settle an argument for me

[j.col]

as above,
quick synopsis,
i have a cousin, who around 15 years ago was living in the UK, he was a bit of an idiot in those days, and he eventually got caught driving with no insurance and MOT.
He was brought to court, and he recieved a 3 month driving ban and £300 fine.

He then carried on driving and was pulled over once or even twice during the ban period, he was given a producer, with his correct name, details etc....
but obviously the police did not check him out on the PNC as it would have come up, he was a banned driver.
Soon after he moved back to Ireland, he didnt pay the fine.

Last week i met him over here, got talking and he now claims that he can just reapply for his UK licence, as his ban is long over, and there will be no comebacks over the 2 x producers or unpaid fine.

i am saying that this is wrong, as there will be a warrant for him, over driving while disqualified, and unpaid fines.
He claims that warrants are dropped after 5 years.

TL;DR
how long does a warrant for a driving conviction and unpaid fine, lasts for in the UK?

 

[Jimbeam3678]

I would say it depends on how good DVLA/Police records are. In the past I'd say he would have had a good chance.

Now after the DVLA have improved things not so sure.

Legally I have no idea. Either way i'd not stir up a hornets nest and just not apply for my drivers licence back and hope for the best.

 

[Castiel]

There is no statute of limitations on court fines or warrants.....after a few years the warrant will simply be filed 'continuing offence' and will still be in force....Court Fines are also not subject to the 6 year rule, again they will still be enforcable and will probably have a contempt of court offence attached to them....If and when he comes to the attention of the Police (and if he reapplied for his licence that will be sooner rather than later) he can expect a visit from PC Plod. The Ban will have run it's course though.

 

[j.col]

thx guys, i will print off this thread and show him when i see him at the weekend.
also afaik, even though his ban is up, technically he is still banned until he reapplies for his licence,
he is happily driving away over here, but with an Irish licence.

i will recommend that he just keeps away from DVLA, lol,
but he can only use the irish licence for 12 months if he is living in this country.

how the past can come back and haunt you

 

[The_Abyss]

thx guys, i will print off this thread and show him when i see him at the weekend.
also afaik, even though his ban is up, technically he is still banned until he reapplies for his licence,
he is happily driving away over here, but with an Irish licence.

i will recommend that he just keeps away from DVLA, lol,
but he can only use the irish licence for 12 months if he is living in this country.

how the past can come back and haunt you

I doubt someone with this history of behaviour will be overly influenced by a couple of replies on an internet forum, even one as distinguished as this.

 

[hiroofheroes]

i will recommend that he just keeps away from DVLA, lol,
but he can only use the irish licence for 12 months if he is living in this country.

12 months applies to designated licences (Australia, Canada, South Africa etc) but not the EU licences, which do not need to be exchanged until age 70 if everything is valid. As long as the UK DQ period has expired he could drive in the UK on a valid Irish Licence.

If EU licence was lost and he is resident in the UK, to get any replacement he would have to exchange entitlement from the Irish to UK and go through the renewal after DQ procedure, as the Irish authorities could not issue a licence to someone not resident in Ireland.

Really though he should not have applied for both a UK and Irish licence - but rather exchanged the full licence that was issued first when applying for the second - even if the first was under disqualification at the time of exchange - and if you have endorsements on a UK record and don't disclose them for insurance when driving in the UK even on a non-UK licence you would probably find your insurance invalid in the event of a claim.