Do I have to give up my driving licence?

There are many different reasons which lead people to ask the question "Do I have to give up my driving licence?". The following will concentrate on the three main reasons why people seek to know the answer to "Do I have to give up my driving licence?".

I have committed a number of driving offences, do I have to give up my driving licence?

The answer to this question depends on a number of factors: the seriousness of the offences, the number of offences, the number of points you"re allowed to have on your licence. In the U.K., a newly qualified driving is only allowed to amass 6 points on their driving licence within the two year probationary period that is placed upon all new drivers. A fully qualified driver with more experience can have up to 12 points on their licence before revocation of the licence occurs.

Do I have to give up my driving licence if I commit a serious offence?

If you have committed one or more serious offences, the likelihood of your licence being revoked is increased. In the U.K., for example, if you get several speeding tickets (at 3 points a time), you will be asked to choose between accepting the points and getting your licence revoked or paying to take something called a Speed Awareness course which aims to reduce the likelihood of your speeding. If you are involved in a serious accident and you are found to be at fault, immediate revocation is a possibility.

Do I have to give up driving licence when I emmigrate?

Another common question is whether drivers have to give up their U.K. driving licence when they emmigrate. The short answer is yes, you will in one way or another be forced to give up your U.K. driving licence in favour of one from the country you are emmigrating to. Once you move out of the U.K. your driving licence will no longer be considered valid within the U.K.

In some countries e.g. Australia, you"re allowed to use your U.K. licence in their country for the first three months of residenc. If you want to keep driving, you will then have to change it to an Australian driving licence. If you"ve been driving for 2 years or more, this process is fairly straightforward as you don"t have to retake any practical tests.

There is also good news if you"re planning to emmigrate to Canada from the U.K., as you will be able to exchange your U.K. licence to a Class 5 Alberta licence without too much hassle.

Do I have to give up my driving licence now I have been diagnosed with epilepsy?

In the U.K., there are strict regulations concerning epilepsy/seizures and driving. The DVLA states that if you have experienced any type of seizure, then you must stop driving. With seizures, it is very hard to determine whether you lost consciousness even if it was just a small seizure. It is therefore considered safer to ban all drivers that have experienced seizures, at least until they have been seizure free for a year or more. This is intended to reduce the dangers of having a seizure while at the wheel of a car. The safest course of action for drivers who have experienced seizures is to give up their driver"s licence if more than one seizure incident has occurred. While this is true, it is not necessarily required of you to give up your licence, merely to stop driving for a while.

From reading the above article, you can see that the reasons for asking "Do I have to give up my driving licence?" are many and varied. These are just the most commonly sought answers to the most commonly asked questions relating to giving up a driving licence.