, “doing a hundred miles an hour, so it was an instant ban.”

He’s one of thousands of young drivers who get disqualified every month for picking up six points or more in their first two years after passing their test.

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BBC Watchdog investigates DVLA licence blunder

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

bbc_watchdogWhen was the last time you checked your licence properly?  Have you applied for a replacement due to a change of name or address?  Have you checked the back of your licence to check that the DVLA haven’t mistakenly added full motorcycle entitlement and removed your car entitlement?  Or if you’re a motorcyclist, has your entitlement been removed for no apparent reason?

BBC’s Watchdog (which aired on 27th April 2009) broadcast a feature in which several members of the public pointed out that these things had actually happened to them. “The DVLA know where we live, when we got our licence and most importantly they know what we’re entitled to drive – or do they?”

Watch the full story here

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