Driving with no licence on a motorway

[Chipmunk1]

Asking on behalf of a neighbour, nice chap


Anyway he came over with a letter from the police wanting advice

It basically says he was caught driving on the motorway with a provisional driving licence.

Driving a motor vehicle otherwise then in accordance with the licence is the exact wording, it says we have began building a file to prosecute you.

Basically he wants to know what's going to happen to him now.

Bit of background I've been living here for 7 years and he is quite old, so I'm as shocked as anyone that he has been tootling around on a provisonal!

[marshalla]

Accompanied or unaccompanied ?

[Vipers]

Throw the book at him.

[Vaud]

marshalla said:

Accompanied or unaccompanied ?

Doesn't matter on a provisional?

[marshalla]

Vaud said:

marshalla said:

Accompanied or unaccompanied ?

Doesn't matter on a provisional?

Might affect the insurance position.

[Pope]

Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence

Section 87(1) Road Traffic Act 1988Penalty 3-6 penalty points and/or disqualification. Fine up to £1000.

[gazza285]

Vaud said:

Doesn't matter on a provisional?

It does if he had a passenger.

[Boosted LS1]

I don't think a learner even with a passenger can drive on the motorway or am I wrong? I probably am, can instructors take learners on the motorways? I think yes.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Friday 19th September 23:26

[Pope]

Driving before you've got your full licence

You must have a provisional driving licence for Great Britain or Northern Ireland when you’re learning to drive or ride.

From DVLA website:

Accompanying drivers

You can practise your driving with an accompanying driver if they:are 21 or overhave had (and still have) a full licence in the same category as the vehicle you’re driving, for 3 years

L plates and D plates

You must put an L plate on a prominent place on the front and back of your vehicle if you’re a learner driver. You need to take L plates off your vehicle when it’s not being used by a learner driver, eg between practice drives.You can use L plates or D plates in Wales.An L plate or D plate must:have a red L or D on a white backgroundbe the right sizeYou can get 3 to 6 penalty points if you don’t display an L plate or if it isn’t the correct size.

Motorways

You can’t drive on the motorway with a provisional licence.

[mrtwisty]

Ridiculous cul de sac of the law. You can drive on a 3 (or more) lane A road, but not a motorway. Yet the moment you pass, having perhaps never driven on anything more than a single carriagway road, you are somhow magically able to drive from Exeter to Edinburgh completely on your own should you so wish.

[LoonR1]

marshalla said:

Vaud said:

marshalla said:

Accompanied or unaccompanied ?

Doesn't matter on a provisional?

Might affect the insurance position.

Doubt it and no idea how that's relevant to the charge.

[yellowjack]

Boosted LS1 said:

I don't think a learner even with a passenger can drive on the motorway or am I wrong? I probably am, can instructors take learners on the motorways? I think yes.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Friday 19th September 23:26

Provisional license? Absolutely no motorway driving whatsoever, not even with a DSA instructor or driving test examiner in the passenger seat. If you wish, you can get motorway driving lessons AFTER passing your driving test, but not before.

I learned to drive under the (old) Army system, whereby each corps/regiment maintained it's own instructional system for training it's own drivers in-house. Royal Engineers centralised it to Church Crookham, 56 (MT) Trg Sqn. Every basic driving course included an element of motorway training, but this would take place AFTER we'd passed our tests in the contracted civilian Nissan Sunnys and moved across to the civil servant instructors in the Land Rover Conversion section, where we'd learn to drive 'cross country' and on motorways in the old airportable (lightweight) Series III Land Rovers with their 2.25l petrol engines and 'wholly inappropriate for motorway speed' gearing.

[R0G]

It is a silly rule and has been looked at recently with a view to changing it

I think if it is changed then it will be ADIs only who can take a learner onto a motorway if there is one handy so that they are not taken onto them too early

Lets face it - the 3 lane A11/A45 dual near Cambridge is much more dangerous than a 3 lane motorway but learners are allowed on that

[john2443]

mrtwisty said:

Ridiculous cul de sac of the law. You can drive on a 3 (or more) lane A road, but not a motorway. Yet the moment you pass, having perhaps never driven on anything more than a single carriagway road, you are somhow magically able to drive from Exeter to Edinburgh completely on your own should you so wish.

It is ridiculous, but there are bits of the country that are a long way from a motorway, how would you give everyone Mway lessons?

[Gafferjim]

There is one exception to the rule of no learners on the motorway, that is for HGV & PSV learners (Providing they already have a full car licence) They are allowed on (accompanied obviously)

But to the OPs original post, that driver could get the book thrown at him.

Driving not in accordance to the licence. (Provisional driver on a motorway)

Possibly unaccompanied.

Also possible the insurance COULD be null & void (Depends on the insurance co)


[Tongue in cheek mode on] If he was driving an AUDI or a BMW, he probably thought that the rules didn't apply to him! [Tongue in cheek mode / off]

[shep1001]

At a guess Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence, which there could be several reasons for.......


Maybe he has never bothered to get a full licence - doesn't a provisional licence expire after so many years or is it a fixed time period to convert your provisional licence into a full licence having passed your test, thus he would need to start all over again as a learner??


Section 87(1) Road Traffic Act 1988Penalty 3-6 penalty points and/or disqualification. Fine up to £1000. Points added to his provisional licence so they transfer across when he passes his test and a means tested fine + victim surcharge. How long has he had the provisional licence?

Edited by shep1001 on Saturday 20th September 08:59

[ruff'n'smov]

Boosted LS1 said:

I don't think a learner even with a passenger can drive on the motorway or am I wrong? I probably am, can instructors take learners on the motorways? I think yes.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Friday 19th September 23:26

Sorry to troll you pal. But 13k + posts on a Motoring forum, and you don't know its illegal for a learner to be on a Motorway accompanied or not.

That's scary.

[ruff'n'smov]

Boosted LS1 said:

I don't think a learner even with a passenger can drive on the motorway or am I wrong? I probably am, can instructors take learners on the motorways? I think yes.

Edited by Boosted LS1 on Friday 19th September 23:26

Sorry to troll you pal. But 13k + posts on a Motoring forum, and you don't know its illegal for a learner to be on a Motorway accompanied or not.

That's scary.

[Chipmunk1]

Thanks guys, I don't know for a fact but he must have always driven on a provisional, and he is quite old


He had no L plates or accompanied by a suitable driver but as others said it's not required as it's illegal to drive on the motor way

[LoonR1]

Gafferjim said:

There is one exception to the rule of no learners on the motorway, that is for HGV & PSV learners (Providing they already have a full car licence) They are allowed on (accompanied obviously)

But to the OPs original post, that driver could get the book thrown at him.

Driving not in accordance to the licence. (Provisional driver on a motorway)

Possibly unaccompanied.

Also possible the insurance COULD be null & void (Depends on the insurance co)


[Tongue in cheek mode on] If he was driving an AUDI or a BMW, he probably thought that the rules didn't apply to him! [Tongue in cheek mode / off]

Why "could"? It's pretty well nailed on to be void. The insurer will be arTA and indemnify any TPs had there been an accident, but there would be no insurance in force for the driver.