Hello from a new member!

[EdinburghLanguageAcademy]

Hello, I am writing from a language school and I am happy to answer any English language questions if I can...!

[meskete]

Welcome in the Forum!

Let me ask something to make you happy.

What's the name of the document you must carry with you if you drive your car? I don't mean your driving licence but another thing containing information about the car (size, weight, type, emissions, insurance…?)

[bhaisahab]

Welcome in the Forum!

Let me ask something to make you happy.

What's the name of the document you must carry with you if you drive your car? I don't mean your driving licence but another thing containing information about the car (size, weight, type, emissions, insurance…?)

It's called a registration document. In the UK it's not necessary to carry it with you.

[emsr2d2]

In the UK, there is no car-related document that you have to carry with you. We don't have to prove that we own the car or anything else.

The only thing that we must display is the "tax disc". It's a circular piece of paper which shows that we have paid the annual road tax and gives the expiry date. A car must have a valid tax disc in order to be driven/parked on a public road.

We don't have to carry our driving licence with us in order to drive. We have to produce it in order to hire a car or to take a new car for a test-drive.

A driver must have valid insurance in order to drive on the public road but you do not have to carry your insurance document with you.

A car must have a valid MOT at all times (a document showing that it is fit to drive) but we don't have to carry that in the car either.

The registered keeper of a car has a "registration document" issued by the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority) which we colloquially call the "logbook". This shows the name of the legal keeper of the car although confusingly, the owner and the keeper might not be the same person.

If you are stopped by the police for an infringement of the driving laws, you may be told that you must report to a local police station within seven days to produce your driving licence and your car insurance policy.

[meskete]

Wow, thank you!
Now I realize (again (and again)) that administration in post-communist countries is oooover-complicated.

[emsr2d2]

Well, if it's any consolation, I actually think that we should be required to carry our driving licence and insurance documents with us at all times.

Keeping the registration document in the car is an extremely bad idea though (and I know a few people who do this). If your car is stolen with the document inside, then the thief has the car and an ownership document.

[paysage57]

So if I understand correctly in the UK you don't have an ID and you don't need to carry neither your driving licence nor your insurance papers / registration document when you are driving a car...

Wow it looks quite difficult for english policemen to check anything when they stop a car...

I wish it was the same in my country :)

[emsr2d2]

If you are stopped by the police, they will ask if you're carrying your licence etc but there is no obligation to carry it (and I believe there is no obligation to show it to them even if you have it with you).

You are obliged to give them your name, address and date of birth and they will always ask if you are the legal owner/keeper of the car. Once you have given them that information, they radio back to the police station and arrange for computer checks to be made on that information. They can link to DVLA to look at the registration number of the car and see who the registered owner/keeper is. They can also check with all the car insurance companies at the same time to see if you are insured to drive, and if you're insured to drive that car.

I'm not sure if they can check with DVLA whether or not you genuinely have a valid driving licence (ie you have actually passed your driving test).

[BobSmith]

In the US, it’s “license, registration, and proof of insurance” (sometimes “proof of financial responsibility”). I’ve been stopped on different occasions where I didn’t have one of these documents. For the missing license, I had to pay a fine. For missing registration, they typically don’t even bother with it (sometimes the police don’t even ask for it). And for the missing proof of insurance, I had to mail a copy of my insurance card to the city, otherwise it’s a fine not to have insurance coverage.

[bhaisahab]

In the UK all traffic patrol cars are equipped with on-board computers. All the police officer has to is enter the registration number of a vehicle and in seconds he will know the name and address of the registered keeper, the insurance details on the vehicle, whether the vehicle has a valid tax disc and whether it has a valid MOT certificate.