Renewing a Driving License Online (UK)

[melmerby]

6 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

the tax on my diesel car with stop-start technology is nil. 

 

 

Why?

It still pollutes the atmosphere.

 

[PaulCheffus]

18 minutes ago, alastairq said:

Worth noting that, if one's licence takes an age to be returned, one can still carry on driving...

Hi

 

Not if it’s on medical grounds you can’t as the licence runs out on a specific date after which you cannot drive unless you have a replacement.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

Edited April 11, 2022 by PaulCheffus
Typo

[Michael Hodgson]

9 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Why?

It still pollutes the atmosphere.

 

Government policy from some years back when they wanted us to stop driving petrol engines because they thought diesel was cleaner, but they were worried about engines idling in traffic.  I do still have to pay fuel tax and VAT on the fuel itself of course.

 

Anyway it doesn't pollute the atmosphere when the engine's stopped, so that's most of the time round here.  I took a boot load of bulky rubbish to Letchworth tip yesterday afternoon, it's only 10 minutes each way but I had to sit in a queue outside the tip gates for over three quarters of an hour before they would let me in (that's normal here, and the tip doesn't open at all today).  I wouldn't mind paying road tax if they used the money to fill in the pot holes.

[Halvarras]

6 minutes ago, melmerby said:

Why?

It still pollutes the atmosphere.

 

 

At the time of registration the vehicle will have been recorded as emitting a low enough CO2 figure to attract zero VED.  All part of HMG's push at the time to encourage drivers to select low CO2 vehicles which tended to be diesels. The VED rate will stay with the vehicle for life, it is never adjusted retrospectively. 

 

All went well until it was claimed that the NOx output of all the diesels people were encouraged to buy was choking the inhabitants of build-up areas. I co-ordinated brochure production for a vehicle manufacturer for 17 years, saw the factory figures year on year and it was clear that reducing NOx increases CO2 - it wasn't technically possible to reduce both. HMG's solution was to demonize the vehicles they had spent years encouraging drivers to buy! By the time I left the company it didn't have many diesel-powered vehicles in its range - just pick-ups and a large SUV.

 

Fraught subject, let's get back to driving licence renewal!

[alastairq]

57 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

It seems a particularly pointless piece of bureaucracy as the tax on my diesel car with stop-start technology is nil. 

The VED isn't 'nil', or nowt!

It is, currently, zero rated.

Which means, at any time in the future, that zero rating can be changed [to megabucks?].

[Not a moment too soon, in  my view.....for all new vehicles, regardless of power..]

[alastairq]

48 minutes ago, PaulCheffus said:

Hi

 

Not if it’s on medical grounds you can’t as the licence runs out on a specific date after which you cannot drive unless you have a replacement.

 

Cheers

 

Paul

My observation came directly from looking up the relevant DVLA site.

It applies, [in concert with this thread] to those licences that have been submitted and renewed, but have yet to be returned by DVLA.

There are various medical and legal provisos listed.

 

But if one is simply 'renewing' one's licence, without any difficulties that might affect that renewal, and it hasn't turned up promptly, doesn't mean one cannot drive until one has it in one's possession.

This has always applied, and is mentioned on the DVLA site.

Whenever CAt C, C+E, D, etc, vocational category licences have been renewed, but not yet received back, has never meant one cannot earn a living in the meantime.

If however, one continues driving, and it is discovered ones category, or licence, has been suspended or revoked, in the meantime, then one gets reported for the offence.

I know of instances where, due to ongoing health assessments and appeals, categories have been suspended, but not the whole driving licence....Hence a bus driver could have their Cat D suspended, but can still drive a car.

[alastairq]

35 minutes ago, Michael Hodgson said:

I wouldn't mind paying road tax if they used the money to fill in the pot holes.

It's not 'road tax'.

It's Excise duty.

 

Personally I have nowt against potholes.  I object to my local taxes being spent rushing around filling in potholes so that those who refuse to drive appropriately equipped vehicles [for the conditions] can have a nice time of it.

Potholes are only an issue if folk fail to observe road conditions [properly. Or fail to adjust their speeds to deal with uneven surfaces. Or who insist their cars are equipped with tyres of such low profile as to be unable to cope with hitting a pothole.

Or whose wheels are made of alloy which shatter on an abrupt impact.

Or, to those who expect the rest of the world to accommodate [pay for] stuff so they they can drive about without having to think about such basics.

Potholes are a fact of life. They come & go. 

Sadly what doesn't change [but might need to?] are the expectations of drivers.

[mezzoman253]

6 minutes ago, alastairq said:

It's not 'road tax'.

It's Excise duty.

