points on licence

[kezza5222]

hi all,
i have a couple of questions,

my husband (who will be the sole driver) had points on his licence 11 years ago, these have obviously cleared from his licence now, but i have read that points on the licence are never seen as "spent" in the laws of the USA.

yesterday, whilst driving in unfamiliar territory, he took a right turn at a no right turn sign and a policeman stopped him and have him a further 3 points and a fine. now these new 3 points are the only ones on his licence, but do we need to take in to account the past 6 points from 11 years ago if they are not "spent" should we be seeking an appointment to try to get him a visa? or do these points not count as he has not been to court to contest them? and a visa waiver form is ok to use? moral thingymyjiggy seems such a grey area!

also do the embassy allow you to make appointments conveniant to you? or do you have to take a slot allocated to you as to get to london is expensive and difficult with the hours we work, but we are going for a mini break in the summer, if they would grant us audience at that time would be lovely.

last thing we want it to be turned back from our holiday, we have waited so long and saved so hard for it.
Love Kerry

[ShirleyD]

All you need is a valid licence to drive in the USA, it is unlikely they will even look at the paper part. You will not need a visa

[Sniff]

I assume your husband had the 6 previous points on a UK licence? If they are now 'spent' in terms of the UK authorities, I don't see any way the US authorities could even know he had points previously (assuming your husband has had these ponts cleared from the licence counterpart). In any case, as has previously been discussed, I've never known a hire company to even look at the counterpart section of the licence, so they are unlikely to know about any points, even if they are current.

The question of whether a US policeman can enforce points on a UK licence is very vague, I think. For sure they could stop him driving if the US if he amassed enough points in the USA, but I still doubt whether these points would 'appear' on his UK licence as far as the DVLC is concerned.

Even within Europe, where there is a standard European driving licence, it is (in my experience) very unusual for one country to try and enforce points on the licence from a national of another country. Unless the offence is very serious, it just isn't worth the hassle and paperwork, and the cross-border systems to do so are just not in place.

As is always stated with questions of visas, you really need to talk to a specialist (ie the Embassy) to get the true story, but I would be very surprised if they would require a visa for 6 UK points from 11 years ago that were spent, plus 3 US points for an illegal left turn. In my view the 'moral turpitude' clauses are for offences FAR more serious than that!

Personally I would not bother about it, I'd go to the US next time without a visa, and I wouldn't mention any points to the hire car company. But that's me...

[rogerdunnaker]

I have active UK points on my licence, it's never been an issue either with the authorities in the US or for hiring a car, don't worry and enjoy your holiday.

[Albert the Frog]

I wouldn't worry about it for 3 points-I lifted this from the US web site;

"Travelers with minor traffic offenses which did not result in an arrest and/or conviction for the offense may travel visa free, provided they are otherwise qualified."

Logistically there is no way the US immigration could know about or be interested in the previous points -this is not a crime of moral turpitude so you can truthfully tick the no box on the i-94=forget it and enjoy your planning (I have 3 points on my licence and it wasn't even mentioned)

[kezza5222]

thankyou for all your swift answers, it certanly does clear our minds to know that others have entered with points ok!

Kerry

[roger]

I confirm that points on a UK license (whether current or expired) make no difference in terms of the car rental or insurance. They are not taken in to account.

[Lyn]

We read somewere that they only ask for the card part of you driving licence not the paper part, we had always given both in the past but this time just handed over the card and no-one asked for the paper part. They do not worry about minor offences, just the fact that you have a licence.

[steph_goodrum]

Kerry
I think youu may be confusing 2 issues here.
With regards to using the Visa Waiver , if you have a criminal record then the Rehabilitation of Offenders act is not recognised in the US and, whereas in the UK after a certain number of years it is classed as spent, they do not accept that and all offences are taken into account. It doesnt matter how long ago they expect them to be declared.
As far as driving goes, the rule is that if you have a valid license to drive in your home country that is acceptable. Since only your husbands current points are active and his license is valid in the Uk he will be fine.

[karenk]

Hi,

My husband and son both have points on their licence and have driven hire cars in Florida without any problems from the rental companies. I of course am perfect and have no points so don't need to worry about such things