Crossing the EU with no MOT/road tax/insurance
 

Hi all.

I left the UK with my UK registered car in February 2007. I drove across North Africa, The Middle East, South Asia and then Thailand etc. Later in 2008 I will be returning home. As can be imagined, the UK MOT and road tax have long since expired and you can't get UK MOT, Road Tax or insurance outside the UK. DVLA told me I had to declare the car exported - which I have done. While I am outside the EU, it's not a problem but as soon as I set tyre in the EU - which I will have to do to drive across it to get back to the UK - I will be committing an offence by driving a car that is registered in an EU member state but which doesn't have a current MOT, road tax and insurance in that state. Just like a German would be doing if he drove his German-registered car in the UK without current German MOT, road tax and insurance. DVLA tell me it will be up to the Polish/German/French police to catch me as I am passing through those countries - if they don't, it isn't an offence in the UK. So - someone on this forum must have faced something like this on various long-term overland trips - do you have any experience of the likelihood of problems with the authorities in each of these countries?

As soon as I get the car back to the UK, I will need to get it transported from the ferry port, which shouldn't be a problem. Then I will get it MOTd and taxed and get it re-registered with DVLA.

If you have declared your car exported from the UK surely it's no longer registered. Now you have the problem of registration because if you get stopped or at customs they are going to ask where it is registered since you exported it.
It might be worth getting the car test done in the country you are in, that way you have a document that says your car is road worthy and you should be able to get insurance. AXA might have an office where you are eg I am in Saudi and have ins through AXA for the middle east and when I ride home they will arrange cover for the rest of my trip to UK. I don't think road tax is a problem when you transit through a country.
My bike will be deregistered and off the Saudi computer but I will have export plates.
I'm not sure it was a good move to declare your car exported as now it doesn't have a home.
Cheers
Ian:thumbup1:

just my input.
 

Hello, what's done is done - declaring your car exported.

Ian does have a point about having a cover letter from an insurance group.

Axa is a popular insurer in France. I'm sure if you had a quick visit to an agent, as soon as you arrive in the EU, a quick check over and then back to the agent for the document, its the best decision for travel through EU countries. You're looking at about 200€ tops for the CT (Controle Technique) and the 1-2 month insurance. It's the wisest choice, considering you're a danger on the road without insurance for yourself and for others. Good luck with your trip.

European Sales Contact

http://www.axa-assistance.com/images...appemonde1.gif



http://www.axa-assistance.com/images...tonfr/puce.gif European Community

Telephone :

++ 33 1 55 92 40 05

Fax:

++ 33 1 55 92 40 58

E-mail: sales@axa-assistance.com

AXA Assistance Links

This is (yet again) DVLA being less than helpful towards anyone daring to step outside their customer model of domesticity at home and regularly paying their money over to Government departments and Agencies.
They really should not be so interested in Revunue raising matters such as Road Tax and Penalties, and start solving problems of their own creation.

My thoughts (and these are just that, I am no Lawyer but have spent a lifetime interpreting other UK Law and Regulations) :-

Registration. It is probably deregistered having been declared Exported. I would like to think they could reactivate the registration even though the vehicle is not yet on the UK public roads. The problem could be proof of its continued existance until they (or their Inspectors) actually see it - as can happen if transferring a Cherished Number from a vehicle not currently 'on the road' and without MOT, insurance etc.

MOT. Cannot be done outside UK. There are technical 'check up' tests in some other countries but DVLA are not interested in them. You can drive/ride legally without Road Tax and MOTin the UK if going to a pre-booked test. There is nothing that says this must be close by. So you could telephone from (say) Dover to book a test in (say) Scotland, and drive there quite legally on this count.

Some countries (even in EU) do not even have tests for some classes of vehicles eg. motorbikes are never tested in France. This implies other EU countries have no interest in UK MOT certificates - despite what DVLA might like you to believe

Insurance. This is a 'private' contract between you and the Insurer resulting from what you both agree, but they must be fully aware of everything. A valid MOT is not a requirement 'per se', but they could decline a claim if it is something that resulted from a mechanical defect. eg lack of MOT should have no bearing on a theft claim.
Whether they are flexible enough to accommodate your situation I do not know, but a good Broker would be able to sort it out. Only real problem I forsee is the lack of a valid Registration and the submitting of signed originals of declarations and payment from afar. Lack of MOT, for travelling to get one should be declared to the Insurer, but this cannot be a problem for this use.

