I recently passed my driving test (hooray!) and duly received my full license. Now, I’ve seen American licenses that were the size and shape of a credit card and you could keep that in your wallet. Handy.
However, the Irish one is too big for that to work. It’s also flimsy (thin cardboard with some even thinner plastic over it in a plastic case). I used to carry my provisional in my bag and after a year it was looking quite grotty. This one is meant to last ten years! How?
I talked to an English friend and she said she kept in it a drawer at home. Does anyone else do that? Surely you have to have it on you when driving or am I mistaken?
So, mainly for countries that have awkward sized and/or flimsy licences. Do you carry it on you at all times and if so, how do you stop it from getting lost/falling to bits?
In the US it is about the same size as a business card, and most (mens) wallets have a spot with a clear cover to place it into. It fits “just right” into that spot, though we still do (if ID is checked) have to remove it from it’s “spot”.
I’d love to see what yours looks like for comparison.
Another aside (hijack?)… are wallets in the UK/Ireland/EU a different size than those in the USA? Money may be a different size, and my wallet fits US dollars perfectly, with not a whole lot of extra room.
In most cases, it is required to have your license on your person when you are operating a motor vehicle on the public roadways. There are exceptions, which vary by state. (New Hampshire being one, you have 24 hours to present your license… it’s held by many rental places for things like skis, and you’d likely be driving to the mountain after renting skis in many situations)
I googled quickly but couldn’t find an image. It’s about double the American size. Actually four times that size but folded over. It’s pink. It’s got a harp on it. This is because that Ireland’s national symbol but it pleases me because I play the harp and one of my big reasons for getting the license was to be able to transport it.
Yes, I would say so. Dollars are longer than Euros (and most of the old European currencies too). I had to fold them to make them fit into my wallet.
AFAIK you don’t have to carry your driving licence in the UK while driving. I haven’t been able to find a cite on the DVLA website but here’s one on another site that backs up what I understand to be the situation:
I still have one of the old-style paper driving licences. (So if I feel like driving some paper, I’m ready to roll!) This is a large sheet of paper that folds down into a rectangle that I keep in the inside pocket of my wallet. I have never had to show it anywhere, other than to rent cars and vans. Driving licences aren’t used much for ID here (the old ones have no photo on, for a start).
One of these days I’ll get around to getting a photocard licence, but I have to send my passport in with the application, which could take several weeks, so I wouldn’t be able to travel in the meantime.
I think that misinterpreting this. I’m nearly sure that you have 24 hours in which to present your licence to the authorities after you have been pulled over, rather than having to show it to the cop immedeately.
Ok, so they don’t take it away for 24 hours…but rather for however long your ski trip is.
Having lived all of my driving years in NY, which is the MOST anal-retentive State about licenses, insurance, registration, I’m having a cognitive disconnect about giving my license up to anyone for any length of time.
In California, it’s common for a clerk to ask for picture ID when ringing up a purchase with a check or credit card, so many wallets and checkbooks have a clear plastic window for a driver’s license. To buy alcohol and cigarettes, you can be carded. (Asked to show ID) You have to physically have the card while operating a motor vechicle in CA, so it’s unusual to hear an adult say they have no ID on them. I have a wallet-with-window.
I keep mine in my wallet, except when I’m in the gym or out bicycle riding. I don’t carry my wallet there, so I keep license and medical insurance card clipped to a long strap around my neck. If I have a heart attack while I’m working out, I want absolutely no delay in the emergency room while they try to figure out who I am and if I’m insured. :smack:
Actually, FWIW, I (and I think most people my age in the UK) carry ours in our wallets by habit - it’s true that we’re rarely asked for ID, but it’s the most convenient one to produce when necessary. After all, your passport doesn’t have your address.
It’s the same way here in Oregon but wasn’t very common in Tennessee. Might be a West Coast thing. For everything else you mentioned, I’m pretty sure it’s national. I almost never leave my home without some form of identification – license and SSN usually – on me.
Australian ones (New South Wales, anyway) are credit card sized exactly. In fact, they’re printed on the same plastic credit card blanks. These contain a photo, and are recognised everywhere as ID Like a passport, they carry a lot of weight for places that use a points system for opening accounts, etc. In fact people who don’t drive have trouble proving who they are. This has gotten so bad that young adults (18+) can actually get Proof of Age cards issued by the traffic authority even if they don’t drive (they look similar to a licence, are printed on the same blanks, have a photo, and simian nightclub bouncers seem to accept them). Credit card licences have been around for about ten years. For about five years before that, they were credit card sized, but were a piece of paper sealed in plastic (still with a photo). Before that, they were a C5-sized piece of paper with no photo. My first licence was one of these, and it needed to be folded into quarters to fit in my wallet. It was only valid for a year, but even so, you had to learn not to take it out of your wallet and unfold it unless you really had to, otherwise it would fall to pieces along the creases (hey, that rhymes!).
I’ve always kept my licences in my wallet. I have seen in American movies (Blues Bros comes to mind), a driver gets pulled over and he reaches up into a pocket behind the sun visor to take out his licence for the cop. Is this common practice? Do you leave it in there when you’re away from the car?
I generally keep it in the car - when I am asked for ID at most places I generally either refuse and pay with a card that requires no secondary ID (debit) or cash.
If I carry ID on me, it’s a standard state issue ID card.
I’ve never been randomly asked for my ID in a non-purchase or non-wrongdoing situation.
Does pretty much everyone in Europe, or more specifically in England, have a passport? I gather (guess, actually) that you folks cross borders more frequently than us in the US. Especially now, what with the Chunnel and all.
Peace,
mangeorge
The vast majority do, yes (and this was the case long before the tunnel was dug - package holidays abroad have been common for decades). And a number of countries have national ID cards as well. Then again, the countries in the Schengen area (basically mainland western Europe) don’t have any border controls.
They only take it for the duration of the rental. This is usually for short term rentals only (that day), and is likely now replaced by a credit card deposit. I have no cite btw for the 24 hours to present your license to the police, but IIRC that’s how it was when I started driving / skiing (about the same time, and no Credit card then).
I’d personally never want to drive without the license in hand, as that’s just asking for trouble, even if it is the law (which I’ve no clue if it is or not).
Coming next, under the homeland security act: Your retina will be your universal national ID card. Officials will carry a scanner connected wirelessly to a database, making a driver’s license (and privacy) obsolete.