One question we always get asked is “why do you need to check my driving licence?”
With new legislation affecting driving offences announced today, this feels a good time to write a little piece on the subject.
Apparently the law is about to change so that if you handle your mobile phone or device in any way whatsoever, you are liable to get 6 points and £200 fine added to your licence.
But with endorsements so commonplace in the country, does anyone really care if you have points on your licence anymore? And do you need to bother to share this information?
Here’s a few facts and bits of information on things that we see on a regular basis that sometimes get missed by the wider public:
- You must inform your insurer if you get any points on your licence. Failure to do so could render your insurance null & void. Even minor offences like speeding!
- Most rental companies can’t insure someone who has an insurance (IN code) or dangerous/drink driving (DR code) related endorsement on their licence. Any bans mean we can’t rent either – & they stay on your licence for 10 years in some cases!
- If your vehicle logbook (V5) has the wrong address on it then you may not receive any fines that come your way. This is a potential problem as failure to respond within 14 days leaves you liable for the offence to be upgraded to an MS90, which is amongst the most serious offences – equivalent to drink driving! We see this regularly.
- Your driving licence expires every 10 years and you need to re-apply online – you will be surprised how many people forget to renew!
- You need a D1 category to drive anything above 8 passenger seats (i.e. a minibus) or over 3.5 tonnes. After January 1997 these stopped being the norm when you passed your test
- Most vans have different speed limits than cars on the road. Again, many people forget this or simply don’t know
Food for thought? Maybe now is a good time to have a quick look at your driving licence or vehicle paperwork?
Here at 3B Hire, we have a legal obligation to check our clients are correctly insured when they drive one of our vehicles and this is why we have to check your driving licence every time. But, the number of drivers on the road with potentially uninsured vehicles or out of date licence’s is growing.
Stay safe everyone!
