Drivers get extra time for car hire

DRIVERS planning to hire cars while on holiday have been given extra time for checks on their licence details as the DVLA has extended the lifetime of validation codes from 72 hours to 21 days.

The move comes after a deluge of complaints from car hire companies and drivers when the paper counterpart to the driving licence was abolished on June 8.

Details of driver qualifications and offences were previously kept on the paper counterpart but were switched to a computerised record that could only be accessed through the View Driving Licence website.

However, it crashed the day it went live on June 8 as drivers tried to get the 72-hour validation codes before they set off on holiday.

Car hire companies had complained of long queues in their offices as driver details were checked.

One company, Easirent in Edinburgh, told Connexion “This has been a disaster for us. It takes three or four times as long to check the licence details and queues build up. Many drivers don’t even know they are supposed to have the code.”

Drivers also complained that if they were on holiday and wanted to hire a car after leaving the UK they had to find an internet cafe or run up expensive roaming charges to access the View Driving Licence site – and then needed to have their National Insurance number to identify themselves.

RAC head of external affairs Pete Williams called the move a “dramatic U-turn from the DVLA” and said it “feels very much like a victory for common sense”.

RAC reacts to news that the #DVLA has extended the validity of the Share Driving Licence code: http://t.co/pmo1T58Ymn pic.twitter.com/mp78K0jrcb— RAC Press Team (@RAC_Press) July 10, 2015

The move was welcomed by the AA, which said it had been “inundated by calls from concerned members about the implications of the end of the paper counterpart.

“This change of heart by DVLA will be welcomed by thousands of travellers. The 21-day limit will help most people taking a conventional holiday abroad because it removes the need to ensure they take their National Insurance number with them.

“However we strongly urge DVLA to allow those who are away for longer, such as gap-year students, to be able to use their passport number to access their driving record, rather than their National Insurance number, which most simply won’t have and won’t be able to obtain.”

The AA urges drivers to print out a copy of their driving record [which is given on the View Driving Licence site] as this may be acceptable to many car hire companies and recommends that they also take their old paper counterpart with them “as it may still be requested by car hire firms or local police who are unaware of the rule change”.