THOUSANDS of drivers have been warned to check when their licence expires – or risk being slapped with a £1,000 fine.
In order to drive legally, you must have a driving license – but they only last for 10 years.
During the Covid crisis, an extra 11 months was added onto drivers licences while Brits were locked down and less able to extend them.
The extension applied to licences that expired between February 1 and December 31, 2020.
That means if your licence was due to expire on December 31, 2020, you’ll have until November 31 – a matter of weeks – to renew your licence.
It comes as Co-op Insurance has revealed 450,000 driving licences have already expired over the last year after the extension ran out for thousands of drivers.
As two fifths of Brits don’t know their driving licence must be renewed every 10 years, it could mean thousands of drivers could be on the road with an expired licence.
The supermarket’s insurance arm, which put a Freedom of Information request into Driving and Vehicle Licensing Agency, also revealed 2.5 million licences are due to expire by next year on August 31, 2022.
The fine for driving with an expired licence is a hefty £1,000 – so make sure you don’t get caught out.
It can also result in three to six penalty points too, and an insurance claim being rejected.
Co-op Motor Insurance head Paul Evans said: “We’re urging motor vehicle owners to check the expiration date on their driving licence and if it’s due to expire within the next month, to start the renewal process as soon as possible.
“Driving licences can be renewed online, by post, or in person at most Post Offices.”
To find out if your licence is out of date, you’ll need to check the date listed on your photocard.
Check the date listed as 4b – if it’s passed, then your licence picture has expired.
This means you need to get a new one as soon as possible and keep off the road or risk being whacked with a penalty.
It costs £14 to update your licence and you can do it online – head to gov.uk and make sure to have a valid passport handy.
You can also send it in by post, all you need is a D1 Pack of forms which you can pick up at some Post Offices or from the DVLA website.
If you want to renew it at your local Post Office, you’ll have to stump up an extra £4.50 for the service and the application fee goes up to £17 from £15.
Driving with an expired licence isn’t the only thing you can get fined for.
There are common car faults that could land you in hot water if you get caught.
For example, you could be hit with a £2,500 fine and three penalty points for a worn tyre – that means you could be fined a whopping £10,000 for all four.
An overdue MOT could mean you have to fork out for a £1,000 penalty.
You can check on the government website to find out when your MOT is due to make sure you avoid a fine.
Having dim or broken lights will set you back £1,000 if you get caught – to check your lights are in good condition, wait until its dark and point them at an even surface facing a wall.
For broken brakes, its a £100 fine.
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