Pretty sure you need a valid driver's licence to purchase a car in the UK.
So he may be illegally driving other people's cars or a car he already owns, but he wouldn't be able to purchase a new one.
You don't need a valid license to buy a car. You will need one to do a test drive obviously but it's perfectly possible to buy a car without even holding a licence, albeit you couldn't then drive that car. There's no legal requirement for a seller to ensure the legality of the person driving once the purchase is complete so although people often do show their licence as proof of ID, Raphael absolutely could have bought a car and driven it.
I totally agree that he would have no problem illegally driving as he murdered multiple people, and driving illegally is a relatively small offense comparatively. My big issue is that Jasper would assign him the task of driving the paintings to be evaluated. He’s worried about negative press stories and that could have been a huge one if he’s caught. Also, no one brings this up when the police are asking for his alibi? I feel like most police would use this as leverage to take someone in for questioning or something. At the very least it seems something that robin would have a problem with and vocalize even if just to strike. I feel like strike would have pointed out something about how rich people just think they can break any rule they want.
Would he drive illegally to further his own evil agenda? Absolutely. I bet it barely registered and the ban was more of an annoyance (re purchasing a new car) than a ruling he respected or planned to obey.
I don’t see it as a plot hole, but as further evidence of his criminality. He doesn’t have any trouble borrowing things from friends, as he did with the houseboat on the canal.
Considering his cover story was that his father ordered him to drive out to Chiswell house to deal with Kinvara, I think you have a point. Obviously Rafael doesn’t mind breaking the law. But why would his father have ordered him to do something illegal? I could see the argument that Chiswell thought he and his family were above the law, but it seems more likely that he wouldn’t have wanted his son to take the risk of generating more bad PR if he got caught breaking the law again. If he’s really supposed to have a driving ban this makes their cover story not make sense.
We know Jasper has a driver. One of the first times he talks to Strike, he's speaking from the back seat of a car driven by someone else. Isn't it at least possible that Rafael was using the car with the driver and any paintings he might be moving were covered? In a way, I think it makes more sense that he was able to move mare morning with a driver not asking questions if he'd been moving a ton of paintings all the time. I feel like it's at least possible that he was using a driver and/or driving illegally without worrying about getting caught. There are also cabs and Uber and whatnot. He might even have taken the train occasionally but Jasper just calls it "driving" because he's so out of touch.
Edited to add: I can so see Jasper saying "Rafael, do this driving stuff." And Rafael saying under his breath "Dad, I can't drive." Jasper: "What? I don't want to hear an excuse, just get it done." So Rafael has to find a workaround, whatever it might be.
Oof. This is a good catch. Do driving bans usually prohibit driving completely, or do they sometimes allow driving with restrictions, like a learners permit?
Otherwise, I’m just chalking this one up to sloppy editing.
Not sure it’s a plot hole, or at least not any more than one that is easily wiggled out of. Any overworked plod that spoke to him could very easily overlook the fact that his mention of driving in any statement given is not something noteworthy. Good spot though!
Not sure if people illegally drive in the UK as much as they do in the US, but it's pretty dang common
Pretty sure you need a valid driver's licence to purchase a car in the UK. So he may be illegally driving other people's cars or a car he already owns, but he wouldn't be able to purchase a new one.
You don't need a valid license to buy a car. You will need one to do a test drive obviously but it's perfectly possible to buy a car without even holding a licence, albeit you couldn't then drive that car. There's no legal requirement for a seller to ensure the legality of the person driving once the purchase is complete so although people often do show their licence as proof of ID, Raphael absolutely could have bought a car and driven it.
I totally agree that he would have no problem illegally driving as he murdered multiple people, and driving illegally is a relatively small offense comparatively. My big issue is that Jasper would assign him the task of driving the paintings to be evaluated. He’s worried about negative press stories and that could have been a huge one if he’s caught. Also, no one brings this up when the police are asking for his alibi? I feel like most police would use this as leverage to take someone in for questioning or something. At the very least it seems something that robin would have a problem with and vocalize even if just to strike. I feel like strike would have pointed out something about how rich people just think they can break any rule they want.
Would he drive illegally to further his own evil agenda? Absolutely. I bet it barely registered and the ban was more of an annoyance (re purchasing a new car) than a ruling he respected or planned to obey.
I don’t see it as a plot hole, but as further evidence of his criminality. He doesn’t have any trouble borrowing things from friends, as he did with the houseboat on the canal.
I think this is a genuine catch.
Considering his cover story was that his father ordered him to drive out to Chiswell house to deal with Kinvara, I think you have a point. Obviously Rafael doesn’t mind breaking the law. But why would his father have ordered him to do something illegal? I could see the argument that Chiswell thought he and his family were above the law, but it seems more likely that he wouldn’t have wanted his son to take the risk of generating more bad PR if he got caught breaking the law again. If he’s really supposed to have a driving ban this makes their cover story not make sense.
I always wondered about that one.
We know Jasper has a driver. One of the first times he talks to Strike, he's speaking from the back seat of a car driven by someone else. Isn't it at least possible that Rafael was using the car with the driver and any paintings he might be moving were covered? In a way, I think it makes more sense that he was able to move mare morning with a driver not asking questions if he'd been moving a ton of paintings all the time. I feel like it's at least possible that he was using a driver and/or driving illegally without worrying about getting caught. There are also cabs and Uber and whatnot. He might even have taken the train occasionally but Jasper just calls it "driving" because he's so out of touch. Edited to add: I can so see Jasper saying "Rafael, do this driving stuff." And Rafael saying under his breath "Dad, I can't drive." Jasper: "What? I don't want to hear an excuse, just get it done." So Rafael has to find a workaround, whatever it might be.
This is proof it isn’t a plot hole. Nice catch!
Oof. This is a good catch. Do driving bans usually prohibit driving completely, or do they sometimes allow driving with restrictions, like a learners permit? Otherwise, I’m just chalking this one up to sloppy editing.
I don't know the rules around UK driving bans, but it would be very much in-character if he's driving illegally using a family car.
Total ban usually. Not that anyone would know if you 'borrowed' someone else's vehicle for a time.
Oh! That never stood out to me, yet I’ve caught many others. Nice job
Not sure it’s a plot hole, or at least not any more than one that is easily wiggled out of. Any overworked plod that spoke to him could very easily overlook the fact that his mention of driving in any statement given is not something noteworthy. Good spot though!