If you got your driver’s licence before 2015, the DVLA has a message for you and if you don’t listen, it could be costly.
The Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency, aka the DVLA, have issued a warning to all drivers to check their licences if they passed before that year, because of a very important reason.
With so many new changes to the rules around driving, it can be a pain to know what exactly is going on.
But this isn’t your average warning from the agency, and it could have dire effects if you were to hop on the road without checking the date on your card.
You wouldn’t want to get pulled over for something minor to then be asked for your details and be shocked when you’re given a fine, would you?
You need to listen to the DVLA (Getty Stock Image)
That’s because it’s to do with your expiry date.
Now, you might know this already, but every driving licence has a 10-year expiry date, which means that if you got your licence before 2015, it’s about to run out, or it already has.
According to MoneySavingExpert.com, there are two million people who have an expired driving licence right now and are due a massive fine for it.
According to the DVLA, your ID needs to be renewed every decade and with an up-to-date picture so that it’s an accurate representation of how you look like as time drags on.
You can’t be running about with an ID of you looked when you were 16 if you’re 60.
If you choose not to do this and you don’t return your expired licence to the DVLA, you could be punished under the Road Traffic Act 1988, which could see you receiving a fine of up to £1,000.
Now, if you don’t know where to look, the expiry date on your licence is displayed in section 4b right on the front of your card.
Check the expiry (Peter Dazeley/Getty Images)
It’s also a lot cheaper to just renew your licence online for £14 and it’ll be quicker to receive it too as it only takes around five days to process it.
If you don’t have access to a laptop or Wi-Fi, then you can pop down to your local Post Office to complete it for £21.50 or choose to print out the form and complete a Postal renewal for £17.
Richard Evans, at WeBuyAnyCar said to JOE: “To drive anywhere legally, you must hold a valid driving licence which has the most up to date and correct details of your name, date of birth and full address.
“If you know your licence is about to expire, or your personal details have changed, it’s crucial you update your licence.
“If drivers don’t have a valid licence, the DVLA warn you could be fined £1,000 and even risk having your vehicle seized. This will be a much heavier price to pay than the cost of updating your licence which starts from £14.”
Philip Gomm of the RAC Foundation chipped in that’s it’s also handy to renew even if you don’t drive.
He said: “There are good reasons to keep licences up to date, beyond the basic legal requirement.
“They are also a widely accepted form of ID and will certainly be required if you are ever stopped by police.”
When it comes to learning to drive, we all have to make the decision between whether we’d prefer automatic or manual.
If you choose the latter, you’ve got the responsibility of changing gears, making sure you don’t stall and constantly pumping the clutch pedal.
But automatic cars do all that for you – so for some people, taking the easier option is a no-brainer.
And who can blame them?
Between checking your mirrors, watching the road and taking in hordes of new information, there’s a lot that goes into learning to drive as it is, so eliminating the worry of using a gear stick is a huge relief for a lot of learners.
Automatic motors might be easier to operate and a smoother ride, but there is one huge drawback to taking your lessons and passing your test in one of these vehicles.
If you get your licence while behind the wheel of an automatic, that is all you are allowed to drive from then on as you don’t have the skillset to operate a stick shift.
On the other hand, those who have a manual driving licence can choose either option.
And it seems like the decision to get an automatic-only licence is coming to bite motorists on the backside, as they now face forking out hundreds of pounds more for car insurance.
How much extra could you be paying for insurance?
Compare the Market has warned that these people could end up paying an additional £760 in comparison to their manual driving peers.
Figures from the UK price comparison website suggest there is a ‘concerning’ rise in insurance costs for those with an automatic-only driving licence.
Who will the price hike affect the most?
Motorists who are under-25 with automatic licences are now paying £2,803 on average, which is a staggering year-on-year increase of £916.
It’s bad news for the whopping 138,354 people who passed in an automatic car in 2022-23, although insurance companies will be rubbing their hands together.
