Every so often I realise I have no clue what people are talking about. I've never seen this Matrix thing, I can't tell you what a J-Lo is, but more importantly, I've become dimly aware that there is talk about a driving licence with a photo on it. Mine doesn't have a photo on it. It's a bit of green paper. Have I missed some dreadful edict that means my licence is no longer valid or something?
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For some time now all new licences are issued in the form of a combined paper and photocard. The paper portion is not dissimilar to your old licence. The photocard is like a credit card with your photo and certain personal details laser etched onto it. For reasons I can't imagine, it is law that you must produce both portions if/when required to do so - neither is acceptable on its own. Perhaps someone can enlighten us !
ps your old licence remains valid until you need to change it (change of address etc.) at which time you will have to apply for the new type of licence described above.
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thanks volvoman...um..."it is law that you must produce both portions if/when required to do so" conflicts with "your old licence remains valid until you need to change it" slightly. I take that to mean I don't have to show the photocard if I don't have one, but if I HAVE been issued with one then I do?
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Yep - if you have the new style of licence BOTH portions are required to be shown. If you don't have the new version, your old licence is still valid and used in exactly the same way as you've always done.
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Excellent. Thanks mate! At least I'm not going to jail unexpectedly now!
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I remember being stopped once deep in Nevada by a state trooper.
I gave me my old green tatty piece of paper and he said (with more sarcasm than i have ever seen before or since)
"You limeys call this a driving license"
With his holster unbuttoned, and his partner covering us from behind the open door of his police cruiser I had to agree it was a sorry excuse for a license.
And why do we need both parts of the license now? - what a joke by the DVLA
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The reason for the two parter is simply the thin end of a very long wedge aimed at stuffing identity cards up the British public by stealth.
Effectively, if you drive, you now have to carry a licence and an identity card.
SR
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The reason for a two part licence is because the DVLA are too stupid to produce a single document with both the photo and all the nescessary information on it. One more bit of paper to get lost, destroyed, stolen etc etc.
Never mind, it's only taxpayers money they are losing.
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In answer to HonestJohn
If it would achieve anything tangible there would be absolutely nothing wrong with everyone carrying identity cards except the vast cost and extension of petty-fogging bureaucracy.
Once applied, it will achieve nothing other than to inconvenience the law abiding, whilst the wrongdoers will buy their fake IDs in pubs and clubs across the land.
Look at the gun laws. Post-Hungerford / Dunblaine (Awful tradgedies let it be said) draconian laws that have totally disarmed the honest citizen, whilst gun crime has increased, not by a percentage, but by a number of times.
Hence all the expense and bureaucracy will yield no benefit other than to enable further control and monitoring of the righteous.
Do you think it is a great idea HJ?
If so, why?
SR
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If I may step in, from my own little police state ...
I have a credit-card format license, which has now become THE law here. The old license no longer is valid, so if you don't have a CC-type, you are OFF the road.
Renewable every 5 years - with an eye-test involved. {IMHO This is good for the public, as it stops people with deteriorating eyesight from driving. How many 60-somethings are as blind as a bat, yet are pottering about on a 40 yr old license???}
The card in question has:
Name, Identity number, signature, photo, thumbprint, list of vehicle classes which I can drive, restrictions [must wear glasses/automatic's only] and a bar-code type mess which will, in future, be computer linked, so that police/patrolmen just scan it in, and have a full record of my various motoring offences, any outstanding fines/warrants, my license status ["Oops, it says here you are disqualifed..."] etc.
Big Brother? perhaps. But as long as i've done nothing wrong/have nothing to hide why should it bother me?
Now, the scrappy old drivers license seems a bit of a joke - how many times have we heard stories of people losing their licenses/credit card/chequebook, only for some scrote of a similar age abusing them?
The drivers-license CCard is an ideal form of identification at banks, airports etc. Yep, that ugly fellow there IS me!
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Totally agree Ian - no system's perfect but I think such cards would be a good idea on balance and regular eye tests for drivers would be a very good thing. I couldn't care less about Big Brother - if he wants to waste his time monitoring me good luck to him. Anything which makes illegal activity harder to perpetrate is welcome so far as I'm concerned. A few years ago I had a credit card with my photo laser etched onto it. It was really useful and many people commented on what a good idea it was. Sadly the bank who issued it was taken over and the photocard was later withdrawn. No card will stop all crime but if it makes life harder for the crims then so be it.
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Anyone stoically resisting the ID concept who holds a passport or a d/l is already part of an ID database anyway....
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My life would seize up and die if it weren't for my photocard licence.
How else would I get into Beach when they ask for proof of age? I'm certainly not carrying my passport around the town.
Blue
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