War on car owners?

Not only are petrol prices astronomical but the cost and procedure for renewing a driving licence likewise. The paper licence is no longer valid. We all have to have Photocard licences, motorists thus being the only British citizens, criminal or otherwise, to need photographic identity. To comply, you have to buy a passport-type photograph, which then has to be signed on the reverse in your presence by an MP, a magistrate, a police officer, or other person “of good standing” who has known the driver for at least two years, and is not a relative. Problems here for these new to a district or living in remote areas! Checks are made on the signees of the mugshot, so even a Magistrate or Police Officer is not trusted by the DVLA.

The only way to obviate the photo signing is to part with your passport, and you have in any case to send the DVLA your birth certificate. If these are lost or mislaid, goodbye to driving? Make a mistake on the application form and you may face prison or a £2500 fine. If all is well you receive two items for the Police to consult on request, at a cost of £6, plus any expenses incurred in complying with the above. Gone long ‘ago the nice red-book licence, at a cost of five bob (25p).

You could ditch the car and go by train but these seem to be coming off the rails more frequently than on a model layout. And there are rumours that soon those over the fearful age of 50 will have to take stringent driving and other tests before being granted a licence. Never mind; an election is pending.