Man drove without a licence for more than 70 years!

[rjfp1962]

Really surprised at this story...! No costs in getting a licence, and what would 70 years not spent on car insurance saved him.....?!


https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamsh...

[RDMcG]

Would make him 82 now if he started driving at 12. Quite an innings.

[john2443]

Amazing that ANPR didn't pick it up sooner that the car wasn't insured.

[Mr Tidy]

Totally thoughtless and irresponsible, but credit where it is due as 70 years without an accident is impressive!

[anonymous-user]

The last paragraph of the BBC article pretty much says it all, we'll catch up with you eventually.

Eventually is about right having missed him for 70 years, they should be embarrassed but I don't think they are.

He must have saved a fortune in the process, maybe he will have to pay all the VED owing.

[Drive Blind]

makes it almost worth trying it - the guy has saved thousands and no menton of any punishment

[anonymous-user]

Drive Blind said:

makes it almost worth trying it - the guy has saved thousands and no menton of any punishment

I suspect he got away with it for so long as he was never in the system in the first place which explains the no licence but how did he buy his cars without getting in the system.

[Sheepshanks]

The insurance part sounds like nonsense. Unless it was covered some other way - he’d have been getting CIE penalties. Maybe they mean the insurance wasn’t valid due to his lack of licence.

[Gareth79]

gottans said:

Drive Blind said:

makes it almost worth trying it - the guy has saved thousands and no menton of any punishment

I suspect he got away with it for so long as he was never in the system in the first place which explains the no licence but how did he buy his cars without getting in the system.

There's no requirements for anyone to check for a licence or insurance when selling a car.

[youngricharduk]

I have a relative that has drove her whole adult life without a licence. The car is always insured in either her partners or sons name etc but she's never passed her test. She's never been stopped and never had an accident. Butter wouldn't melt, she'd be the last person you'd ever suspect of doing so, every other aspect of her life is squeaky clean. It's got to be at least 20 years she's been doing it. As far as i know she only drives locally but I've seen her out and about plenty, it just amazes me though that she had a decent 3 series and has just recently replaced it with a brand new Qashqai so you'd think her husband be worried she'd crash it.

[Terminator X]

john2443 said:

Amazing that ANPR didn't pick it up sooner that the car wasn't insured.

My licence was revoked by mistake by the DVLA for about a 5 year period, not once picked up by ANPR or the rozzers.

TX.

[Dogwatch]

Terminator X said:

john2443 said:

Amazing that ANPR didn't pick it up sooner that the car wasn't insured.

My licence was revoked by mistake by the DVLA for about a 5 year period, not once picked up by ANPR or the rozzers.

TX.

ANPR only looks at the car insurance status.The driver could be a ten year old - or an alien.

[deckster]

If not insured, then presumably the car was never taxed either? Or was it always the case that he only ever drove somebody else's taxed, insured & MOTd car?

If so then he's probably saved nothing, overall, as I'd imagine that if he'd bothered to get a license then the marginal cost of adding him to somebody else's insurance would have been negligible.

[NGee]

Sheepshanks said:

The insurance part sounds like nonsense. Unless it was covered some other way - he’d have been getting CIE penalties. Maybe they mean the insurance wasn’t valid due to his lack of licence.

Why?
When you take out insurance it is done in the drivers ID, when insurance is checked it is done in the cars ID.
Unless you have an accident or are incredibly unlucky the two very rarely get cross referenced.
As long as someone insures the car, driving without a licence or correct insurance is almost undetectable.

[Om]

It is remarkably easy to drive without a licence. You can buy a car, register and insure it in your name, tax it, MOT it, all with no valid licence.

If the car had no insurance then I think you would be found out much sooner, so I wonder if it was insured just not for him.

[Ussrcossack]

Certainly something for the Bradford Boyz to aim for

[Olivera]

NGee said:

As long as someone insures the car, driving without a licence or correct insurance is almost undetectable.

Insurance doesn't matter at all to such people, they would simply give some fake V5 details, or say they'll fill in the V5 completely and bin it. ANPR camera fines then go nowhere, so they'd only need to worry about a traffic car ANPR stop. The foolproof solution is then to stick on a set of cloned plates...

[Chainsaw Rebuild]

youngricharduk said:

I have a relative that has drove her whole adult life without a licence. The car is always insured in either her partners or sons name etc but she's never passed her test. She's never been stopped and never had an accident. Butter wouldn't melt, she'd be the last person you'd ever suspect of doing so, every other aspect of her life is squeaky clean. It's got to be at least 20 years she's been doing it. As far as i know she only drives locally but I've seen her out and about plenty, it just amazes me though that she had a decent 3 series and has just recently replaced it with a brand new Qashqai so you'd think her husband be worried she'd crash it.

She needs reporting mate, that's not on.

[HustleRussell]

Po po said:

make sure your documents are in order... because it will catch up with you... one day.

After 70 years? The weakest, wettest 'threat' ever... an insult to legal motorists.

[SRich]

I'm not suggesting a Custodial Sentence, but here's another case of variable justice not in proportion to the crime (which it is).

We all smile benignly and mutter "Fair play to the guy, he's been lucky"......?