As there was a certain amount of sadness that the original post had been deleted, I thought I'd start a new thread so that the information would be here for future reference
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Car makes was a big part of the discussion - this is what I wrote but as I was born in 1978, I'm very happy to be corrected by someone who remembers more of the 70s
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Also, can't you drive a tractor or other agricultural equipment on the road from 16? Me and my friends all used to joke about that when we were heading towards the age of consent - my best friend's mum disapproved of me because I wrote in her birthday card, "Congratulations! Now you're 16, there are ALL SORTS of things you're legally allowed to do - like drive a tractor on the road. Why, what did you think I meant?"
I don't think so. To drive almost anything (motorised wheel chairs are an exception) in a public place (not just a road), including motor cycles and agricultural machinery, you need a licence (which you can't get until you are 17) and the vehicle has to be insured and taxed. (We have a lot of trouble with kids on motorbikes/minibikes/motorised scooters using the local woods, including Hainault and Epping Forests, and recreation grounds, and the notices/local police make this clear.)
I think you can still ride a motorbike at 16? Possibly.
I do remember a couple of kids having cars at 17, in a city, but they were definitely not the norm and they weren't posh cars, even if they were posh kids. That would have been mid 90s.
Also, is it worth pointing out, for the sake of people who want to use UK spelling that in the UK licence as a noun is spelt with a c and license as a verb is spelt with an s? Or is that just too nitpicky?
Not at all. We have a "Driving Licence", and not a "Driver's License" (or "Drivers License"). The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency is the British equivalent of the DMV and similarly named agencies, but while they license us to drive, they issue licences. And not in person, so standing in line [queueing!] for hours to get a permit [provisional licence] or license is never going to work as a scenario.
I think the points I made were (with some useful additions)
There are very few American made cars on British roads. In the 1970s there were even fewer, and very few, if any, specialist dealers.
You could personally import a Corvette (the car the OP was referring to) into the UK, but it would be left hand drive. If you wish to convert this to a right hand drive, you would need a right hand drive dashboard to be available to purchase, and it wouldn't have been for a Corvette as they didn't make them at that period. It is also a very skilled job and that would cost. The bodywork would need modification. Also, this was a classic car, and any conversion would destroy the value.
People do drive left hand drive vehicles in the UK, but they are more likely to crash because the field of vision is wrong. (Just like driving on the continent for Brits.)
The non-tractor exception to driving at 17 is that if you receive the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance (higher rate) you can drive at 16. In practice, as a number of the qualifications for MLA rule people out of driving for other reasons (e.g. you're blind) this will really only apply to characters who can't walk or have very severe problems with walking, and who may well use an adapted vehicle.
Thank you for re-posting this topic! Some things are so culturally ingrained that you don't even realize things just might not work that way elsewhere. From this discussion I've learned that not only is the age to get the license different in the U.K. than in the U.S., the whole assumptions of what it means to have that license are different as well!
I have a related question: In the U.S. a driver's license is your official I.D. card. You can expect to be asked to show it in all sorts of places--clubs, bars, at the bank, etc. Is this also the case in the U.K., or is there some other I.D. that's more commonly used (passport, perhaps?) Here we can use a passport, but given all the raised eyebrows I get when I use mine (as I don't drive) most people don't.
I have a character that is being asked for I.D. to get into a club, and I was going to have him show his license. Now I'm wondering if that's a plausible scenario or if something else would work better?
Thank you for the quick reply! When you say the "old" ones didn't have photos, when did it switch over?
I wasn't aware of the Pass cards, so thank you! I wish we had those in the U.S.! Would have made my non-driving life a lot easier when I was younger. :-p
This character is in his early 20's (but looks younger) and does have a driving licence, so I'm guessing he'd show that at the club. But I might have some younger characters use the pass cards. :)
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"*Age 16 for tractors less than 2.45 metres wide, it must only pull trailers less than 2.45 metres wide with 2 wheels, or 4 close-coupled"
So yes, at 16, but in limited circumstances.
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I do remember a couple of kids having cars at 17, in a city, but they were definitely not the norm and they weren't posh cars, even if they were posh kids. That would have been mid 90s.
Also, is it worth pointing out, for the sake of people who want to use UK spelling that in the UK licence as a noun is spelt with a c and license as a verb is spelt with an s? Or is that just too nitpicky?
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https://www.gov.uk/rules-motorcyclists-83-to-88/motorcycle-licence-requirements
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There are very few American made cars on British roads. In the 1970s there were even fewer, and very few, if any, specialist dealers.
You could personally import a Corvette (the car the OP was referring to) into the UK, but it would be left hand drive. If you wish to convert this to a right hand drive, you would need a right hand drive dashboard to be available to purchase, and it wouldn't have been for a Corvette as they didn't make them at that period. It is also a very skilled job and that would cost. The bodywork would need modification. Also, this was a classic car, and any conversion would destroy the value.
People do drive left hand drive vehicles in the UK, but they are more likely to crash because the field of vision is wrong. (Just like driving on the continent for Brits.)
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I have a related question: In the U.S. a driver's license is your official I.D. card. You can expect to be asked to show it in all sorts of places--clubs, bars, at the bank, etc. Is this also the case in the U.K., or is there some other I.D. that's more commonly used (passport, perhaps?) Here we can use a passport, but given all the raised eyebrows I get when I use mine (as I don't drive) most people don't.
I have a character that is being asked for I.D. to get into a club, and I was going to have him show his license. Now I'm wondering if that's a plausible scenario or if something else would work better?
Thanks!
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Passports, yes.
I used to use my photographic identity card for the government department for which I worked occasionally.
For proof of age to get into a club or a pub, or to buy alcohol and tobacco there is this
http://www.pass-scheme.org.uk/
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I wasn't aware of the Pass cards, so thank you! I wish we had those in the U.S.! Would have made my non-driving life a lot easier when I was younger. :-p
This character is in his early 20's (but looks younger) and does have a driving licence, so I'm guessing he'd show that at the club. But I might have some younger characters use the pass cards. :)
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I really must get round to changing mine to a photo licence...
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