EU Driving Licences

Ryan Newell comments over at UKIPhome about the impending EU driving licences:

As mentioned earlier the new licences must be renewed every 10 to 15 years. This means that every 10 t o15 years we will be forced to fork out to renew our licences. We can also be forced to pay for a new test each time our licence needs renewing.

There are doubtless plenty of valid arguments against a homogenised EU driver licensing scheme (I’m going to be paying particular attention to the motorcycle proposals). To rage against renewing them every ten to fifteen years however misses a vital point: Our current photo licences are already subject to renewal every ten years. Oh, and I can’t find anything about a new test every time a licence is renewed. I don’t know where Ryan got that one from.

2 Comments

  1. I talked about this over at my place a little while ago. What the proposal says is:

    It is up to the Member States to decide whether or not to carry out medicals or sight tests at the same time…

    But, since these would almost certainly be chargeable, one could certainly anticipate the possibility of a cash-strapped government indulging in a new way to charge the motorist…

    DK

  2. Ah…

    Ryan’s piece seemed to infer driving tests…

    I have no objection to periodic checks on a driver’s fitness to drive. If you subscribe to the principle of licensing in the first instance, periodic checks of continued fitness is merely a logical extension. Neither do I have any objection to GPs and opticians charging for the service. I do have an objection to Brussels setting the agenda.

    Having said all of that, the thrust of Ryan’s point; that we will have to renew licences every ten to fifteen years; is wide of the mark as we already do. 😉

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