Need your quick help

I am just writing a guide for polish drivers in UK (don’t worry, not another proffesional drivers, but just for poles, who want to drive here) and I can’t find infortmation required. I hope some of you may be able to help me. If someone will can provide me a link to the proper source it will be great…

Play your part in educating this all terrible foreign drivers and improve safety on British roads! :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

Poll question:

If you are driving your car and don’t have your driving licence, vehicle documents or insurance policy and you are stopped by police or was involved in accident or whatever, you have to bring your documents to the police station. And now which answer is proper one?

if you get stopped by the police and they give you a ticket to produce your documents, you nominate the police station that you wish to take them to, usually the nearest one to where you live.

Hope this helps.

shuttlespanker:
if you get stopped by the police and they give you a ticket to produce your documents, you nominate the police station that you wish to take them to, usually the nearest one to where you live.

Hope this helps.

You’re right, you have to produce your documents at a station of your choice within 7 days :wink:

shuttlespanker is correct on that also you have 7 days to produce them.make sure if you have the photo card licence to take in the paper bit in as well

neil46:
shuttlespanker is correct on that also you have 7 days to produce them.make sure if you have the photo card licence to take in the paper bit in as well

If you have polish driving license you don’t have paper bit, unless you applied for one in UK…

then just take in whatever licence they may have but be aware of this.

Driving on a Polish licence in the UK…

A large number of Poles driving in the UK seen to be under a serious misapprehension.

It is widely “believed” that you can drive for six or twelve months (the story varies) in the UK on a Polish licence and that as long as you don’t exceed that period you can simply whip out of the country for a couple of days and then return to the UK to start another six or twelve month period of using a Polish licence in the UK!

Beware! It isn’t like that!

A non-EU national who is RESIDENT in the UK can use their foreign licence in the UK for up to one year. After that they MUST have a British driving licence.

A non-EU national who is a VISITOR to the UK can only use their foreign licence in the UK for a short period.

For the purpose of these regulations a RESIDENT is someone spending most of their time and carrying out most of their activity in the UK.

A VISITOR is someone in the country for a short period of time and predominately living abroad.

So if you are a non-EU national effectively living in the UK you cannot legally get away with effectively driving indefinitely on your foreign licence by whipping out of the country for a few days from time to time.

If you try that trick and have an accident or otherwise come to the attention of the Police you could find yourself charged with driving without a valid (valid in the UK) driving licence. Your insurance is also probably invalid.

Incidentally the so called “International Driving Licence” cards do not alter the matter. They are simply internationally widely accepted evidence that you have a valid licence in your own country. How you can use that licence abroad is determined by local regulations

neil46:
then just take in whatever licence they may have but be aware of this.

[cut]

A non-EU national who is RESIDENT in the UK can use their foreign licence in the UK for up to one year. After that they MUST have a British driving licence.

[cut]

You missed one point only…

Poland is already member of EU for quite a few years. And therefore:
direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/Dr … DG_4022556

Driving in Great Britain (GB) on a licence issued in a European Community/European Economic Area (EC/EEA) country:

Residents

If you have a valid community licence, this will authorise you to drive in GB for the period set out below. Alternatively, you can exchange your licence for a British one at any time.

Provided your licence remains valid you may drive in GB:
Car, motorcycle driving licence holders (ordinary driving licence):

  • until aged 70 or for three years after becoming resident, whichever is the longer period

Lorry, minibus, bus driving licence holders (vocational driving licence):

  • until aged 45 or for five years after becoming resident, whichever is the longer period
  • if you are aged over 45 (but under 65) until your 66th birthday or for five years after becoming resident, whichever is the shorter period
  • if you are aged 65 or over for 12 months after becoming resident

In order to continue driving after these periods, you must get a British driving licence.


