EU Driving Licence Comes Into Force
THE INDEPENDENT: An EU driving licence comes into force tomorrow - a credit card-style replacement for the more than 100 different paper and plastic licences currently in use by more than 300 million motorists across the 27 European member states.

The common-format licence for all EU drivers, with improved security protection, is part of a package of new measures proposed by Brussels and approved by EU ministers to improve free movement across borders, crack down on driving licence fraud and improve road safety across the EU.

"Traffic police across Europe are currently expected to recognise more than 100 different types of paper and plastic driving licence" said EU transport commissioner Siim Kallas on the eve of the launch.

"ID photos may be long out of date, the categories for which the driver is licensed unclear and the document may be easy to forge. Fake driving licences are a licence to kill, that is why we need licences which are easy to read, easy to understand and very difficult to falsify."

Existing licences are not affected, but will be changed to the new format at the time of renewal or at the latest by 2033. » | Geoff Meade | Friday, January 18, 2013

Sharjah: Have Degree, Will Drive!
BBC: Sharjah, one of the seven emirates that makes up the UAE, is to bar workers in certain jobs from applying for driving licenses, a newspaper has reported.

The ban will cover 86 categories of mainly menial jobs - including cooks, housemaids, gardeners, and tailors.

It was brought in by Sharjah's police traffic department to curb congestion and pollution, the report says.

The United Arab Emirates have one of the highest ratios of car ownership to population in the world.

The report, which appeared in the Gulf News daily newspaper, was linked to from Sharjah's official police website.

The impact of the ban on workers may be compounded by the poor state of public transport in the emirate.

Many, if not most, of those hit by the driving ban will be foreign workers in low-paid, unskilled jobs.

The report said driving licence applications would still be accepted from those with university degrees. Emirate Car Ban on Menial Workers >>> | December 1, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback) – Free delivery >>>