I downloaded the Michel Thomas stuff for free with Limewire or Bitlord. The method is good but you don't want to refer to Michel himself for the pronounciation, he is a grammar man. His English/Italian student is good for the accent.I played those tapes in the car on my way down through France.I already speak the other Latin languages but that continuous blast of the Italian language helped me to converse pretty freely when I arrived. Well recommended.
It must be a special car for you to want to take it back to UK where cars are generally much cheaper.Then to go through all that bureaucracy.I have a French car in UK some of the time but I would not consider reregistration.
There are certain groups of people who are attracted to UK and find that the channel crossing is their best chance of getting in illegally.If you read the UK tabloids they seem to think that all immigrants head for the UK.In fact UK is well down the list. They should be told to stop moaning.
MOT, road tax etc are only applicable in the country where the vehicle is registered and do not have any relevance elsewhere. In those countries you are subject to the rules of roadworthiness and not licencing. There are certain proposed rules which can see cross border application of driving bans etc but these MAY come in 2010. Coordination of road licencing could be decades away.If you arrive in UK at Dover with a pre arranged MOT in Inverness for that day you are legal until you get there provided your insurance is valid and the vehicle is roadworthy.ANPR camers at Dover are not police but are a private company which occasionally is used by police and DVLA for serious crime detection. Having an MOT out of date does not fall into that category.There is a lot of serious crime about. Hopefully police will deal with that and not some petty vehicle licencing rules.
Unlike Italy Ireland does not place restrictions on who can buy a car.Once you have your Irish car (reg. at your Irish residence) you can insure it and you are legally enabled to drive throughout the EU.The driving licence is a red herring as you do not have to produce it for insurance But it is valid for you as a visitor in all parts of Europe.Think common sense and legal liability, don't think bureaucracy.
The rules are 6 months in any year BUT the European rules are in their infancy and hardly explored or prosecuted. It is not easily possile to know where any vehicle is and how long it has been there and few countries have incorporated these rules into national law.Allow 6/7 hours from Fishguard to Dover. Going through France to Milan is most scenic but through Germany/ Switzerland faster. Accommodation is cheaper in France, Italy is quite pricey. I did similar trips with 3 under 8s and a baby and we had great fun, kids are resilient.
Roadworthy is defined as complying with (in UK) the Road Traffic Act (Construction and Use Regulations). An MOT has nothing to do with it. It can, and does, happen that you will be prosecuted for, say, defective lights or bare tyres some days after a new MOT.In France CT is every two years and thousands of UK reg. vehicles take the CT test and have French insurance which is fine and well accepted by the police and prefectures. Unlike Italy French insurance is usually cheaper than the UK and the state controls insurance companies more strictly.As I said before your insurance company cannot squirm out of liability claims. No MOT is a normal reason for refusing fully comp. claims. Other reasons that can be used include fitting spotlights, changing engine (even to a smaller one) in fact almost anything they like. Liability insurance is too important to be left to the whims of insurance companies. In theory any insurance company can pay a third party claim and then take civil action against you to recoup their payment but it is a civil action and deliberate deception is difficult to prove plus they could lose and face costs. In practice they just pay up and grimaceThere is no question on any insurance contract application about MOTs. You need insurance to drive to a MOT testing station.
EU rules regarding road tax are not cross border rules. Each country is different and some do not have road tax. Some have MOT annually some every 2 years and some.... well, don't bother. The eventual aim is to harmonise but that is decades away at best. I cannot see how penalties can be imposed in Italy on the driver of a foreign vehicle which are purely tax or admin (Road Tax and MOT) in another country. If you have a recognised driving licence, a roadworthy car and 3rd party insurance that is all the law requires. If you have insurance obtained validly and do not have road tax or MOT those facts cannot invalidate your liability insurance. Companies could use them like they do for e.g fitting spotlights, in order to deny a fully comp. claim but as a matter of national policy, which most countries have, they cannot squirm out of their obligations on liability claims. The industry has to pay out for uninsured claims anyway and companies refusing liability would be seen as failing their obligations or cheating.