Road Tax. This is (was?) only payable if the vehicle was being driven on the UK public roads. However I notice DVLA quietly changed their website a few months ago which previously said it was not payable if the vehicle was outside UK - now says it must be paid. I do not know if this is an actual change in the Law or just them trying to collect more money for the Government. Anyway you cannot buy this until you have a valid MOT, only capable of being obtained within the UK. This implies UK Road Tax is not payable for using the vehicle outside the UK and as other countries are not interested in MOTs they are equally not interested in UK Road Tax. Despite what the DVLA would like you to believe.

Personally, I would like DVLA to allow an annual SORN declaration to include vehicles not intended to be permanently abroad even though on extended trips - afterall they are not being used on the UK roads. But I doubt they would accept this if they knew the truth.

What I wonder is, as you have declared the vehicle as Exported you presumably sent back the entire V5. How then, have you been travelling since? You clearly have crossed numberous borders and my experience is that Registration Documents must be produced to enter, and sometimes to leave, countries beyond the EU - sometimes even within, particularly if it is a Schengen area border.

In my experience last year road (7 months in Europe) border crossings are almost all unmanned now in the EU and within Schengen countries. If manned they are interested only in people in the vehicle.

The only border actually controlled seems to be the UK, which seem more interested in illegal arrivals than anything as mundane as rego and MOT.

Remove the tax disc to avoid an obvious out of date query from a copper, pre book an MOT test as sugested above.

You'll get as far as Turkey before insurance is an issue again. You need it to enter. If you come from Iran, you'll have to get to Dogbiscuit somehow before they will let you in. When I came back from Syria, I actually got someone at the border to ride into town and buy me insurance. I wasn't going to leave the bike at the border, naturally. It cost me a day.

Here the rego people were quite nice in comparision -

Get an inspection by someone with govt recognition [if I could not get that .. then I'd get something ! Anything is better than nothing .. and put an explantion letter with it] - have it translated into english .. send that to them with the fee (they take internet money things) .. and pay the australian insurance (more internet money) and they'll let me have registration (post it out to me .. long wait) .. even though I'm not in the country ..

I'd think you have done the wrong thing by 'exporting it' .. you are travelling and will return so need your local registration and insurance. You need this to be able to travel in another country as they require your vehicle to be registered (even if not registered in that county). If the govt department is not cooperating .. a lettter to your local represtiative (govt or oposition) may get things fixed .. for the next trip. I'd suggest if this is a problem for UK residents that all you UK residents write in. And at the next HU UK meeting you have a petition ready .. and get every one to sign .. small though you may be in total numbers. Better if every one writes in using personal letters.

The only issue is insurance. If you have an accident, however minor without it you will be in deep trouble.

Try going to an AA office in the first EU country you come to and see whether they will sell you a Green Card insurance. Worked for me in Turkey, Italy and Germany, but the former where 20 years ago. Things change.

Hi all

Thanks for your very helpful information (especially Tony P - that epistle must have taken you some time!)

I don't think I explained fully or accurately what had happened. What I actually did was SORNd the car at the end of February 2007 when I left Italy and entered Tunisia. Recently I called DVLA to ask about this. Once they found out the car and I were outside the UK on an overland trip, they told me I shouldn't have SORNd it but should have declared the car exported - which I have to do before the SORN expires at the end of February. Thus I haven't yet declared the car exported - I was merely about to. Re the V5 registration document - I SORNd the car online and DVLA have told me I can declare the car exported online as well - thus I still have the V5 and can still keep it even after I declare the car exported. DVLA did also tell me I should not have SORNd the car but continued to pay Road Tax on it if it wasn't off the road in the UK but was on the road OUTSIDE the UK - even if not in an EU country. Curiously, however, they confirmed that I hadn't committed an offence by SORNing it but will have done so if I don't declare it as exported before the present SORN expires at end Feb 2008.

