> Let me disagree. There is no - for the moment - any "european driving > license". Each member state issues its own driving license documents. > But they are all designed on the same model, using pictograms for the > various categories, etc. And they are all valid in all EU member > countries
Good point. I notice that if a person moves residence to another member state, the original licence is technically invalid and they must apply to the new member state. There must be some transition time allowed. This is a level above a mere change of address within a member state. I suppose now we are into the the nuances of words such as 'single' and 'common'. These two words were used during the early discussions of European currency i.e. should we all use the Euro and nothing else (single)? or should we keep our own currencies and mandate universal acceptance of the Euro (common)? Metric is a 'common' (meaning universal rather then frequent) measurement system in UK supermarkets but not the 'single' measurement system. English is the common language of aviation but not the single language. So pilots and ATC can speak any language they want but if there are problems then they can expect to be able to use English. Some people misunderstand the legal use of the word 'common' and think that it means that English is a single language for aviation. What you are referring to appears to be the situation in the US where there is no 'US driving licence' only a licence in each state. If you move from one state to another, then you have to apply get a new one. I understand that there is a debate going on in the US as to whether there should be standardised US licenses and whether this will be a de-facto US ID card. > - in fact, in most countries in the world, including the > USA, as long as you are not a permanent resident. Ah. Now we have another nuance of 'recognised'. I think you are allowed 90 days on a foreign license in the US. Presumably from the day you become a resident your > Yes, the difference between "European Community" (EC) and "European > Union" (EU) is subtle and difficult to explain ! Let me try to make > it as simple as possible. Excellent explanation. Thanks. I haven't quite got it all but you gave me a foundation. > Right. But there are - for the moment ! - 11 official languages in > the European Union. How many when the 13 candidate countries will > join ? Yes I think this is a good supporting rationale for icons. However I noticed the cultural distinction going from a Euro-ignorant (many years ago) UK to the US. The expectation that people can speak (and more importantly read) English is more legitimate in the UK than it is in the US. I am convinced this distinction in communication style has been around at least for decades if not longer. > In France, a driving license (with a photo) is normally accepted as a ID. Funnily enough, it is in the UK too. On the extremely rare occasions where it is asked for. I have only ever seen it asked for twice in 40 years and that might be a barman going through the motions. Since a non-photo ID is hardly worth the paper it is printed on. > >Most countries have a > >separate ID card. The UK is an exception and has no ID > >at all (I think that there is another exception - > >Sweden?) > > No. It used to be the Netherlands. But not anymore? Shame. Is the UK the only country left? > > >Much of the ID requirement in the US is for > >alcohol control. Since Europe is more liberal with > >alcohol > > What ?? Have you ever driven in Sweden or other Northern Europe countries I didn't mean about drinking and driving. I meant that it is common in the US to be required to prove your age by photo-ID when going into a bar. It is much much less common. Now that you mention drinking and driving, I was watching the UK parliamentary channel and there was a committee discussion about drink-driving. The UK, Ireland and Italy have 80mg as the limit and there is a European debate going on about whether to have a 'single' European limit of 50mg. Thanks for all the comments. -- Terry Simpson Human Factors Consultant [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.connected-systems.com Phone: +44 7850 511794
