I have been spending most weekends lately reading The Highway Code; these are the rules of the road here in the UK. I am doing this in preparation my taking the driving license test. Like in the US, there is a written test and a driving test. I received my provisional license a few weeks ago, which is the UK version of the Learner’s Permit. I didn’t know that the UK license had two parts: a paper part and a picture card part. I guess the picture card part is a recent innovation; apparently the paper is the important bit.
So I was wondering how people kept this thing from disintegrating. It is just a regular slice of paper so if I were to carry it around everyday, I am sure it would be in pieces in just a few months. So I asked some motorists at work. It turns out that you don’t carry it around at all; you just leave it home. So I thought that I just had to carry the card around. Turns out that I don’t have to carry that around either. That card can stay at home to. I must have had a perplexed look on my face because my motorist friend immediately explained that if you are in an accident: you have 7 days to produce your driving license at a police station. In fact, my friend told me he was pulled over just the other day. The entire exchange went something like this:
Policeman: What kind of license do you have?
Motorist: A full English one, as far as I know.
Policeman: Alright, off you go then.
The UK driving license is apparently a lot like the UK constitution: it is more of a concept, really. Yeah, that’s right: this constitutional monarchy has what is known as an uncodified (unwritten) constitution. The constitution is out there somewhere, hidden in the midst of random combinations of case law, statutes, and treaties. It will be hard to relate to this if you're not living here, but this actually explains so much of how London works... it’s uncodified!
Photo Credits:
Automobile Association (Certificate Lot)
Metropolitan Police Smart Car (CarPictures1.com)
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