[General] 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. :-D

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. :-D

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.:lol:

 

[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.

 

[SoothingDave]

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.​

Which would kind of make carrying them with you less of a hassle, no?

 

[doverrdov]

Hai Nice to Meet you in discussiion forum where i can find good tutorial videos to learn english

 

[bhaisahab]

Hi, nice to meet you in a discussion forum where I can find good tutorial videos to learn English.

You state that your native language is English and that you are located in the USA. Is this true?

 

[shannico]

Welcome to the forum ELA!
Shan

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

 

[meskete]

What a load of interesting information! I really like these facts and figures, especially things related to administration.
Emsr2d2, you say "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."
Here the registration document says who the owner is. There's your name etc. and that's the point, the police don't need to contact anyone, they can see immediately if the vehicle belongs to you or not.
Let me pop a similar question.
How about health insurance? Do you have to carry any cards with you? If you have an accident or if you need to see a doctor, do you need to produce it?

 

[bhaisahab]

What a load of interesting information! I really like these facts and figures, especially things related to administration.
Emsr2d2, you say "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."
Here the registration document says who the owner is. There's your name etc. and that's the point, the police don't need to contact anyone, they can see immediately if the vehicle belongs to you or not.
Let me pop a similar question.
How about health insurance? Do you have to carry any cards with you? If you have an accident or if you need to see a doctor, do you need to produce it?

Most people in the UK don't have health insurance. We still have free health care at the moment.

 

[SoothingDave]

Most people in the UK don't have health insurance. We still have free health care at the moment.

Don't you have to prove citizenship somehow in order to get "free" care?

 

[bhaisahab]

Don't you have to prove citizenship somehow in order to get "free" care?

You have to be registered with a General Practitioner, which requires having a national health number. In order to get a national health number you have to prove that you have the right to live in the UK. You don't necessarily have to be a British citizen to have the right to live here.

 

[SoothingDave]

Emsr2d2, you say "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."
Here the registration document says who the owner is. There's your name etc. and that's the point, the police don't need to contact anyone, they can see immediately if the vehicle belongs to you or not.​

The idea is that the police stop you and you look in the glove box and hand over the registration. If you are Joe Smith and the car is registered to Bob Jones, you tell the policeman that Bob Jones is your girlfriend's father and he lent you the car to pick up some groceries.

If the car is not reported stolen, the police probably let you go. Even if you're a thief who stole the car.

Without the registration document, they might give you more scrutiny. Or they might not. Depends on the situation.

 

[emsr2d2]

Here are three scenarios which might show why it's a bad idea to leave your Registration Document in the car.

1) My name is Bob Smith. I am shopping in a large shopping mall and I have left my car in the mall car park, with the Registration Document in the glove compartment. A car thief breaks into the car, looks in the glove compartment and finds the document which contains my full name and my full address. It is the middle of the day and my car is in a shopping mall. There is a good chance that I am shopping in the mall. When I come back to the car park, I won't be able to find my car. I will be confused and I will spend a long time looking for it before deciding it has been stolen. Then I will spend a long time on the phone to the police and to my insurance company. All the time I am doing that, my house is empty and the car thief has my address. He can go and burgle my house!

2) My name is Bob Smith. On 1st April 2011, late at night, a thief steals my car from outside my house. He gets my name and address from the document in the glove compartment. He drives to the nearest motorway and drives at 90mph. The police stop him. They ask for his name and address. He says "My name is Bob Smith and I live at 10 High Street, London". They ask "Is this your car?" He says "Yes". The police run a check and the records come back confirming that Bob Smith, 10 High Street, London owns this car. They ask for his licence. He says "I'm sorry officer. I don't have it with me". They decide to give him a warning about driving too fast and tell him that he must report to a local police station with his licence and insurance documents in the next 7 days. He is happy to agree and he drives away. The police think he was Bob Smith, driving his own car. When I wake up the next morning, I discover my car has been stolen. 9 days later, I get a letter from the local police station saying "You were stopped for speeding at midnight on 1st April 2011 and were instructed to report to this police station with your licence and insurance documents. You failed to do so. You are now liable for arrest". This is the first that I, the real Bob Smith, know about the speeding incident. I will now probably spend a very long time trying to get this sorted out.

3) My name is Bob Smith. In my car is the Registration Document which I have to send to DVLA if I sell my car. On 1st April 2011, late at night, a thief steals my car and, for fun (!), decides to complete the part of the form which says "I have sold this car. Here is the name of the new owner: Mickey Mouse, 11 High Street, London". He signs the bottom of the form with a fake signature pretending to be me, he also signs a false signature which looks a little like M. Mouse" and he posts the form to DVLA. Even though I report the car stolen to the police and to my insurance company the next day, 2nd April 2011, DVLA will have a form dated 1st April 2011 saying I sold it to M Mouse. The insurance company will try to have me arrested for fraud because I appear to have sold the car and then, the next day, claim that it has been stolen.