driving licences were introduced in the uk in 1965.
when were driving licences introduced in the uk?
1965
uk driving licences were introduced by the motor car act 1903 but no test was required. the intention was purely to identify vehicles and their drivers. the road traffic act 1930 introduced age restrictions and a test for disabled drivers; this was the first formal driving test in the uk. these licences were only valid for one year from the date of issue. legislation for compulsory testing was introduced for all new drivers with the road traffic act 1934. the test was initially voluntary to avoid a rush of candidates until 1 june 1935 when all people who had started to drive on or after 1 april 1934 needed to have passed the test.
united kingdom driving test
driving licences, particularly the photocard driving licence introduced in 1998, and passports are now the most widely used id documents in the united kingdom, but the former cannot be used as travel documents, except within the common travel area. however, driving licences from the uk and other eu countries are usually accepted within other eea countries for identity verification. given that passports do not fit in a typical wallet or purse, most people do not carry their passports in public without an advance that they are going to need them. for people from the uk and other countries where national id cards are not used or not common, this leaves driving licences as the only valid form of id to be presented, if requested by an authority for a legitimately-given reason, but unlike a travel document, they do not show the holder's nationality or immigration status. colloquially, in day-to-day life, most authorities do not ask for identification from individuals in a sudden, spot check type manner, such as by police or security guards, although this may become a concern in instances of stop and search.
identity document