The DVLA (Driving and Vehicle licensing agency) have announced that they are introducing a new photo card driving licence within the United Kingdom. Just like its predecessor it is also the size of a credit card so in terms of size it won’t change, the photocard licence contains a variety of information including the holders full name, date of birth, the vehicle types that the holder is entitled to drive and the period that the licence is valid as you have to renew your photo card every 10 years for identification reasons. Doesn’t seem like much is changing?

Well the changes are more to defer fraud, what they are doing is raising the picture of the licence holder by engraving several layers of the surface in order for it to become harder to replace the picture on a licence. It will be raised to the touch much like that of an embossed debit card, the picture won’t be able to be alter as easy as previous licences as trying to do so will damage the card deeming it invalid, driving licences are commonly forged which is obviously an issue the DVLA take very seriously and this is an attempt to tackle the problem head on, but will it work or will fraudsters find a way around it?

You can request for your licence to be changed to this and some motorists will just be sent the newly issued licence it will also be given to people who have had a change in circumstance like a move of address or change of name as well as those who have an expired licence. You are however not obliged to upgrade to this new card so don’t expect everyone to have it until all the current photo card licences expire.

The photocard was first introduced in 1998 and since has not had too many revisions, and this is going to be one of the major ones although it is sticking to the same format.

A new announcement by the car manufacturer Toyota has not only got car fans excited but also tech fans as they announce they are testing a new wireless batter charging system which has been developed for their vehicles. If there testing is proved a success then so called plug in vehicles would be a thing of the past as cars will simply be able to park and charge with minimal hassle, it will be a major breakthrough.

There will be no need for any connectors or cable, the car would park on a coil set which is in the surface of the ground which will automatically charge it. The design is to ensure that there is a reduced loss of any power transmission efficiency, measures have been taken to reduce electromagnetic interference and also they have made it so that the coils can withstand being driven over (for those of us that aren’t the best at parking).

Although that may be made a lot harder with Toyota’s new Intelligent Parking Assist System which shows you exactly the position of the coils to make parking in the right position to charge even easier. We could be seeing these technologies introduced in the near future in both Toyota and Lexus vehicles across the UK.

Some people are sceptical about how much benefit this will actually have as many don’t see an issue with plugging the car in, but I’m optimistic as it’s a step in the right direction. So called green hybrid/electric vehicles need that extra boost they need to change something as although they have increased sales in recent years its nothing too significant, most people don’t get a green vehicle due to the lack of charge points in the UK meaning any change can only be a more positive thing.