In general, you can drive on private land at almost any time with the permission of the landowner, but there are times when you are not allowed to drive on the road or specific roads or in public places even if you have a full licence:
- States of emergency: if a state of emergency is declared, curfews (time restrictions) may be put in place which means you can’t drive during those times. A state of emergency could be declared due to a natural disaster making roads impassable or too dangerous
- Vehicle condition: if your vehicle is not roadworthy then you are not allowed to drive it; you could drive another vehicle, if available
- Disqualification or suspension: if you don’t have a licence because you’ve been disqualified, or you’ve been temporarily suspended from driving you must not drive
- Licence conditions: if your licence has a condition, such as only being allowed to drive between 5am-10pm then you must not drive outside these hours. Your licence could have other conditions such as zero alcohol, glasses/corrective lenses, automatic gearbox only, driver aids or vehicle modifications or other conditions such as no night-time driving. Therefore, if you don’t have your glasses but you need them to drive, you are not allowed to drive
- Court-imposed: a court may prevent you from driving, for example, by confining you to home detention
- Doctor’s orders: a doctor may prevent you from driving if you are not medically fit, for example, if you have had a stroke. This could be indefinite or permanent.
- Medication: some medication prevents you from driving
- Wrong licence: you can’t drive a bus if you only have a motorbike licence
- Police orders: you must not drive if a police officer has specifically told you not to
- Vehicle type: some vehicles aren’t allowed on motorways (e.g. mopeds) while others, such as articulated trucks, might be banned from some city streets due to weight limits
- Police cordon: an area may be cordoned off because it’s a crime scene or because there is a situation that makes it dangerous, for example, there was an earthquake and your vehicle is in a multistorey car park that is considered unstable until engineers have checked it out
- Government regulations: in some countries, traffic is controlled by allowing people with a certain licence plate number, address, vehicle type or fuel type to drive while others are not allowed to drive. For example, many countries in Latin America have restrictions based on the final digit of your licence plate. Paris Respire is a system where a number of streets are closed on certain days.
Darren is an expert on driving and transport, and is a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists
