DVLA renewal rant

I recently received my DVLA license renewal letter as my license runs out Oct 2014. A form to fill out and return. Easy eh ? No ! The form is split into 2 sections. First section must be completed by optician, second by hospital consultant. Right, I give them all a ring and explain things and wait for appts. That's the rub. Oct 20th is earliest I can be seen. I then need to send forms off and await decision. They may even refer me to a DVLA specific doc ( had to go to Milton Keynes last year ) before I get license. So, no chance of me getting this sorted by end of Oct. I need to drive to work so what do I do ? OK, you may well be thinking I should have seen this coming but honest answer is no. I'm aware my license only lasts 12 months but it's such a pain being reliant on others to get things sorted.

Sorry for your grief Mo and you remind us of other reasons why a type two is best to avoid insulin for as long as possible, provided good BG numbers can be held by way of the correct diet and modest exercise.

Hope all goes well.

Eddie

Updat, my license expired 9th Oct 2014 after 12months. Now, I renew every year due to my LGV, otherwise it would be 3 years. My control is great, never had a severe hypo, HbA1C is excellent ( 41 ). I telephoned DVLA today and enquired about this. I told them I know my LGV has expired because I couldn't get a hospital appt. Am I still OK to drive a car ? No they say, because I have LGV every year, I only get a car license for a year too ! How is that fair ? If I binned my LGV, I would have a 3 year license. So, now I can't drive to work or anywhere else for at least 3 weeks ! Grr ! Bit p****d off !

mo1905 wrote:Updat, my license expired 9th Oct 2014 after 12months. Now, I renew every year due to my LGV, otherwise it would be 3 years. My control is great, never had a severe hypo, HbA1C is excellent ( 41 ). I telephoned DVLA today and enquired about this. I told them I know my LGV has expired because I couldn't get a hospital appt. Am I still OK to drive a car ? No they say, because I have LGV every year, I only get a car license for a year too ! How is that fair ? If I binned my LGV, I would have a 3 year license. So, now I can't drive to work or anywhere else for at least 3 weeks ! Grr ! Bit p****d off !

Bloody hell! It's bureaucracy gone mad I'm really sorry to hear this mate and pissed off on your behalf as you need an LGV and car licence for a bloody important reason doing an amazing job saving folks lives whilst risking your own life! This is SO wrong and if I was you I'd go to my local MP about this as you are a WELL controlled diabetic that is being caught up and penalised in a system that is not fit for purpose...Fingers crossed for a speedy resolution.

Thanks Paul. Just seems so unfair. I hate being reliant on others to get things resolved. I always complete paperwork etc on time but I have to rely on hospitals, opticians to complete sections on my forms. They are not interested in my personal predicament, they don't listen.

Sorry you are having this trouble Mo but this is how our country is run now. You get all this nonsense but if you drive the Police will be on you like a ton of bricks. Elsewhere in one northern town around 1500 kids get abused, raped and tortured into prostitution, turned into drug addicts etc. and I am not hearing about mass arrests. I am not hearing lots of people have been fired from their jobs.

I can so sympathise with you Mo .... a family member has an eye condition that requires a DVLA check up every year. The reminders never seem to come through when promised i.e. three months before renewal is due and you are required to see opticians they deem, which are often some miles away. You are also waiting on the form from them because all application for renewal etc has to be done on the correct form etc.

It isn't easy .....and then of course you have those who aren't insured and those that take your car for a joyride.

Life is not easy at times is it  

Jan

I think I will seriously look at binning LGV license and stick with a normal car 3 year license. Shame but lot less hassle.

Further update. Hospital appt today and my paperwork finally completed ( D4 ). I now have to post it all off and sit and wait, and wait, whilst not being able to drive !!
I emailed DVLA a couple of times to complain, not for having to be declared medically fit ( that's fine and I agree with it ) but for having my car license restricted just because I have LGV as well. This was their latest lame reply:

"Thank you for your email received on 18/10/14. Your email reference number is 2460407.

Renewal reminder application are sent from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) three months before your licence expires to the address on your driving licence, I'm sorry to hear that you've received the application forms so late.

However I can confirm that renewal reminders are sent as a courtesy only, and there is no requirement for DVLA to do so.

In regards to why the decision was made for a driving licence to be issued for a one year period only, I can confirm that a decision is made by the medical team for how long the categories on both the ordinary driving licence and LGV licence separately when your case is reviewed.

I hope this information is of assistance."

I have sent another email asking for clarification of the standards I need to achieve to get a 3 year license as I have never had an assisted hypo, no sight issues, fairly fit and no complications at all. I will advise you all of their reply but I don't expect much. All my correspondence so far has seen a copy & paste job reply.

OK. Another update. No luck with DVLA, they will not separate car and LGV license expiration dates. I chanced my arm whilst bored one evening and emailed letters of complaint to No10 Downing St and my local MP, Steven Barkley. This was over a week ago. Received telephone call today from my MP who wanted to know more about my story. Had about a 10min chat and he totally agreed with me that the DVLA rule is unfair ! He said he will write to DVLA and update me next week. No promises but nice to even get a call as I never expected one. I will let you know of outcome.

Yes the DVLA rule is unfair. Surely it would be common sense for the car license to still be valid because you have been checked within the last three years? Crazy.

Good luck Mo! Early days and Rome wasn't built in a day and all that but at least your highlighting this and hopefully getting the ball rolling for us insulin users who are being disbelieved and made to jump through hoops just for having good control and defying the lamentable NHS statistics.

