22 June 2000

DON'T LET AN OUT OF DATE DRIVING LICENCE SPOIL YOUR HOLIDAY FUN

Going on holiday this year? Planning to drive when you're away? Make sure your licence is up to date.

Advice from DOE's Driver Vehicle Licensing (DVLNI), Chief Executive, Brendan Magee is to "Check your driving licence as well as your tickets, currency and passport."

Every year the licensing agency gets hundreds of phone calls and faxes from all parts of the world, from NI drivers who have gone on holiday with out-of-date licences. Local drivers who find that they cannot hire a car or have been caught for an offence and need to prove they have current entitlement to drive.

The Agency can issue these forgetful drivers with letters of entitlement when they are abroad however a fee is charged which just adds to the general inconvenience caused.

If you do find your licence is due for renewal, take heed of this advice from Mr Magee: "If you need to renew your licence make sure that you apply in good time and remember that it is particularly important that you send the necessary documents to confirm your identity as identity checking has now been introduced."

Identity checking was introduced in NI from 1 April 1999. In order to renew your driver's licence you will need:

• a valid passport (this is the preferred document to confirm identity).

If you do not hold a valid passport you must send:

• a birth certificate: if the name shown on the birth certificate has changed eg because of marriage , a marriage certificate must also be sent.
• a colour photograph, and the application form must be authenticated by a responsible counter signatory (doctor, minister, priest, police constable, civil servant etc) who is not a relative and has known the applicant for at least two years.

NOTES TO THE EDITOR:

New style Northern Ireland photocard driving licences have been issued in Northern Ireland since 1 April 1999. These are similar to photocard licences, which have been issued in GB since July 1998. Identity checking has been introduced, for the first time at licence application or renewal stage following the introduction of similar identity checking in the rest of the UK from July 1998.

The new credit-card style size licences are light blue in colour for provisional licences and pink in colour for full licences and are designed to fit into a driver's purse or wallet. They contain a copy of the driver's signatures and a colour photograph as well as other personal detail's such as name, address, date of birth etc. The new licences show driving entitlements on the reverse and are accompanied by a paper document which indicates the different vehicles a driver can learn to drive, any valid endorsements and/or penalty points which the driver has, as well as other driving history. The driver has a choice as to whether he/she wishes to carry both documents at all times, but the driver must be able to produce the paper document to the police or courts immediately if required.

Key points

• Northern Ireland has had photographs as part of the driving licence since the late 1920s. GB has only begun to put photographs on licences since July 1998.
• Up until 1984 Northern Ireland licences were in the form of a small hard backed booklet, valid for three years, which contained a photograph of the driver. These were converted to an EU style 10 year licence between 1984 and 1987.
• Since 1984 Northern Ireland has had a two part driving licence, a paper part (the licence) accompanied by a plastic counterpart containing a black and white photograph of the driver and a sample signature.
• The 2^nd EC Directive, introduced in the UK on 1 January 1997, has further standardised the format of driving licences throughout the EU. All member states are required from July 2001 to have a photograph of the driver on the licence. The UK has decided to issue plastic photocard licences which can be upgraded to include a microchip at a later date as an alternative to the established paper licence.
• Photocard driving licences accompanied by identity checking, were introduced in GB in July 1998.
• Identity checking at application stage has been introduced both in GB and in NI in order to combat driving licence fraud.
• Driving licences issued prior to 1 April 1999 continue to be valid until they expire.
• Driving licences in Northern Ireland are generally valid for 10 years. Prior to 1984 they were valid for 3 years. Three year licences were converted to 10 year licences between1984 and 1987. These fell due for renewal during 1994 to 1997 and some 500,000 NI drivers had their licences renewed during this period. All these licences continue to be valid after 1 April 1999 until the expiry date shown on the licences.