DVLA also told me that once I get the car back into the UK, to 'resurrect' it on their records I will need to a) get it MOT'd b) show the certificate of Export (which DVLA will post to my home address once the car is declared exported) c) get it UK insured d) proof of ID e) a cheque for a new road tax disc and f) a completed v55/5 re-import certificate.

I am not bothered particularly about the MOT or Road Tax issue, but the insurance IS a headache...getting a couple of hundred euros fixed penalty fine isn't the end of the world, but crashing into someone and maiming them/their vehicle when I don't have insurance would be. But from this discussion thread, getting insurance from someone like AXA as soon as I reach the EU shouldn't be a problem.

In the light of this fresh information, any further ideas?

Mark

doh!
 

i had a similar kind of problem whilst working in the EU for 6yrs. i kept my insurance running with bennets who will only pay 90% of any claim whilst i did'nt have an mot.(which i did'nt) i was in france and did'nt need it but also travelled in other EU countries and was never asked for it.
as for the DVLA i notified them that i was travelling around other countries and would be back to britain in the future, they said i would need to export the vehicle as it's not in britain. i kindly replied that i am travelling and will not be staying in any country for any length of time so therefore will NOT register the vehicle as exported because it is'nt and will NOT buy tax as i'm not on any british road.= NO PROBLEMS whatsoever. after 6yrs i re-taxed said bike no problem.
if i was you i'd re-sorn it when it runs out and DO NOT contact the DVLA! (they will not check,they never do)you can get insurance in the uk if you like and get someone to post it out to you but DONT mention your already out of the country because they wont accept as the vehicle needs to be in the UK when you take out the policy.
or you can get green card insurance in any eu country. when entering the uk make sure you have insurance to drive there or it will cost you and your licence dearly! book in for mot at the port of entry(do this before entering the uk) look up on line for mot center and ring them then go straight there. you have your mot and insurance (preferably uk insurance) and can go straight for the tax! dont forget if you drive around without tax they wil take said vehicle until you turn up with a tax disc which you cant because you have no mot so it will get CRUSHED and you'll have a fine!
another idea is buy british insurance on-line just before entering the uk (also buy green card when your passing through europe)and go straight for mot. speak nice to the garage and they might let you use their internet to buy tax or go to nearest internet cafe and do it.
hope any of this helps.

ignore DVLA
 

Kevinhancocks advice is spot on. NEVER NEVER NEVER contact the dvlc and if you do ignore their advice. If you contact them twice you will get two totally different answers. I have 3 UK registered bikes and 1 car. One bike goes back and forth to the uk from here in France 5 or 6 times a year the other never goes back to the UK. I have exported it but it is still insured with a UK company. No MOT but you will never be asked for one in France as they dont MOT bikes. The other is taxed and insured on line and i keep theMOT up to date when needed. On UK plated in rance unless you are doing something stupid the Gendarmes wil leave you alone. Never admit to speaking any French!

CHROME WONT GET YOU HOME!

As others have said, just SORN it again. How can you export it when you haven't got a fixed address in another country to export it to?
When you cross into the EU you may be asked for your V5 and insurance docs. I wasn't when I came back from Morocco into Spain, but other countries may be stricter. You could buy your insurance online and get somebody at home to forward the cover note to you. You'd probably get away with having it emailed to you and getting a printout at your end.
When you're travelling across the EU the only documents you'll be asked for will be your V5, insurance and licence. This will only be if you get stopped by the police - at borders you just drive through and show your passport if asked.
MOT and road tax are specific to the UK - don't worry about them until you get home.

Hi - thanks for this further advice. 1 possible problem though - this is that when I spoke to DVLA, they asked for the number plate of the car and I gave it to them and told them I was out of the UK on an overland trip. Does this mean they'll have made a note to that effect on their records? Also - if I SORN it in the UK, does that mean I'll have to pay for road tax on it? DVLA did also tell me I should not have SORNd the car but continued to pay Road Tax on it if it wasn't off the road in the UK but was on the road OUTSIDE the UK - even if not in an EU country. Also see Tony P's comment re road tax.

