Feedback: You too can be licensed not to drive


Feedback is our weekly column of bizarre stories, implausible advertising claims, confusing instructions and more


BUYING some cake in a late-opening shop recently, Feedback encountered a pile of leaflets encouraging young people to apply for a "Validate UK" card to prove their age. Inside, we made the interesting discovery that in the UK you must show that you are 18 or over to buy an axe or crossbow.


This took us back to arriving to work in Pennsylvania some years ago – starting with a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles to obtain a "non-driver's license", not least for the purposes of being "carded" to get into clubs and so on. This card would be an alternative in the UK, where not driving is less eccentric than in the US.


The application procedure involves getting a "referee" to attest to the validity of the applicant's passport, birth certificate ...


To continue reading this article, subscribe to receive access to all of newscientist.com, including 20 years of archive content.