A motorist in France may have broken the record for a long time driving a vehicle without a valid license, safe or technical inspection: more than 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 verifying the registration number, the traffic police stopped the vehicle for an overdue technical inspection.
But this turned out to be the less important offense that the driver was guilty. When reviewing his documents, the police realized that the vehicle was not insurance, and the worst of all, the driver's license had been revoked since 1997.
The man casually told the officers that his driver's license had been revoked more than 28 years after being caught driving under the influence of alcohol, and simply had not bothered to re -apply it, comparing his old license with “a yogurt but still edible.”
“First, a file check revealed that the vehicle was not covered by insurance. But then it was time to verify the validity of the driver's license. And then: Surprise!”, Published the Tarare police on their Facebook page.
“The highlight of the program occurred when the driver's license was verified: the man had been driving without a license since … 1997!”
Apparently, the man had decided that if he did not have a valid license, he made no sense to obtain mandatory insurance for his car or take it for technical inspections.
What was really disconcerting is how police control points managed to pass for so long.