SORN it
 

Having read all of the posts, the answer to your queries is already in your hands.
So, don't ever speak with the DVLA - do it all online.
The vehicle is SORNed - this means what it says; it is not on the roads of the UK, and you have not exported the vehicle permanently.

You are a very law abiding guy who wants everything to be exactly right, all of the time. Unfortunately, Govn bureaucrats, compounded by "bright young things" who have been in the job for a few months on the telephone help desk, do not have your interests at heart. I recommend that you stop worrying about what the DVLA is doing and thinking, and just look after your own interests, meeting the letter of the law at the same time.

I am afraid we have these anomalies because we are an island without a Schengen agreement to make the water crossing easier and we have a road tax system that is different from most (all?) other countries.

Recently, our illustrious parliament considered a law to register all vehicles in the UK, whether they are on road or not; it was pointed out that this would mean registering, for example, motor racing vehicles even though they are never off the track (well hardly ever!).
Imagine Rossi or Schumacher riding/driving with a number plate while in the UK for a weekend and you get the idea.
I think this was proposed as a reasonable way of dealing with the minority who ride illegal vehicles on-road.
The proposal was rejected, eventually.

ps On your specific question: SORN was brought about to allow you not to pay road tax, which is only required to be paid if the vehicle is running on the Queen's highway. That was always the law, since whenever, but it was tightened up, via the SORN system, to get people to comply.

SORN is the legal alternative condition to current Road Tax, for a UK registered vehicle. One or the other should exist.

My own conclusion and own actions, based on -
1. UK Road Tax is payable by UK registered vehicles if they use UK public roads
2. Vehicles registered elsewhere do not pay (indeed cannot!) UK Road Tax to use the UK public roads - under recriprocal arrangements within the Geneva Convention. But this is only for visits of up to 6 months. Nor do many other countries have such a tax.
3. Nothing is payable for SORN - either for Tax or Admin.
4. No intention to "permanantly export" the vehicle,

is that, if I take it away for extended periods, I would SORN it as not being on UK public roads, either on departure or when a current tax expires, and renew the SORN a year later.

If they want to get 'arsey' I would demand they prosecute me (forget their fixed penalty money raising opportunities) and I will argue in any Court that my actions were reasonable and fair.

On returning, at the point of disembarkation I would telephone for a MOT test at a station convenient to my home (possibly just beyond!) and then return home to await the actual timed appointment. This use is fully legal without MOT or Tax, IF YOU HAVE AN APPOINTMENT. There is nothing that says the test must be close to the point of disembarkation or within a short time.

I fully agree with BMW MARTIN "NEVER NEVER NEVER contact the dvlc and if you do ignore their advice" for they tell you what suits them sooner than what the Law actually says. Walkabout's second paragraph sums it up.

But this does not help Mark, who has already put his head above the parapet!
He should ensure he always has Insurance. Following that I would just do as I described above. Perhaps sending DVLA a Letter of my intentions (to which they cannot reply, not having an address until I am home!) which would further strengthen my arguments in a Court. Even if some CPS representative comes up with some obscure legislation, it would be a very, very perverse Magistrate to rule I had sought to defraud or acted unreasonably and impose a penalty.

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your trip. Tony.

Edit. - Incidentially, I got so fed up with people asking what my Tax Disc was, in Russia last year, that I took it off. One less thing to lose to the souvenir hunters!!

Sound post Tony.

The only variation I would make is to cash in the tax disc as soon as I leave the UK - get it back to the DVLA in the post with the appropriate form and get the cash refund; it is not needed, as you say, while out of the UK and I am assuming that it will be expired by the time you return.

Cheers,

Dave
When writing that post I did ponder about that (cashing in) but thought on balance, if it is a small amount of money, not to - as it shows a better intent of not trying to 'get away' with money. Another plus for the Magistrate to consider.
Even though, a bike tax is only £64pa.
A car at £180, with the majority remaining, would make me think twice though.

We all have a price on our principles!!

For the original question.............
 

