Man drives for 28 years without driver’s licence

A motorist in France may have broken the record for the longest time driving a vehicle without a valid licence, insurance, or technical inspection – over 28 years, the country’s media reported.

Last week, a routine traffic stop turned out to be a memorable bust for a police unit in Rhone, France. After checking the registration number, the traffic cops pulled the vehicle over for an expired technical inspection. 

But this turned out to be the least important offence the driver was guilty of. Upon checking his papers, the policeman realised that the vehicle didn’t have insurance either, and worst of all, the driver’s licence had been revoked since 1997.

The man casually told the officers that his driver’s licence had been revoked over 28 years ago after being caught driving under the influence of alcohol, and he simply hadn’t bothered to reapply for it, comparing his old licence to “an expired but still edible yogurt.”

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“First, a check of the files revealed that the vehicle was not covered by insurance. But then came the time to check the validity of the driver’s licence. And then: surprise!,” Tarare police posted on their Facebook page.

“The highlight of the show came when the driver’s licence was checked: the man had been driving without a licence since… 1997!”

Apparently, the man had decided that if he didn’t have a valid licence, there was no point in getting mandatory insurance for his car or taking it in for technical inspections either. 

What was truly baffling is how he managed to slip through police checkpoints for so long.