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Comment by NavinF | Hacker News Reader

That's very surprising. How do they look up your license? Using your name?

Driving is without a license in your "immediate possession" is definitely against the law in California[1] and I've never met someone that intentionally leaves it at home. Restaurants that card for alcohol also makes this a no-go for most people.

1: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySectio...

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In the UK you don't have to carry your license or insurance while driving - although you can be required to give your name, and to take those documents to a police station within 7 days. For certain crimes they can also arrest you and/or seize your vehicle.

Of course, in the UK car registration plates are issued and attached by the dealer, before a car's first sale, and they never expire. So they can find the registered keeper of a vehicle just by looking at the plates.

>Of course, in the UK car registration plates are issued and attached by the dealer, before a car's first sale, and they never expire. So they can find the registered keeper of a vehicle just by looking at the plates.

Yet another situation where foreign registered vehicles are essentially immune from UK traffic enforcement.

That's not that big a deal since the UK is essentially cut off from foreign countries by water (except for northern Ireland, but there's already a ton of exceptions around that...) I wouldn't be too surprised if foreign plates got pulled over randomly just because it's so rare.

At least London is completely full of foreign cars, and it's really easy to drive to the UK thanks to eurotunnel and the ferries.

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