........that reminds me: you need to renew the SORN statement, online of course, when it expires at the end of this month or you will get an automatic fine to your last notified address, for £60. The big DVLA computer will send this out automatically, which is how the SORN thing was designed to get us to comply - that's the theory anyway.
I think you get some days of grace, maybe 30, to do this.

Tony,
Yes it may not be worth it for, say, my £15 per year scooter but I have done it many a time over the winter when I have bikes laid up - better off in my pocket than theirs, subject to the law of course, and this is how the system was designed.
MCN is running a story now about how many bikes are not taxed in the UK: of course not, they are not on the public roads!! :rolleyes2:
Of course, transferring the tax onto fuel would solve the issue immediately, but that is another story altogether.

nope
 

DVLA DO NOT make little notes on sticky tabs to keep an eye on you! dont forget they deal with thousands of vehicles on a daily basis and just could'nt keep an eye on everyone! just sorn it and i bet my mate's foreskin on it that they dont contact you.

Hi all

Thanks for all your help. I WILL insure the car upon my re-entry to the EU but will re-SORN it at the end of Feb. The one thing I wonder about though - is there any legal basis for them telling me I should be paying tax on the car if it's SORNd but on the road outside the EU? I wonder, as it is odd that they told me I hadn't committed an offence by SORNing it between Feb 2007 and Feb 2008 (even though I'd told them I'd taken it out of the EU and continued to use it on roads outside the EU) but would start to do so if I didn't declare it as exported before the present SORN expires at end Feb 2008.

Mark

Mark

Oh dear. Oh dear. Here we go again....
The overriding theme of replies was to ignore what DVLA say - as they either do not know, or say what they think, or say what they would like, the position to be.

If this was me, I would -

1. Insure - 3rd party minumum, ALWAYS and everywhere!

2. SORN or Tax - must have one, always. SORN it when the existing tax or SORN expires. Do it from an Internet Cafe so you may not get any reply telling you to do otherwise. Maybe get a receipt for a printed copy from the Cafe. Think - Lord Nelson's blind eye !

3. If in doubt, keep documentary proof of dates and countries the vehicle was in, especially while outside the EU.

4. Book an MOT for near your home, as you disembark and drive home until the appointment.

5. Dont worry about Tax until you have the MOT and resume using the UK public roads. The Post Office will issue it starting only in the current month.

6. Let us know how it went.

In the event this may not be totally correct, I would fight anywhere that I behaved reasonably. PM me if it comes to pass.

Hi Tony

Insurance - agree 100% - will do. Now that it has been explained that I can still get it even without current UK MOT and Road tax, it won't be a problem.

SORN - will do. After all, even if DVLA did keep a note of the information they gave me ("all calls may be recorded for training and quality purposes") then they will have a record of their own ambiguous information - telling me I hadn't committed an offence by SORNing it between Feb 2007 and Feb 2008 (even though I'd told them I'd taken it out of the EU and continued to use it on roads outside the EU) but would start to do so if I didn't declare it as exported before the present SORN expires at end Feb 2008. Surely if I shouldn't have SORNd it, I was committing an offence as soon as I took it outside the EU in 2007!

Let us know how it went - will do. It may not be much before July if all goes well, but I won't forget.

Kind regards

Mark

Hi all

I promised to let you all know how it went, so here goes.

I left Russia on 17 july and as mentioned in another post on the HUBB I was able to buy EU insurance at the Russia/Latvia border. I returned to the UK on 23 July. Aside from a couple of questions from HM Customs at Dover port(the Landcruiser had German-style number plates, so they thought initially I was German) I had no trouble.

I drove the car from Dover to a pre-booked MoT in Hertford (this was the nearest place to Dover where I had access to off-street parking) stopping only to unload the heaviest stuff from the car before MoT-ing it.

The car passed its MoT that day (a cracked number plate and 2 light bulbs was pretty damn good after 64,500 kms!) but I didn't have time to get to the post office that day to get the road tax. I drove the car back to Ealing on the evening of 23 July and bought road tax the next day (from 1 July, not 1 August).

No doubt I am tempting fate by writing this, and maybe there will be a summons waiting for me when I get home this evening, but to date I have not had any trouble from the police or DVLA.

