If your driving license is one of the new photo card licenses then you need to check it’s validity or driving your Motorhome could land you in hot water.

The new style photo card driving license first appeared in July 1998 and although all new driving license owners received one of these from this date it was also the case that anyone with an old style driving license could also be issued with one if their circumstances changed.

The problem arises because whereas the old style paper driving license lasts until the driver reaches the age of 70 and can then be renewed, the new style driving license also lasts until the drivers 70th birthday but the photo expires after 10 years and then has to be renewed. This renewal date is written on the new style driving licenses on the front in field 4b.

Given the shortfall in renewals I would suggest that people aren’t realising just when their license has expired and the fine for driving a vehicle without a legal driving license is £1000.

Apparently just over 16,000 photo card driving licenses expired in 2008 but only 11,500 were renewed and this shortfall has probably got worse since.

If you have a photo card driving license and you’ve had it for quite a few years then it will be worth checking to see when the photo does expire.  Time does fly by.

This situation would be made infinitely worse if you were driving abroad and the local police discovered that your driving license was not valid, you’d probably end up leaving your Motorhome behind whilst you came back to the UK to renew your license.

Please have a look at the DVLA link for these photo card licenses, it has a picture of the license and tells you where to look for the photo renewal date.