A few articles have been published which claim your driving licence never expires (it can only be cancelled or suspended). These articles then conclude that you're perfectly safe driving with an expired licence card because your licence itself is still valid. Short answer: good luck with this argument, let us know how it works out. Read on for the long answer.

In practice, we're not aware of anybody successfully having a charge withdrawn on this basis. And remember, you'd actually have to write to the prosecutor to attempt this. And if they don't respond don't pat yourself on and back and think you're automatically off the hook - you may be surprised one day to find the matter has escalated without your knowledge, especially in the face of new legislation such as the AARTO Act.

Bear in mind that your driving licence card is also a form of identification - if it's expired, it won't be accepted at the Post Office for example. And let's be honest, do you really think they police are going to recognise your face on that expired card 10 years later? Finally, being pulled over by the police and fined is a stressful situation - even more so if you think you're being fined unfairly. You might begin to argue with the officer and find yourself in an even worse situation. We don't recommend putting yourself in this situation to begin with. It's much simpler and cheaper to just renew your driving licence card.

Disclaimer: we are not lawyers; this is not legal advice.