Hope this is useful

Mark

Well done.
Good man!
Welcome back.

I spent over 5 hours at the Lat/Rus border (M9 E22) in the evening of 16 July, going the other way. Being on I bike I just went to the head of the queues, otherwise it could have several times as long and I would have seen you! Fortunately it only took an hour coming back a month later.

Ealing? About 4 miles away. PM me if you fancy a beer & chat sometime.

You're not going to believe this. but..........
 

Tony - and anyone else who's interested - thank GOD you were on a bike and able to go to the head of the queue at the Lat/Rus border. Just imagine if you were in one of these trucks......

YouTube - Line of trucks at Russia/Latvia border

Tony - have PM'd you.

Mark

I have a similar situation, so I read with interest.
Me and my Land Cruiser, (2005) left UK in May 2008.
Taxed,
Mot'd
Insured.
Now after several months in Norway, (non EU) my Land Cruiser Tax expired a month after arriving here, so I did a SORN on-line, and pulled the tax disc from the window.
Now my Cruiser has become 3 years old, so needs MOT.
In Norway, only vehicles 4 years old need there first "Technical inspection"
So, what do I do,
I could drive back to UK, get MOT, and drive right back to Norway.
I have no plans to come back to UK for another 12 months maybe.
Do I need UK MOT to keep my insurance valid?
My insurance, fully comprehensive, with Zurich, will renew itself for as long as I make the monthly direct debits.
I have no plan on letting the insurance lapse.
If I have a bump here in Norway, will my UK insurance pay out.
I didn't tell them I have gone to Norway.

Mark
The line of cars going the same way as those trucks into Rus was about half a mile long the night before. That was my first queue jump, others were at each stopping point in the process - still took over 5 hours!
Got PM - will ring soon.


UK-vette
Your insurance will probably only normally cover you out of UK (EU + Norway and Switzerland usually) for a limited period of maybe 45 or 60 days a year and this is the very minumum legallly necessary cover in whatever country you are in. eg. not even 3P F&T in UK, but RTA (3rd party claims for personal damage only - not their property, that would be down to you). Unless you request (and pay) them to extend the full insurance cover in the UK to outside
In a bad claim they will investigate their responsibility and could ask for proof it was only out of the UK for a limited period and ask you to produce UK credit card fuel receipts, service record etc.
MOT is not a necessity of Insurers unless they specifically say so. Insurers can only use 'no MOT' as an excuse not to pay out if the accident resulted from, or was exacerbated by, a part or function of the vehicle that would have been inspected and cause an MOT failure. ie a split car number plate does not cause accidents, but can you prove the brakes, steering etc of the wreck were up to MOT standard? If not they will seek to resist any claim due to your failure to adequetly maintain it and verify such with an MOT.

Personally I think that you would not be insured if your insurers knew the circumstances you describe.
Although I am the Worlds biggest disregarder of rules, insurers are among the very few people I would always tell the whole and absolute truth to. The financial consequences of a fatality could be with you forever - even if the memory and guilt fades. Think of the compensation awards after running down a bus queue of brain surgeons, barristers and suchlike. (Estate Agents are cheaper right now!)

Tax is an irrelevance for insurance purposes. Insurers only ask for the Tax Disc if there is a write-off so they can try to reclaim the refund!

Despite what DVLA might like to say, I consider it only payable for using a UK registered vehicle on UK public roads and will argue this interpretation in any Court.

Hi UK_Vette

My understanding is that you are covered under the Green Card Scheme for any 3rd party liability that arises whist you are in the European Economic Area (EEA) and whilst you have a valid UK insurance policy. The Green Card Scheme means you have 3rd party cover anywhere in the EEA (the EU plus Norway, Switzerland, Monaco and Lichtenstein)

I have been told that a green card is not necessary for travel in Europe. Is this true ?