Thanks guys. It may not change anything but I love to have a little go ! He who dares Rodney ;-)

mo1905 wrote:OK. Another update. No luck with DVLA, they will not separate car and LGV license expiration dates. I chanced my arm whilst bored one evening and emailed letters of complaint to No10 Downing St and my local MP, Steven Barkley. This was over a week ago. Received telephone call today from my MP who wanted to know more about my story. Had about a 10min chat and he totally agreed with me that the DVLA rule is unfair ! He said he will write to DVLA and update me next week. No promises but nice to even get a call as I never expected one. I will let you know of outcome.

It would be nice indeed if your MP could help you out here .....

We wait to see the outcome.

All the best Jan

Further update, although I've sent all my forms off a couple of weeks ago I had another little DVLA surprise this morning. Another batch of DVLA forms to fill out ! They obviously couldn't think to post these out with the original forms ! So, filled out and sent off this morning. I then have to wait for ANOTHER medical ( in case my consultant wasn't being truthful ? ) ! This will be my last LGV renewal for sure. So frustrating.

This is ridiculous! You should get compensation for not being able to drive a car for all those weeks.

Received today ! Oh well, at least I tried :-(

Ahh...Bloody hell! Sorry they're still trying to justify their out of touch and unfair system but at least you tried Mo!

"The health standards in place for categories C1 and D1 are in line with those for LGV and PCV licencing and are much higher than those for ordinary car licensing. This is due to the size and weight of the vehicles involved"

I had a long paragraph keyed in to respond to this. This says it better ..... B*llsh*t. So are they saying it's OK for a type 1 to drive a car without health checks every year because they may only kill one or two people, but we can't have multiple deaths! Are the drink/drive limits stricter with C1 and D1 too?

....and what Paul said too!

Now I've got my angry face on!...and you don't have an emoticon that adequately portrays it !

zand wrote:"The health standards in place for categories C1 and D1 are in line with those for LGV and PCV licencing and are much higher than those for ordinary car licensing.  This is due to the size and weight of the vehicles involved"  

I had a long paragraph keyed in to respond to this.  This says it better ..... B*llsh*t.  So are they saying it's OK for a type 1 to drive a car without health checks every year because they may only kill one or two people, but we can't have multiple deaths!  Are the drink/drive limits stricter with C1 and D1 too?  

....and what Paul said too!

Now I've got my angry face on!...and you don't have an emoticon that adequately portrays it !

Pretty much I guess ! I have been to hundreds of nasty vehicle accidents and at least 95% involve cars and it's not pretty ! Accidents involving lorries are pretty rare. I actually have no problem with the annual LGV medicals etc as I'm all for safety but I just think it's unfair my car license is annual too. Oh well, I just have to play the game I guess. Those are the rules and we either accept them or get on the bus :-)

OK, last update ( hopefully ). I have been dealing with a nice lady at DVLA who has been very helpful. She is manager of customer complaints. Originally, the reason I was limited to 1 year car license was because I was automatically given C1 & D1 ( small lorries up to 7.5T and minibus ) because my license was issued prior to 1997. I asked seeing as these were not necessary to me, can they be removed ? After lots of calls and emails, it finally turns out, they can.
So, I am now entitled to a 1 year LGV license AND a 3 year car license ! This was all I ever wanted. The weird thing is, because I hold LGV, I am still entitled to drive small lorries anyway !
I was told they have never removed C1 & D1 from a license before but I can't believe nobody has asked before. I may even be entitled to a 10 year car license when new rules kick in.
Anyway, I'm very happy and glad I kept pushing.

mo1905 wrote:OK, last update ( hopefully ). I have been dealing with a nice lady at DVLA who has been very helpful. She is manager of customer complaints. Originally, the reason I was limited to 1 year car license was because I was automatically given C1 & D1 ( small lorries up to 7.5T and minibus ) because my license was issued prior to 1997. I asked seeing as these were not necessary to me, can they be removed ? After lots of calls and emails, it finally turns out, they can.
So, I am now entitled to a 1 year LGV license AND a 3 year car license ! This was all I ever wanted. The weird thing is, because I hold LGV, I am still entitled to drive small lorries anyway !
I was told they have never removed C1 & D1 from a license before but I can't believe nobody has asked before. I may even be entitled to a 10 year car license when new rules kick in.
Anyway, I'm very happy and glad I kept pushing.

Now that is great news Mo  

All the best Jan

Nice one Mo!! Definitely worth the perseverance on this matter! Until the 10 year rule comes into effect-3 years is not so bad and much better than that ridiculous and bureaucratic 1 year renewal malarkey.

Well, another DVLA shocker this morning. After believing I was pretty much sorted with things, they throw a spanner in the works. I had a medical with my consultant at Addenbrookes Hospital 20th Oct 2014. I receive a letter this morning telling me I need to arrange a medical to pursue with my application. Now get this, WITH THE SAME CONSULTANT I JUST HAD MEDICAL WITH on the 20th !!! I phoned them assuming it was a mistake but no, things changed last year. Stage 2 of the application process is with my consultant ( who I've just seen ) and they won't budge. Even after completing this, I then need another medical with a DVLA approved doc from a different hospital. I just spoke with Addenbrookes who can't believe I have to go back. No wonder people can't get appts to see people. What a waste of mine and a specialist consultants time ! AAAAAARRRGGGGHHH !!!!!

OMG! - and I was moaning about drugs reviews! This is idiocy. I'm speechless!