 

Personally I have nowt against potholes.  I object to my local taxes being spent rushing around filling in potholes so that those who refuse to drive appropriately equipped vehicles [for the conditions] can have a nice time of it.

Potholes are only an issue if folk fail to observe road conditions [properly. Or fail to adjust their speeds to deal with uneven surfaces. Or who insist their cars are equipped with tyres of such low profile as to be unable to cope with hitting a pothole.

Or whose wheels are made of alloy which shatter on an abrupt impact.

Or, to those who expect the rest of the world to accommodate [pay for] stuff so they they can drive about without having to think about such basics.

Potholes are a fact of life. They come & go. 

Sadly what doesn't change [but might need to?] are the expectations of drivers.

I'm not sure where you live, or what vehicle you drive, but here in Essex the average motorist has to be a slalomist to avoid them, there are so many.

 

To be fair some are marked with coloured paint to let the repairers know which ones to fix. so that helps with harzard percetion. Although some are so old the paint has faded to near invisiblity ! Similarly normal road markings.

 

Most potholes are initially caused by heavy lorries of unsuitable weight for the roads they are using and were never design for. The continual pounding of the surface opens them up and general traffic does the rest.

 

Potholes are a real hazard and cause the average road user no end of problems that have little to do with how you drive.

 

Rob

 

 

 

 

 

 

[alastairq]

7 minutes ago, mezzoman253 said:

Potholes are a real hazard and cause the average road user no end of problems that have little to do with how you drive.

 Well, yes they do have something to do with the way people drive.  But I suppose, like everything else these days, we have to consider the ''lowest common denominator?''

 

Potholes have always been a problem, if not prepared for them, or not equipped to deal with them [as a driver].   Over the decades our motoring world has become less & less able to cope comfortably with marginal road surfaces. As a consequence, there has been a demand for more & more billiard-table smoothe roads. Thus, the advent of low profile tyres [to the point of almost being ridiculous?]  Motoring fashion has dictated the profusion of alloy wheel fitments.  These, too, cannot cope with much less than perfect road surfaces. But, we motorists do want our fashion statements!

 

People can't be bothered with training & education, preferring to vilify such as Local Authorities for not snapping-to and fixing potholes.

Drivers don't want to accept responsibility for ''bringing a knife to a gunfight!''

 

A while back I visited an old pal who was in the business of  fabricating & welding aluminium.

The major part of his workload [and the most lucrative, since he could charge exorbitant sums for his work] was the repair of cracked or damaged alloy wheels......mainly for garages conducting insurance work,too...An awful lot of Jaguar stuff as well. Potholes mean money for him!

But, on his own vehicles, he tries to always specify steel wheels!  Mainly because steel wheels, even if bent, can be straightened [after a fashion].

 

Round these parts most of the potholes lie along the road edges....If on a narrow carriageway, then the passing of an oncoming vehicle means also scanning the road surface on the left, to avoid the potholes..which means, slowing down our normal speeds, in order to have  time to observe, and select an avoiding path....Not in the nature of modern motorists to do that sort of thing...they don't feel they should have to!

 

Well, sorry , drivers out there..I deliberately choose to drive a vehicle not equipped with super low profile tyres, or alloy wheels. I have taken the trouble to learn how to read road surfaces, and am prepared to change, adapt & adjust my driving to suit the situation. I don't drive around expecting the rest of the world to adapt to suit me.....Hence I object to any of my local tax money being spent on fixing potholes so that the fella up the road in his Audi can drive around with impunity, do as he pleases, driving-wise. When he complains about potholes damaging his car, I don't offer sympathy. Neither do I offer any sort of solution...I cannot be bothered these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not only LGVs, but modern agricultural vehicles create considerable damage.

[TheQ]

1 hour ago, alastairq said:

It's not 'road tax'.

It's Excise duty.

 

Personally I have nowt against potholes.  I object to my local taxes being spent rushing around filling in potholes so that those who refuse to drive appropriately equipped vehicles [for the conditions] can have a nice time of it.

Potholes are only an issue if folk fail to observe road conditions [properly. Or fail to adjust their speeds to deal with uneven surfaces. Or who insist their cars are equipped with tyres of such low profile as to be unable to cope with hitting a pothole.

Or whose wheels are made of alloy which shatter on an abrupt impact.

Or, to those who expect the rest of the world to accommodate [pay for] stuff so they they can drive about without having to think about such basics.

Potholes are a fact of life. They come & go. 

Sadly what doesn't change [but might need to?] are the expectations of drivers.

I live on a single tracked road, of which there are many round here.. Just how do you avoid the potholes in them?

