oxxy-bear

Hello
We live permanentely in France and hold UK driving licences which we do not intend to change to French ones.
My wife has been stopped for speeding and incurred a fixed penalty of 90 euro but no points seem to have been applied.
Other friends with what seems to be exactly the same circumstances say that points were applied to their licences and they were notified by post that this had happened and again at the end of a 12 month period when the points ran out.
Does anybody know what is going on here?
Thanks Rob

Im_and_Er

Yes. If you gain one point for a minor infraction then if you commit no further offence for 12 month's that single point is restored. Points are deducted by the way, not awarded, and they are just recorded against you, there is no other notification. You start off with 12 and you can check how many you have left HERE

I do not know your age but just for your information, if you want to continue driving past age 70 then you will have to exchange your UK licence before it expires on your 70th birthday.

If it expires the DVLA will not renew a licence to a non UK address so if you do not exchange it in time then you will be without one so unable to drive and you will not get a French one without taking their test.

I really do not understand this reluctance to exchange a driving licence. It is only a piece of paper which entitles you to drive a motor vehicle so whether it is UK or French makes no practical difference whatsoever. It also has the advantage that, unlike a UK one, it never expires. If you did end up going back to UK you can simply exchange it for a UK one again.

The only possible drawback is that if you have held your UK licence for long enough you can drive a car and trailer up to 7.5t in weight whereas the limit for a French private car licence is 3.5t.

If you get caught for a more serious offence you will be obliged to change anyway.

oxxy-bear

The reason that we do not want to change to a French driving licence is the harsher towing restrictions applied by the French. We would prefer to renew at 70 in the UK as we still have a UK address.
Are you saying that we will have had points deducted witout any notification?
How do we check our points score without the reference number?
Thank you for esponding
Rob

Im_and_Er

No you will not. If you receive a notice of an offence and a fine it will tell you whether points are being deducted and how many.

The reference number will be on the notice but points may not appear immediately on the web site.

cupoftea

I think I might be asking a really stupid question, but here goes anyway ....

How can points be added to a UK licence if the offence has occurred in France and the fine imposed in France? I thought that the two systems have so far failed to merge?

oxxy-bear

Thanks Im and E
I think that it is all clear now
ob

stanage2

P.C.

Im_and_Er

They can't. The EU would like to introduce a reciprocal system but the logistics are just too complicated. In practice it would require a completely new 'EU' driving licence common to all states for which they would clearly all have to agree a common standard of offences and point penalties so don't expect to see it in the foreseeable future.

There is a sort of halfway house though because if you are French resident and commit an offence the point, or points, deducted are still recorded against you and if you transgress again and find yourself obliged to exchange your UK licence for a French one, those prior banked points will be deducted along with however many you are being docked for your current offence.

Similarly in UK, as a foreign or non UK licence holder, any offences committed and points awarded will be recorded by the DVLA on a 'ghost' licence. Unlike in France however UK will not force you to exchange your licence but if you rack up 12 points they can ban you from driving in UK and declare your licence invalid.

Note; even if you think you have got away with not exchanging your licence be aware that it is not at all uncommon for it to take many months to receive the letter demanding you do or the knock on the door from the Gendarmes to inform you.

oxxy-bear

But I thought that there is legislation which pevents the French from forcing a Brit resident in France to change to a French licence.
Rob

cupoftea

Er ..... what does this mean?

cupoftea

Thank you, this is the answer to the question and now everything has become clear. Much appreciated!

Im_and_Er

A misinterpretation I think.

There is no obligation in France for a UK licence holder to exchange their licence for a French one, it is valid until age 70 just as it would be in UK.

If however you commit a traffic offence, or offences, then the French authorities can, and will, insist that you exchange your licence so that points can be deducted.

As a broad rule of thumb if you have been deducted 3 points or more for a single offence, or accumulated 3 or more for separate offences over a relatively short period, then it's almost certain that you will be receiving a notice for you to exchange your licence and a time frame in which to do it and they will come back and check that you have done it.

As I said in my earlier reply though, this part can take many months to swing into action.

jdr

It is the same in Spain and I assume over the rest of Europe on the points thing.
Also although the UK licence is valid you have to adhere to the host countries medical requirements on sight etc.

Im_and_Er

I cannot comment on other countries however I am not aware of any requirement in this regard in France. Perhaps you could point us to the relevant legislation.

Whether resident in UK or not as the holder of a UK licence you have an obligation to ensure that your eyesight is up to the required standard for that. If it were discovered not to be, in the aftermath of an accident for instance, you could potentially be deemed to have been driving without a valid licence and dealt with accordingly.

stanage2

As they used to say in my long past.
Ask a policeman (or Gendarme).