Julie Daniels, Compare the Market’s motor insurance expert, said: “The increasing cost of car insurance is concerning for young drivers across the board, particularly those who have only learnt to drive automatic cars.
“These drivers face paying over £900 more this year to insure their car.”
According to Compare the Market’s statistics, insurance premiums have also drastically jumped up by £644 for drivers under-25 on average from January last year, taking the total up to £2,009.
On average, the running cost of a car has is now £3,043, which is a 25 percent increase from 2023 when the cost amounted to £2,436.
How can you bring the cost down?
Insurance expert Julie advised: “A tip for young drivers would be to look around for cheaper car insurance first, either when their policy is up for renewal, or when taking out insurance for the first time.
“Adding an experienced named driver to a person’s insurance can also help reduce prices – as long as the information is accurate.
“Finally, a telematic policy, also known as a black box, can help give a younger driver more affordable quotes.”
Drivers in the UK are being left confused after ‘never before seen’ motorway signs cropped up on one motorists journey across the country.
The UK is full of weird and wonderful road signs, with it a requirement to learn pretty much all of them ahead of taking your driving theory test.
Knowing the Highway Code and traffic signs is essential to passing that test, with it virtually impossible to pass without studying in your spare time.
From instructions within a blue circle to warnings within a white triangle with a red border, there is plenty to get your head around.
An easy one to understand even without the ‘school’ added to the post (Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images)
And then there’s the images within a white circle with a red border – it’s essential to knowing them all for your test so that when you’re in the real world of driving, you are a safe road user.
What you’re not taught or required to know for any test, however, is what motorway gantry signs say and tell you as a driver.
These differ significantly from the permanent motorway signs, which are usually blue in colour with a white border, that you learn as part of your theory revision.
And the lack of education on the gantry signs, where temporary warnings are presented by highway officials, has confused people over on Reddit this week.
Posting a picture of one such sign, one Redditor wrote: “Just seen this sign on the M11. What does it mean?
“I’ve never seen it before.”
The message displayed in the black gantry signage simply says ‘END’ and its got a few people scratching their heads.
As a driver who has also come across this before but there being no warning or information displayed on the previous gantries, it has definitely also left myself also going ‘huh?’.
But it is nothing to worry about and is, in fact, more than likely there for several simple reasons—all of which are connected.
Responding, another Reddit user said: “There was some information such as advisory speed due to traffic or caution due to a warning of debris in the road.
“‘End’ means it’s the end of that warning, but you may only come across the end if you’ve joined in between, or they’ve forgotten to remove the end after the other ones have been removed.”
Joking, they added: “OR the next one will say of, then the, then world, then as, then we, then know, then it.”
A generic safety message on a UK motorway gantry (Peter Summers/Getty Images)
Another echoed the first response above, saying: “It’s the end of any restriction that has been on previous overhead signs.”
And a third suggested: “On smart motorways these might have been a variable speed limit; although that looks as though it could have been a period of roadworks, high winds or fog conditions, congestion, etc.”
According to The Highway Code, flashing amber lights indicate a hazard is ahead, at which point you should ‘reduce your speed’ and ‘prepare for the hazard’.
And if you see the illuminated ‘END’ at the end of the tunnel, then that’s a sign that it’s all good to ‘increase your speed’.
So if you come across the ‘end’ sign on the motorway, drive easy knowing whatever extra hazards that existed on the road are behind you.
I am of course, talking about driving licences, and whether you chose to go through the grit of learning to changing gears, balance the clutch, do hill starts, or if you chose to do none of that so you could pass easily with no worries.
Well, I’ve got some bad news for you if you chose the latter.
So passing your test earlier does come at a price in the long-term, despite maybe taking fewer lessons than the average manual car driver.
Manual licence holders can drive either type of car, and it looks like they may be the ones laughing now following the latest news.
It turns out that automatic drivers will have to fork out quite a bit more than manual drivers for their car insurance.
According to Compare the Market, automatic drivers could end up paying up to £760 more compared to their manual counter-parts.