[SamThomas]

2 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

It seems a particularly pointless piece of bureaucracy as the tax on my diesel car with stop-start technology is nil.

Not really, you cannot renew your Road Fund Licence if you have not MOT (if required) or insurance & this is flagged up to the guys who driver the DVLA vans with the four camera's on the roof.

 

It will only be a matter of time before the RFL concessions are removed one by one by whoever resides at 11 Downing Stree at the time.

[Happy Hippo]

One of the 'advantages' of suffering from Glaucoma, is the free eyesight test, field of vision test every three years. which precedes the issue of a new licence.

 

A letter arrives from DVLA, you book the test at an approved opticians, and after all is done and it's confirmed you still meet the eyesight requirements, a new licence is issued.

 

Not so good was having a torn retina which resulted in a scar causing a minute blind spot in my right eye. Goodbye to all my licences above basic car and motor cycle. Not even allowed to drive a 7.5 tonne.  I am still permitted to drive  a van such as a Mercedes Sprinter, but not if it's a minibus, as that variant requires a 'D' licence which I no longer possess.  I can't even drive one that is not carrying passengers because it's still a small PSV!

[ejstubbs]

Apparently pothole repairs are being impacted by a shortage of bitumen arising from Mr Poo-tin's unfriendly visit to his next-door neighbour.

 

https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/fears-over-pothole-repairs-to-scotlands-roads-due-to-bitumen-supply-shortage-3628243

 

The article specifically says Scotland's roads - but that's probably just The Scotsman for you.  AFAICS similar reports can be found for other parts of the UK*.  There certainly doesn't seem to be any obvious reason why it would only be Scotland that was affected.

 

* I thought it was Berwick-upon-Tweed - which is in England - that was supposed to still be at war with Russia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berwick-upon-Tweed#Relations_with_Russia.

[ejstubbs]

6 minutes ago, SamThomas said:

you cannot renew your Road Fund Licence if you have not MOT (if required) or insurance

 

Strictly speaking you can't renew your Road Fund Licence at all, and haven't been able to since 1937 when the hypothecation of the revenue from vehicle excise duty was abolished (although the Road Fund itself survived - more as a Treasury accounting mechanism than anything else AFAICS - until 1955).

[alastairq]

1 hour ago, TheQ said:

I live on a single tracked road, of which there are many round here.. Just how do you avoid the potholes in them?

 

Oooh, by spotting them, seeing if there's a path your wheels could follow that skirt round the edges of them?

Or, slowing down to a speed you know your tyres and suspension will cope comfortably with them....perhaps?

Or if too nasty, easing your vehicle through them with care?

 

It might help to obtain a vehicle that can be fitted with higher profile tyres? Or doesn't have low bodywork around it? Or has a decent, practical, ground clearance?

Thinking back in time, a Morris Minor or a Ford Popular would cope admirably.  Or, maybe the sort of vehicle that would be happy being in cheap general use in Beirut?

Not easy these days to find....but a Dacia Sandero [stepway] would cope.....as long as it doesn't have too much bling attached? [Steel wheels, narrow, higher profile tyres than fashion dictates today?]

[alastairq]

1 hour ago, Happy Hippo said:

One of the 'advantages' of suffering from Glaucoma, is the free eyesight test, field of vision test every three years. which precedes the issue of a new licence.

 I don't have glaucoma [my mother did]....but I still get free, annual tests [covid permitting]...as I mentioned further back....they're useful for early discovery of impending issues.

Regular eye tests of the free variety can also identify impending blood pressure issues too. Even if ,because they rarely display adverse symptoms..[on the contrary]...one's medical entourage haven't yet flagged it up..

[Happy Hippo]

15 minutes ago, alastairq said:

 

Oooh, by spotting them, seeing if there's a path your wheels could follow that skirt round the edges of them?

Or, slowing down to a speed you know your tyres and suspension will cope comfortably with them....perhaps?

Or if too nasty, easing your vehicle through them with care?

 

It might help to obtain a vehicle that can be fitted with higher profile tyres? Or doesn't have low bodywork around it? Or has a decent, practical, ground clearance?

Thinking back in time, a Morris Minor or a Ford Popular would cope admirably.  Or, maybe the sort of vehicle that would be happy being in cheap general use in Beirut?

Not easy these days to find....but a Dacia Sandero [stepway] would cope.....as long as it doesn't have too much bling attached? [Steel wheels, narrow, higher profile tyres than fashion dictates today?]

I think The Q drives an elderly Land Rover, so hardly the sort of vehicle with low ground clearance and higher profile tyres might make it a monster truck🤣.

