Keep Your Driving License Clean:
Follow these simple tips below, look after your license.
It will probably have cost you a lot of money to pass your driving test, so here are a few tips on how to keep your driving licence clean.
10 laws motorists forget or ignore
Here are some simple steps you can take to help keep your driving licence.
And, we do all make mistakes now and again and while some of them could result in you losing your licence, that doesn’t necessarily have to be the final outcome.
1. Observe all deadlines
If you have been caught speeding on camera you will be sent a ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution’, along with a S172 notice requesting details of the person driving your car. The first notices are sent to the registered keeper.
It is important that only the person to whom the notice is addressed fills in the details and not the driver. You have 28 days in which to reply and you should send the reply by recorded delivery.
The driver named in the first notice will then get a S172 notice to confirm that they were actually driving and again this should be completed and sent back by recorded delivery.
Consequences: You must always reply within the 28-day period.
Five things to do if you get pulled over by the police
2. Ask to take a speed awareness course
It’s all too easy to accidentally speed as it can be difficult to know what the prevailing speed limit is. Check the UK speed limits.
However, if there are a series of lamp posts approximately 200 meters apart then the road is restricted to 30mph. All other roads with differing speeds must be signposted.
Consequences: Speeding carries three to six penalty points but speeds over 20mph above the speed limit may attract an immediate disqualification. If you are stopped for speeding, it is always worth asking if you can take a speed awareness course which avoids any points on your license, but this is only possible if you are within 11mph of the speed limit.
The UK’s new speeding fines explained
3. Ensure you renew your license at 70
Your driving licence is automatically revoked at the age of 70 years. However, you can apply for your licence to continue up to 90 days before your 70th birthday and renewing it every three years thereafter.
Consequences: If you continue to drive after your licence has been revoked you will be driving illegally and your insurance will be invalid. The penalty for driving without insurance is a fixed penalty of £300 and 6 penalty points.
More about renewing your license after you turn 70
4. Keep your driving license updated
If you move address you must remember to change your details on your driving license and vehicle registration document, something many people forget to do.
Consequences: If you don’t change your details, all any penalty notices will be sent to your old address. You will know nothing about them and so will not respond. You will then be summonsed for the offense of speeding and failing to provide those details, but that too will be sent to your old address.
As you will not respond, the case will be proved in your absence and you could be fined £600 and your license endorsed with six to eight penalty points, all of which will take place without your knowledge. If you find yourself in this situation you should seek legal advice.
Have you heard of the petrol and rings scam?
5. Report all accidents
If you are involved in an accident where damage or injury is caused you must stop at the scene and provide your details. Even if you stop but don’t provide your details, you will still be committing the offense of failing to stop.
If anyone is injured, there is also a duty to report the accident to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and, in any event, within 24 hours.
Even if it is just a bump and there is no injury if there is any damage you should still comply with the obligations.
Consequences: The penalty for these offenses is a maximum of six months imprisonment and a Band C fine (which is 150% of your weekly income) and five to 10 penalty points on your driving license. Remember, if you get a total of 12 penalty points on your license there is a mandatory disqualification period that starts at six months.
What to do if you’re involved in an accident
6. Get your eyesight tested
You should always have your eyes tested regularly as it isn’t only dangerous to drive with poor vision, it is also an offense to drive with uncorrected eyesight.
Consequences: Aside from the very real possibility of an accident, the offense carries a fine and 3 penalty points. If your eyesight is very poor and presents danger you could be prosecuted for dangerous driving which carries a mandatory disqualification for a minimum of 12 months.
Defend Your Licence: Beat Road Traffic Offences by Andrea Clegg (published by Clink Street Publishing, RRP £9.99 paperback, £6.64 ebook) is available to purchase online and to order from all good bookstores.