However, you need to take cognisance of
a) the fact that when UK insurance cos talk about 'x days of cover in any other EU country' they are actually talking about comprehensive as distinct from 3rd party cover - so if you have a 'bump' in any country and you haven't contacted the company to arrange cover for your OWN car (which is NOT required by the Green Card scheme, so cos can negotiate whatever restrictions they want) then your company can refuse to pay.
b) as regards 3rd party cover, bear in mind there are EU rules (and presumably Norwegian ones) which stipulate that you must re-register your car in a new EU member state once you have been there for more than 6 months. In the eventuality of a claim arising and the UK insurance co paying out, then finding out that you should have re-registered your car in Norway because you've been there over 6 months, there is nothing to stop them coming after you/your assets as this will mean it transpire that they have paid out unnecessarily.

Hope this helps

Mark

Hi guys, do any of you know if the EU police can actually see if your insurance, mot/tax has expired. Been stopped few times on my bike across EU, only once they asked prof of ownership so I show them V5C/2 but they looked a little confused. Bike was insured, taxed and mot-ed at that time in UK.

Thanks

Do you mean that if you're stopped by the police in (say) France on a UK registered bike /car can they check "online" that you're taxed, insured and MOT'd in the same way that UK police can here? I don't know but my guess would be that they can't at present so they'd want to see a valid paper insurance document at least. If they can then knowing that would have saved me tearing the house apart when I couldn't find my printed insurance cert last month.

They can't (or don't) follow up on speed camera flashes for UK visitors at the moment but I know there are moves afoot to change that in the fairly near future and you'll be getting virtual points on (actually off ) your licence.

That's changed. They now can and do track you to the UK, as many tourists on their way to catch the ferry in calais will no doubt attest!! According to the German POlice that stopped me, they can check, but I think it's by a phone call as they couldn't do it late at night and so cut my number plates off and made me park the vehicle up.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...ace-fines.html

If that's the case I'll need to drive a bit more carefully! :rofl:

There was a brief article in last month's ConnexionFrance, an expat English language newspaper I buy occasionally, which said "Britain and Ireland were given until May this year to comply with an EU directive on cross-border traffic offences". That implies that they're not complying with it at the moment and I would have thought that included not having instant access to tax / insurance / MOT status in the way UK police do. It's only my guess though. If the German police can get that info via a phone call it suggests at least some of the mechanisms are in place.

I use the Calais autoroute quite often and there's always police 30/40/50 miles out - particularly on a Sunday morning when loads of British cars are heading for the ferry and the autoroute's empty. Last month we saw two of the warp speeders being "diverted" after they'd gone through the peage near St Omer; it must be like shooting fish in a barrel. :rofl:

Yeah that's exactly what I mean. I was stopped crossing the border Slovenia/Croatia. I have an EU ID but they where a little bit suspicious when they saw an UK plate so they asked for prof of ownership at which point I show them the VC5/2. Like I mentioned before they seemed quite confused by the paper, like they never seen it before. The only issue was that I have a copy and not the original with me but they let me go at the end. During that trip I crossed few times that same border and they never asked me for VC5/5.

Regarding the speed cameras I have read somewhere that they give because earnings will not be covered the cost of setting and maintaining the whole system. If I find the source will post it.

I travel on the a26 back to calais fairly frequently, once I hit junction 8 then I am bang on 130 km h, it is literally speed trap alley after that. Have seen a very attractive female gendarmes climb out the bushes complete with radar gun, as an fjr suddenly appeared from nowhere ahead of me and took off after a speeding UK car. They were using a tiny access gate between the hedgerows to access the peage...................

Returning to UK from France with no MOT/Road Taxfor
 

In 3 weeks I intend to ride my back thru France to UK after it has been stored in a garage in France for 7 months following a hiking accident last August. MOT expired in December, Bike has been SORNED, bike over legal 6 month limit to be legally in France without a Grey Card, bier

Any advice to help me get it smoothly back thru UK Customs in Dover? I intend to get MOT immediately upon landing in UK and then Road Tax.

And would anyone know if British insurance would cover me whilst in this situation?

Anyone know if this is all possible.

Thanks

It is not possible if you want to be legal, to keep within the law you will have to bring it back in a van and no insurance will be valid without tax and MOT. Your best chance if you don't want to use a van is to book an MOT at the nearest station to the ferry port and tax it there, just don't have an accident in France.