Another myth busted :wink:

i should have looked at the date on the polish consulate website.

my apologies orys to a fellow EU member :smiley: :smiley:

polish.motime.com/archive/2003-09

n/p :slight_smile:

Most Poles still thinks the same - even in some websites like this one scotland.pl/index.php?s=artykuly&id=86 poles are advised to exchange their licenses…

I decided to save 38 quids and only got british counterpart to my license, what comes for free :wink: . I still hear a terrific stories what problems I will have when I’ll be caught :wink:

Other thing is that I have B+C licence valid to the end of my live (no expiry period). Off course to be a proffesional driver I need some medicals, but that goes to my polish CPC (which I don’t have, as I don’t need it to work in UK - here we have another loophole, you can be a lorry driver in UK with only basic medical examination) so even If I won’t be able to drive a lorry for live I will still be able to drive for example an 18t camper when I will be old.

But in Britain there is no such thing like driving license without expiry date. So if I will exchange my license to British one they’ll give me one valid for 10 years or whatever is the longest period here. Then, when I come back to Poland, they won’t just give me back my old license, but they will exchange my British one to Polish one with the same expiry date… And then I would have to do medicals periodically…

So staying on my polish license saves me a lot of hassle.

And my insurer consider me as a full UK license holder - I have a license allowing me to drive here, and thanks to my british coubterpart I am in database for penalty points, endorsements and so on… So there is no point for me to exchange my license (until I’ll turn 45, but I am still a young lad :stuck_out_tongue:)

Having trained EU licence hoders in the UK , in the deadly art of driving in London for a major blue chip company. Eu members have as much right to drive as we do in their home country. There are some major differences in road procedure, that should be sorted out. Once clarified and used in accordance with UK driving standards EU members will be given the same rights as any other EU driving license member.

This is company policy. Although this matters not in legal terms.

Unless! you reside outside a government stipulated territory, where international rules apply, and a Uk test is mandatory after a certain time

As far as I can tell. :confused:

chippy:
Unless! you reside outside a government stipulated territory, where international rules apply, and a Uk test is mandatory after a certain time

As far as I can tell. :confused:

No. If you have EU driving license, you have to exchange it to british one when reach some certain age. That is due to medical examinations requirements and you don’t have to pass british test to exchange your polish license.

What else: if you refuse to employ me when I have polish license with british counterpart, i can sue you for discrimination (as I can for much too many other things in this country) :laughing:

orys:

chippy:
Unless! you reside outside a government stipulated territory, where international rules apply, and a Uk test is mandatory after a certain time

As far as I can tell. :confused:

No. If you have EU driving license, you have to exchange it to british one when reach some certain age. That is due to medical examinations requirements and you don’t have to pass british test to exchange your polish license.

What else: if you refuse to employ me when I have polish license with british counterpart, i can sue you for discrimination (as I can for much too many other things in this country) :laughing:

Sorry no . If you don’t pass a final assessment within the company you wish to work for, then you have not reached the required critera.

I have no problem with EU members, having taken your fellow colleagues out on many training sessions I can without doubt say Polish and other Eastern EU members are very responsive and have a good attitude towards almost anything.

chippy:
Sorry no . If you don’t pass a final assessment within the company you wish to work for, then you have not reached the required critera.

I have no problem with EU members, having taken your fellow colleagues out on many training sessions I can without doubt say Polish and other Eastern EU members are very responsive and have a good attitude towards almost anything.

Sorry. I thought that you mean just a ordinary test. For internal company assesments is obvious.

As for Poles - there are good and bad drivers anywhere. I doubt that there is any corelation between nationality and driving skills.

what did the Polish CPC cover

orys:
Other thing is that I have B+C licence valid to the end of my live (no expiry period). Off course to be a proffesional driver I need some medicals, but that goes to my polish CPC (which I don’t have, as I don’t need it to work in UK - here we have another loophole, you can be a lorry driver in UK with only basic medical examination) so even If I won’t be able to drive a lorry for live I will still be able to drive for example an 18t camper when I will be old.