[Grovenor]

6 hours ago, spamcan61 said:

Indeed, I don't recall a passport being mandatory for online renewal last time I did it (presumably for the photo?) but it is now:-

https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence

 

The section covering renewal for those over 70 does not require a passport unless you want to update your photo. You need to use the correct section of renewals pages!

It does say they require a passport if under 70, which, I would suspect, can be challenged as it is imposing a substantial extra cost on anyone who does not have or want a passport.

[alastairq]

1 hour ago, ejstubbs said:

Apparently pothole repairs are being impacted by a shortage of bitumen arising from Mr Poo-tin's unfriendly visit to his next-door neighbour.

 In my county, there's a specific team constantly [almost, covid permitting] doing the rounds with a small pickup truck, a boiling vat on the back some rakes and a shovel, dropping tarmac into any potholes they find...marked, or not. They aren't 'contractors', the pickup being a council wagon...

There's a specific pothole informing website too, where folk can report pots....It includes the measurements needed before considered for repair, too.

To date [oddly, I've been & looked] the wee barely two track lane twixt my village and the main road  [and garage shop, one-and-a-bit miles away]...has had its [kerbside, mostly] pots filled  three times this year alone. The lane sees a fair bit of LGV traffic [farms & such, although it's a bit of a shortcut for those who know], but mostly modern farm tractors, and their heavy trailers, transiting to & from various farms belonging to a  big company.

Drive at 60 at your peril down it, its rough as a badger's!   40 or even 50 and one has a bit of time to select ones path.

'Twas always thus.....and I have driven it for at least in excess of 45 years!

Drive without a modicum of care, at your peril, as they say.

 

Trouble is, the private motorcar has become less & less resilient to adverse road conditions as the years pass.

Bicycle riders seem to want to go faster & faster, too...

 

If the infrastructure hasn't kept pace with peoples' 'needs', then all hell breaks loose.

 

 

[boxbrownie]

6 hours ago, Poor Old Bruce said:

I renewed my driving licence in January. No passport, no problem.

You might want to tell us how you renewed?

[alastairq]

1 minute ago, Happy Hippo said:

I think The Q drives an elderly Land Rover, so hardly the sort of vehicle with low ground clearance and higher profile tyres might make it a monster truck🤣.

Then he won't travel too quickly for the conditions, either?

But, he sort of asked, what to do about his situation.....and, with my past professional hat on, I gave a brief response.

I've now taken my old hat off and slung it.....hence why I 'care' not, as I mentioned earlier. The answers aren't what many folk want to hear....

 

He will already have suitable tyres..

People only started having issues with potholes when they came away from 80 and 70 profile tyres as a matter of course. Tyres are, in many ways, less resilient. Suspensions are less resilient. But then, if 95% of one's driving is done on decent major route surfaces, what is the need, etc etc?

My avatar also shows one of my regularly used vehicles....skinny tyres, crossplies and all.  It doesn't  have problems with potholes, either.

[boxbrownie]

4 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Last week I had to renew my road tax, and did so on line.  I don't get a disc to stick in the window any more, and I didn't even need a credit card.  It seems a particularly pointless piece of bureaucracy as the tax on my diesel car with stop-start technology is nil. 

 

Perhaps I should have filled in an old-fashioned form, sent a cheque for absolutely nothing and demanded a receipt for nothing?

EVs require road tax at zero cost each year as well, and everyone moans about it, but it’s a way to keep track of the vehicle/MoT (if required)/Driver details….and besides in the future when the majority of vehicles are nil rated they will still have the database so they can then start charging again 🤔

[AY Mod]

3 hours ago, alastairq said:

  I object to my local taxes being spent rushing around filling in potholes so that those who refuse to drive appropriately equipped vehicles [for the conditions] can have a nice time of it

 

2 hours ago, alastairq said:

I have taken the trouble to learn how to read road surfaces, and am prepared to change, adapt & adjust my driving to suit the situation

 

10 minutes ago, alastairq said:

The answers aren't what many folk want to hear....

 

I daresay you won't comprehend the arrogance of your testiculations but, for a moment, put yourself in the position of a motorcycle rider on a dark, wet night whose range of sight could be limited by an approaching Xenon- beamed vehicle. Your ridiculous stance will be of no comfort to that unseated rider. 

 

None of this pothole stuff is relevant to the OP so please just shut up 

[alastairq]

2 minutes ago, AY Mod said:

one of this pothole stuff is relevant to the OP so please just shut up 

Certainly!

Although I didn't bring it up!

Which is irrelevant!

As is your response!

[boxbrownie]

4 hours ago, melmerby said:

Why?

It still pollutes the atmosphere.

 

Presumably it is a pre March 31st 2017 vehicle that produces less than 100g/km they would still be zero rated.