Traffic law, offences, penalties and documentation
The examiner wants to see that you know what you must carry, what invalidates your cover and what happens when rules are broken. The checks that catch drivers most often are licence and insurance controls and the periodic technical inspection.
Documents to carry
- A valid driving licence for the category of vehicle being driven.
- The registration document in the owner's name, or proof of lawful transfer.
- A valid insurance certificate covering third-party liability; driving uninsured is an offence and leaves you personally liable for the damage you cause.
- Proof of the periodic technical inspection once the vehicle reaches the age set by regulation, and at the prescribed interval thereafter.
- Any permit required to carry passengers for hire.
Offences and penalties
Serious offences include driving without a licence, without insurance, with an expired inspection, while suspended or disqualified, or after drinking or taking drugs. So do running a red light, using a phone at the wheel, refusing priority to a pedestrian, carrying unrestrained children and overloading. Penalties range from fixed fines and licence suspension or withdrawal to vehicle immobilisation and, for serious or repeat offences, imprisonment.
At a police check
Stop where indicated, stay calm, keep your hands visible, present your documents and do not argue at the roadside. Sign nothing you cannot read. Never offer money.
Worked example
At a checkpoint your licence and insurance are valid, but the inspection sticker expired three months ago. The offence is the expired inspection, not the licence. Expect a fine and an order to present the vehicle within a set period; it may be immobilised until then.
Traps that cost marks
Believing insurance follows the driver whatever the car; presenting a photocopy or an expired certificate; assuming a foreign licence is automatically valid for hire work; letting a passenger hold your documents.