But in Britain there is no such thing like driving license without expiry date. So if I will exchange my license to British one they’ll give me one valid for 10 years or whatever is the longest period here. Then, when I come back to Poland, they won’t just give me back my old license, but they will exchange my British one to Polish one with the same expiry date… And then I would have to do medicals periodically…

So staying on my polish license saves me a lot of hassle.

I’m curious - what’s a B+C licence :question: :question:

I don’t know how the Polish system works but I can tell you what happens with the UK one :smiley:

A ‘B’ (car) licence is valid until age 70.
At 70 the driver is required to have a note from their doctor to say that they are still fit to drive. This is a very minor fitness check and not a full medical like the one for LGV or PCV.

Now, this is interesting -
If you did the ‘B’ (car) test before 1997 the driver got D1 (102 code) and C1 put on their licence.
To retain D1 (102 code) and C1 after the age of 70, a FULL medical must be passed using the D4 form which is the same medical as for LGV & PCV.
B+E entitlement is not affected

For those that passed their ‘B’ (car) test after 1997 and then passed ‘UPGRADES’ things are a little different -

Every upgrade has an expiry date which is usually the date when a medical is due in order to use it.
If the medical is not passed then the upgrade is not valid.
As many have found out, letting the medical lapse does not mean that they have to take a DSA retest if they wish to start using it again - they just have to pass a D4 medical.
B+E entitlement is not affected

I keep mentioning that ‘B+E entitlement is not affected’ and there is a reason for this -
If the B+E was gained as part of ‘upgrading’ by passing any of the ‘+E’ tests then the B+E is not ‘lost’ if the upgade is not valid.

Example -
Pass B in 1999 - no extras given
Pass C in 2001 - now get C1 added
Pass C+E in 2002 - now get C1+E & B+E added

Let medical lapse at any age over 45 - lose right to drive C+E, C, C1 & C1+E but retain B+E.

This has been done this way so that a former +E driver can still tow a large caravan etc in retirement. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

hitch:
what did the Polish CPC cover

That’s depends, you can have it for national and international transport. I am not an expert in it…

ROG:
I’m curious - what’s a B+C licence :question: :question:

Sorry. What I wanted to tell is that both my B and C entitlement are for unlimited period of time. There is an option that you have your B forever and for your C you have to pass medical tests every 10 years for example…

In general it looks like that:


(this is pre-europenian union license, but it’s very similar and still valid)

you have date passed marked on the back and you have no expiry date (which can cause some problems, my friend was stopped by some not too smart police officer in London and he insisted, that his driving license is not valid, as becouse it has no expiry period, it was never valid - he thought that it’s only to confirm that test was passed, but becouse of medical reasons he is not allowed to drive (so what’s the poing in issuing such license? :slight_smile: ))

If you did the ‘B’ (car) test before 1997 the driver got D1 (102 code) and C1 put on their licence.

That’s another interesting question. My girlfriend did her license before 1997. Will she get D1 and C1 if she exchange her Polish license into British one?

Taken from the Police National Legal Database web site

It is an offence not to produce your driving licence, certificate of insurance and MOT certificate when requested to do so by a police officer. However the usual action is that the police officer will issue a HO/RT1/ (called a ‘producer’) requiring you to produce the documents at a police station of your choice within 7 days. If this is done and they are in order, then that is the end of the matter.

You will be reported for failing to produce the documents at the time of the request for production (so that extra time is not spent re-visiting you at home if you do not produce). If you fail to produce the documents within the 7 day period or they are not in order, you will be summonsed to attend court.

From a crime prevention point of view it is better never to leave your driving documents in your car and produce them within the 7 day period.

Thanks! That what I needed! Thanks to everyone else as well :wink:

If you did the ‘B’ (car) test before 1997 the driver got D1 (102 code) and C1 put on their licence.

orys:
That’s another interesting question. My girlfriend did her license before 1997. Will she get D1 and C1 if she exchange her Polish license into British one?

not a clue :blush:

If I remember i’ll call DVLA and find out :wink: