No you only need a licence to be insured to drive, if you're driving someone else car and they have full insurance you are fine.
I don't get the fuss. It's saying that we no longer need the paper counterpart. I don't see a problem with the rule change. By the way are the green paper (no photo) licences still valid? I heard a few years ago that they were still valid.
What about the tax disc? Since paper tax discs were scrapped, if you buy a car then the road tax ends on point of sale. Lots of people have been fined for driving around without road tax unknowingly. The old sales benefit of saying "6 months road tax left" no longer applies. Nice extra earner for the government. They must be making millions from this.
And yes you get the outstanding vehicle tax refunded, I got a new car a few months ago and it came quite quickly. Was expecting it to be one of those surprise things that you've completely forgotten about I should point out that it's a vehicle tax you pay, not 'road' tax. Actually it's called Vehicle Excise Duty. This is a common and bad misconception and often leads to a lot of unnecessary insults and general **** being thrown at cyclists i.e. 'get the **** out of my way / get the **** off our roads you road tax dodging scum' which is totally untrue as the vehicle tax is based on the fuel type and CO2 emissions of your vehicle http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23694438
And yet "classic cars" are tax exempt even though they have terrible emissions. The excuse is to help preserve car heritage yet I am sure the people who can afford such cars could afford to pay vehicle tax.
If you can afford the luxury of a Sunday runaround clogging up the roads, the environment and everyone's lungs you should have to pay for the goddamn privilege yes But the state of the engines and exhausts on some people's modern vehicles takes the piss too, chugging out plumes of acrid charcoal smoke for miles and miles. You look around when driving sometimes (i.e most days!!) and wonder how some of these things are road legal and how they got into that state
Is probably it lad. Staying sort of on topic... I defended cyclists in an above post but earlier today (about 7.30pm) I was coming up to a red light at a junction and this, I'd say cyclist but it wasn't a proper cyclist more a lad on a bmx, actually more a ******, just comes right across the middle of the junction, up the wrong side of the road and straight into my path. I was in the middle lane of three. One going left, mine going straight on and the other going right. And bear in mind traffic is flowing for the lights that are on green. Had to slow down so I didn't run into the moron. Gave him a proper stare down, shouted at him and a pip of the horn but he looked spaced out so I dunno if he was high on something or whatnot or just some kind of idiot subspecies. Fecking dangerous that though. Up against a less observant driver he'll be up and over the bonnet or down under the wheels.