The British price comparison website has outlined a ‘concerning’ rise for auto licence holders.
Under-25s are set to be hit the hardest, with insurance sitting at £2,803 on average for them, with a year-on-year increase of over £900.
But if you are one of the affected, there are ways you can lower your insurance, according to RAC.
Pay a higher excess
You will be asked to pick a level of excess when getting a quote for car insurance – this is basically how much you’re happy to pay towards a repair if you were to make a claim.
Setting it low would mean your overall premium would be higher, compared to if you put it higher, as long as you make sure you can pay the excess you set.
Take out a ‘Black Box’ car insurance
Firstly, what is a Black Box car insurance?
It’s essentially a way of helping young, new drivers save money on car insurance.
A black box is installed in your car and monitors your driving behaviours, meaning that the safer you drive, the cheaper your insurance could be at renewal time.
The only thing is that it may not make your first policy cheaper, but you could get a discounted rate the second time around.
Adding an older driver to your insurance policy
It actually turns out that a child adding their parent to their policy may reduce the cost of insurance.
The insurance provider will see a more experienced driver sharing the vehicle, and may offer a lower price.
But it is important that the older driver does use the car to avoid future invalidations of the insurance.
Get a cheaper car
It may seem like a no-brainer, but your choice of car has a huge influence on your insurance premium, especially if you’re a new or young driver.
Faster, more expensive cars will cost more to own and maintain, and will also cost more to insure.
Cars are ranked by insurers in groups from 1-50, with group 1 being the cheapest, so you may want to carry out some research there and get yourself a little modest mobile.
Keep your vehicle safe
Insurance providers like to know that the car will be as secure as possible when it is not being driven.
Factors like an alarm or a security device will help your case.
According to Thatcham Research, the insurance group of a car is listed as a number (cheapest vs most expensive to insure as explained above) and a letter.
The letter refers to the security systems which come as standard with the car.
It’s also important to disclose where you’re parking it at home, will it be in the driveway? The garage?
Either of those will result in a better insurance policy, but if you park your car on the street, it won’t help you much.
Yep, the nation’s favourite Money Saving Expert has always got our backs to make sure we’re being smart with our cash. And he doesn’t just drop us an instruction and leave us, him and his team always seem to be there.
At least we can rely on something, right lads?
So, many months ago, Lewis warned that those who purchased a car with a PCP or a finance agreement between 2007 and 2021 could be affected as drivers might be able to claim compensation due to the results of a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) investigation.
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Sheldon Mills, executive director of consumers and competition at the FCA, said: “We are taking a closer look at historical discretionary commission arrangements in the motor finance market following a high number of complaints from customers, which are being rejected by firms.
“If we find widespread misconduct, we will act to make sure people are compensated in an orderly, consistent and efficient way.”
And earlier today on X, Lewis issued an update on his warning as people have still got another year to get their complaints in.
He wrote: “Motor finance misselling update: @TheFCA just announced while it’ll announce it’s ruling in May 2025 firms will have until December 2025 to deal with complaints.”
Lewis previously explained the whole thing to the BBC as he warned car owners:
“What was happening at that point is the lenders who organised the finance were saying to the car dealers ‘the commission is discretionary,’” he said.
It’s worth checking if this applies to you. (David M. Benett/Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
“In other words, if you want more commission on these finance products – which is why they were being more heavily sold – you can simply increase the cost of the finance and you will get more commission.
“Many of them did so and it wasn’t declared, so the consumer was not aware quite what enormous sums were being paid in commission to car dealers for this type of finance.”
He continued: “Clearly this means getting complaints in, if you were mis-sold, is going to be crucial.
“It should be noted, part of the announcement is the FCA has put a freeze on firms handling complaints for now, so if you complain now they don’t have to do anything, but my provisional thoughts are it is worth it for people who think they’ve been mis-sold getting in a complaint now as a marker.”
So, if any of this applies to you, the best thing to do is just get your complaint in when you can.
