Documents, Insurance and Penalties
This domain tests which papers must be valid, what insurance actually covers, and what follows when you drive without them.
Documents
- A valid driving licence for the category of vehicle being driven, carried or produced as required.
- The vehicle registration certificate, showing the registered keeper and vehicle details.
- Valid insurance covering the vehicle and the driver, at minimum third-party liability.
- A current roadworthiness (VRT) certificate where the vehicle requires periodic testing.
- A valid annual circulation licence (road licence) for the vehicle.
Insurance
Third-party is the legal minimum and covers injury and damage you cause to others - not your own vehicle. Third-party fire and theft add cover for your own vehicle in those specific cases. Comprehensive adds accidental damage to your own vehicle. A policy can be invalidated by an unlisted driver, undeclared modifications, use for hire and reward, or driving over the limit - and an invalid policy leaves you uninsured.
Penalties
Driving uninsured typically brings a substantial fine, penalty points, possible disqualification and seizure or impounding of the vehicle; you also become personally liable for the damage you cause. Serious offences - drink-driving, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified - carry court penalties including imprisonment and longer disqualification. Speeding and other moving offences feed the penalty-point system and can lead to disqualification once the threshold is reached.
Worked example
You lend your car to a friend whose licence has expired. Neither the car nor that journey is insured. If stopped, the driver faces uninsured-driving penalties and you may face permitting offences; any damage caused to a third party can be recovered from you personally.
Traps
Assuming comprehensive cover insures any driver; thinking a licence from any country can be used indefinitely without conversion; letting cover lapse because the car is "not being used".