Comments posted
I downloaded the Michel Thomas stuff for free with Limewire or Bitlord. The method is good but you don't want to refer to Michel himself for the pronounciation, he is a grammar man. His English/Italian student is good for the accent.I played those tapes in the car on my way down through France.I already speak the other Latin languages but that continuous blast of the Italian language helped me to converse pretty freely when I arrived. Well recommended.
It must be a special car for you to want to take it back to UK where cars are generally much cheaper.Then to go through all that bureaucracy.I have a French car in UK some of the time but I would not consider reregistration.
There are certain groups of people who are attracted to UK and find that the channel crossing is their best chance of getting in illegally.If you read the UK tabloids they seem to think that all immigrants head for the UK.In fact UK is well down the list. They should be told to stop moaning.
£400 seems a bit pricey if you have full NCB. Do you have others on the permitted drivers section?
MOT, road tax etc are only applicable in the country where the vehicle is registered and do not have any relevance elsewhere. In those countries you are subject to the rules of roadworthiness and not licencing. There are certain proposed rules which can see cross border application of driving bans etc but these MAY come in 2010. Coordination of road licencing could be decades away.If you arrive in UK at Dover with a pre arranged MOT in Inverness for that day you are legal until you get there provided your insurance is valid and the vehicle is roadworthy.ANPR camers at Dover are not police but are a private company which occasionally is used by police and DVLA for serious crime detection. Having an MOT out of date does not fall into that category.There is a lot of serious crime about. Hopefully police will deal with that and not some petty vehicle licencing rules.
Unlike Italy Ireland does not place restrictions on who can buy a car.Once you have your Irish car (reg. at your Irish residence) you can insure it and you are legally enabled to drive throughout the EU.The driving licence is a red herring as you do not have to produce it for insurance But it is valid for you as a visitor in all parts of Europe.Think common sense and legal liability, don't think bureaucracy.
The rules are 6 months in any year BUT the European rules are in their infancy and hardly explored or prosecuted. It is not easily possile to know where any vehicle is and how long it has been there and few countries have incorporated these rules into national law.Allow 6/7 hours from Fishguard to Dover. Going through France to Milan is most scenic but through Germany/ Switzerland faster. Accommodation is cheaper in France, Italy is quite pricey. I did similar trips with 3 under 8s and a baby and we had great fun, kids are resilient.
Roadworthy is defined as complying with (in UK) the Road Traffic Act (Construction and Use Regulations). An MOT has nothing to do with it. It can, and does, happen that you will be prosecuted for, say, defective lights or bare tyres some days after a new MOT.In France CT is every two years and thousands of UK reg. vehicles take the CT test and have French insurance which is fine and well accepted by the police and prefectures. Unlike Italy French insurance is usually cheaper than the UK and the state controls insurance companies more strictly.As I said before your insurance company cannot squirm out of liability claims. No MOT is a normal reason for refusing fully comp. claims. Other reasons that can be used include fitting spotlights, changing engine (even to a smaller one) in fact almost anything they like. Liability insurance is too important to be left to the whims of insurance companies. In theory any insurance company can pay a third party claim and then take civil action against you to recoup their payment but it is a civil action and deliberate deception is difficult to prove plus they could lose and face costs. In practice they just pay up and grimaceThere is no question on any insurance contract application about MOTs. You need insurance to drive to a MOT testing station.
EU rules regarding road tax are not cross border rules. Each country is different and some do not have road tax. Some have MOT annually some every 2 years and some.... well, don't bother. The eventual aim is to harmonise but that is decades away at best. I cannot see how penalties can be imposed in Italy on the driver of a foreign vehicle which are purely tax or admin (Road Tax and MOT) in another country. If you have a recognised driving licence, a roadworthy car and 3rd party insurance that is all the law requires. If you have insurance obtained validly and do not have road tax or MOT those facts cannot invalidate your liability insurance. Companies could use them like they do for e.g fitting spotlights, in order to deny a fully comp. claim but as a matter of national policy, which most countries have, they cannot squirm out of their obligations on liability claims. The industry has to pay out for uninsured claims anyway and companies refusing liability would be seen as failing their obligations or cheating.