Renewing your driving licence photo just got harder

I have just renewed mine and they retrieved a (digital) copy of my photo from the passport office to add to the licence.

Many people don’t have a passport and mine expired in 2006. I cannot understand why DVLA should not accept an image since there is no requirement to have a signature on the back.

“ In 2011 – when the last UK census took place – 76% of people in England and Wales held a UK passport. Only 17% had no passport at all.”

So I winder really how many drivers do not have passports from where the photos can be used.

Although it is said you are unlikely to produce a high enough quality photograph at home, I’m not sure that is the case. I took our passport photos with a digital camera, printed them on a Canon inkjet, observed the pose and size rules and they were fine – checked by the Post Office at the time. I wonder why such a high quality photo is necessary when I look at the poor image on my licence. However, if it is needed to combat fraud I’m all for it being done properly. And only once every 10 years. I live in the sticks and I’ve a choice of 5 post offices, 2 particularly convenient, 3 not a million miles away, that I could use. I wonder how many people have no passport and are not within reasonable driving distance of an appropriate post office; I don’t see a half hour drive once every 10 years particularly burdensome particularly of combined with a shopping trip, for example. Nor do I see why “the loss of revenue high street photographers have incurred is estimated to place 350 businesses in danger of closure with around 5,000 jobs at risk.“. Really, just for driving licence photos when you can also use a photobooth? i expect decent high street photographers have far more lucrative work than this.

The specifications are:
> at least 600 pixels wide and 750 pixels tall
> at least 50KB and no more than 10MB

Digital cameras from the mid-90s exceeded this spec, so the challenge is to meet the other conditions and take a photo that is in focus. It’s a pity that you are not allowed to smile.

I took a photo on a cheap compact camera and printed it using cheap compatible printer ink and that was accepted for a friend’s passport.

Maybe I should renew my passport and visit Ireland.

Sorry about the awful spelling – the letters are wearing off my keyboard and I don’t touch type. I now know how ‘Allo ‘Allo was conceived. Wonder not winder; if not of; I not i. It’s late.

That’s interesting; I’ve been ‘typing’ on typewriters first, since I was 8 and until a few years ago had never had an issue with the letters disappearing. Since then, I’ve had to get rid of several keyboards because of disappearing letters. One of the affected boards was expensive, too. I suspect something has changed.

I do touch type but still like to see all the letters.

I’ve never had the letters wear off an Apple keyboard. I taught myself to touch-type on an electric portable typewriter with the help of a paperback costing 50p, back in 1978. I still follow the recommended method of always using the same finger for a particular key but am impressed by those who seem to manage to use the nearest finger and manage to avoid mistakes.

Touch-typing was easy to learn, but I’m the world’s slowest writer of textual messages on the phone. Thankfully it has learned my name, which helps.

I agree that Apple keyboards never seem to lose the letters. Sadly, they no longer do the type of keyboard I like: the clickety ones, so I had to buy from other suppliers.

I know others who feel the same. It’s a matter of personal choice, but I’m happy with the present Apple keyboards. What caused me a problem was when they switched the home keys (the ones with a raised pip for touch typists) from D and K to F and J, making Apple keyboards the same as PCs and typewriters. I preferred D and K because my second fingers are longer than the index fingers.

Drifting off topic…. 🙂

Blame the chap who started talking about the 2011 census. 🙂

Perhaps we could discuss national generating capacity… 🙂

SD – I find a formal letter works where e-mails and chit-chat are unreliable, as well as much easier for both parties to keep track of. E-mails go into a virtual shredder and conversations are fully deniable.