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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Likelihood of being caught driving with no licence?

277 replies

Throwaway283833848 · 20/10/2019 23:01

Currently don’t have a driving licence.

What is the likelihood of being stopped by the police?

Myself and my husband are both insured on the car.

I know it’s unreasonable, just wondering how likely it is?

OP posts:
Fruityb · 21/10/2019 08:30

I’ve been driving 13 years and never been stopped. That doesn’t mean I would have ever got behind the wheel of a car without the appropriate measures. That’s just fucking stupid.

bellinisurge · 21/10/2019 08:35

@Leflic , I went through a lot to get my licence. Failure to have a valid licence indicates a casual attitude to driving laws. Which indicates an unsafe driver. Which puts my family's life at risk.
So no, this is not like snitching to the fucking Stasi. Having lived in a regime like that I know what I am talking about.
Put my family's life at risk and take the consequences. I would still inform on her in a heartbeat.

TryingToBeBold · 21/10/2019 08:36

They best drive absolutely perfect then. They are screwed if they ever get caught speeding.
A nice photo to view and to declare the name and license details of the person driving..

nononever · 21/10/2019 08:39

Hopefully it's highly bloody likely you (or alleged sister) get caught the first time they are on the road.

We seize a car per shift for this exact thing and I do wonder how people would react if they were hit or worse by the op.

We regularly see updates of cars seized by our local force for this sort of thing. More power to you.

We've lost count the number of times my daughter has been stopped and breathalysed in the wee hours either coming home from work or a night out (she doesn't drink). Last time they followed her home at 3am to make sure she got in and locked up when she told them during conversation she was home alone as her boyfriend was away.

Ellie56 · 21/10/2019 08:39

Why don't you or whoever this thread is about have a licence?

CornishMaid1 · 21/10/2019 08:42

To me it depends on why she will have no licence (although there is no acceptable answer). If it is that she has a photo licence that has expired and she is not renewing the risk may be less than if she has no licence because she has been banned for dangerous/drunk etc driving. If she has, she is more likely to do it again or be obvious to police for a stop.

I do know someone who drove without a licence. In her case it was because her licence expired after its 10 years at the point of a house move and she forgot all about it until she wanted to trade her car in a couple of months later and the garage noticed it expired. She was not stopped in the meantime, but she is otherwise a good driver and was taxed and MOTed. Still not acceptable, but understandable in a way.

Not sure whether it would flag on a system if your sister tries to tax/insure the car without a licence - I know that if you try for to tax a car without a valid MOT it will.

It also depends where you are - certain areas are very hot on traffic policing and some areas less so. However, even with that, there is absolutely no excuse for driving without a licence. She will not be insured if she has an accident and could lose everything and would deserve to. There is no justification so she either gets a valid licence or stays off the road. If she doesn't report her.

SoupDragon · 21/10/2019 09:02

Why does your sister not have a license?

EmilyStar · 21/10/2019 09:07

If you are driving during the day (avoiding silly hours like 2am night trips) you 100% wont ever get pulled by police.

Not true. The police round where I live regularly do weeks where they do random checks on motorists for drink / drugs.
They did a drug driving week a few months ago, one of the mums at school was complaining that she was late for work because her car had been one of the ones randomly stopped, at about 9am after she’d dropped her kids off at school.

reginafelangee · 21/10/2019 09:08

@hellenbackagen

Nope - anpr will flag up . If the insured is a man and a woman is driving I'd stop that car very very quickly and start to dig. Anpr is a very good tool and all traffic cars marked and unmarked have it

Sorry if this has already been asked and answered. I am personally insured to drive any car with the driver's permission and have frequently driven cars that will be insured by men - I have never been stopped. I can't be the only one. Do you really stop ever car you come across in this circumstance?

CactusAndCacti · 21/10/2019 09:15

If the insured is a man and a woman is driving I'd stop that car very very quickly and start to dig.

In terms of being stopped you chances are reduced if: The car has insurance and a valid MOT. It is roadworthy - lights all working, legal number plate and you don't commit any minor traffic offences jumping a red light, phone when driving, seatbelt, speeding. Driving in the early hours, late evening around Christmas will increase your chances.

Going back to the top. I drive my husband's car which is insured to him. I drive hundreds of miles a week, I have never been stopped 'very quickly' or very slowly either.

I have been driving 18years I have never been stopped.

So the chances of being stopped are probably quite low, but the consequences if you are are very high.

RegretnaGreen · 21/10/2019 09:19

A distant relative drove under circumstances like these. He had an accident and injured a 19yo on his way home from uni. The parents took out a private prosecution and the 'driver' had to sell his house to pay the half million compensation the 19yo was awarded. There were other consequences court ordered also.

He has been binned off by the rest of the family for being a twat.

Would the thought of losing your house as a result of court action make you think any clearer about driving without a licence and insurance OP?

subwaysaladfan · 21/10/2019 09:29
Biscuit
PurpleCrazyHorse · 21/10/2019 09:30

I would 100% phone the police and tell of any family member of mine who was doing such a thing. I have zero tolerance for dicks.

PancakeAndKeith · 21/10/2019 09:47

I’ve been driving 25 years and have driven in areas ranging from dodgy bits of Manchester at 3am to rural country lanes. I’ve never been stopped.

However anyone who drives without a license is a dick.

Bl3ss3dm0m · 21/10/2019 09:54

I don't believe the OP for a minute, whether it was about herself, or her 'sister'. She just wanted to have a laugh at all the people she had annoyed.
Well done OP, now go away and grow up please.

AdobeWanKenobi · 21/10/2019 10:31

If you are driving during the day (avoiding silly hours like 2am night trips) you 100% wont ever get pulled by police

Our local force has frequent drives, usually around the Christmas period, to catch people over the limit from the night before.
You're just as likely to be pulled in the day throughout December as you are overnight.

echt · 21/10/2019 10:32

Welcome to MN, OP.

tillytrotter1 · 21/10/2019 11:34

I hope you get caught before your idiocy kills someone, you have no insurance. You're a good example of why there needs to be insurance, tax and MOT electronically connected, cars not having all three being removed from the road and the illegal drivers locked up for the public good.

user1471504234 · 21/10/2019 11:44

First of all, anyone planning to drive without a license is being highly irresponsible regardless of the reason why you don’t have one. I’m assuming you have lost it if you were on the insurance at one time? Or maybe you haven’t even passed your test yet? Either way you are not fit to drive.

I have been randomly stopped before, once just cos I was driving round a residential area very late at night (had just dropped a friend off) and another time cos my car happened to resemble the local drug dealer’s car and they must have assumed I was him.
Do not drive without license. Hopefully you will get caught if you do.

Itsjustmee · 21/10/2019 11:52

I got banned years ago but never handed my licence in as I wasn’t asked to and it was for totting up points
When the ban was up I began driving again
However I didn’t realise that I needed to pay and apply to the DVLA to get my licence back otherwise you are driving illegally
And as I still had my previous licence I carried on driving for years until I wanted to go abroad and needed the new style licence
I had also had a car written off in that time
So it’s not always the case that insurance companies need your licence

AdobeWanKenobi · 21/10/2019 12:18

Welcome to MN, OP.

Or OP could have name changed?

MyNewBearTotoro · 21/10/2019 12:25

I think the likelihood of being stopped would vary hugely depending on where you live and drive, what time you’re on the roads, what kind of car you drive and demographics such as your age, sex, race etc. These things would contribute to the likelihood of being stopped by police for a random check.

Obviously even if you feel the likelihood of being pulled over randomly is low and you feel you are a safe driver unlikely to cause an accident you can never be sure of what other drivers on the road will do. All it would take is someone to go into the back of you and insurance details to need to be swapped or police involved for your lack of license to be discovered.

ibanez0815 · 21/10/2019 12:26

so you know of someone who is planning on driving without licence and your question is how likely she is gonna get caught?

Why don't you report her. I get she is your sister but you absolutely have a moral obligation to report her. There must be a reason why she doesn't have a licence and isn't fit to drive. Report her to protect others and herself.

What a f*cking stupid post in the first place!

Someonesayroadtrip · 21/10/2019 12:30

Then you should report her.

Its not just that though is it? If she is in an accident even if it's not her fault she will be caught.

Insurances seem to be cracking down too, not all but I recently had to do a dvla check thing online and send the pdf off. It's was essentially what was my paper copy. If that happened and she couldn't do it the that would be serious trouble for both her and her partner.

Norma27 · 21/10/2019 12:38

My stepdad got knocked down and killed in a crossing in December. It was a tragic accident and the driver was not at fault. I gave him a hug at the inquest.
However, if it been found he was driving without a licence, I am sure things would have been very, very different for him.