Reapply for driving license

Living with Parkinson's Daily life
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Hello all

 

I wanted to ask advice please

I had my license taken off me last december 2013 after informing the dvla by filling in the paper work.

However I now feel a lot more stable as I am taking madopar and feel I would like to drive again.

I was wondering has anyone else been in this position because having spoken on the telephone to dvla they said its a good idea to ask your family doctor or neurologist if in their opnion I am now fit to drive.

I was wondering basically if anyone else has done this and possible outcome of asking a medic if I can drive again is it normally a request that is looked on favourably or is it shank's pony for the duration............Paul

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Hi stormforce

Hopefully someone here who is in the same position can offer some advice. You might also try giving our helpline advisers a ring at 0808 800 0303 or contacting them at [email protected]. They might have some knowledge of the experience of others. 

Hope it helps,

Ezinda

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Thank you Ezinda it does help a lot.................Paul

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Hi stormforce

I had  my license taken off me last year for 3 months and i had to get intouch with my consultant and asked if he could write a supporting letter to the dvla to say that in his opinion i was fit to drive which he did, eventually i got my license back but only for a year i have just reaplyed again am waiting an answer , i think it depends on the consultant but i am sure its worth a try my consultant is brilliant and the letter was sent very quickly its the dvla that takes the time good luck susan.

 

 

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Thanks Susan I am still thinking about it I took one look at the forms fro the DVLA and thought not another load of paper work to fill in so I will wait and see what happens with other things firstly when you look at al the messing about and meandering the bus and train look attractive may be I am just starting to get weary..............Paul

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cool

   Hello Stormforce, I have posted elsewhere on this very subject, my appologies to both yourself and the person whom I  posted the post to, I think the thread began with a enquiry about Levadopa, BUT i CANT FIND IT, anyway I will explain my story to you, though in my case it does not end happily. I lost sixteen licences when parky began his war with me, when diagnosed I dutifully informed DVLA as required, and within a week or so all my  licences were gone, only my car licence remained, the others were for HGVs of various sizes, and  Artic Dump  Trucks, Excavators and the like. So I lost my job as I could no longer drive or operate the vehicles which I had done for 26yrs, this was upsetting, but as time rolled on, my concentration was diminishing fast, so I decided to let my car licence go as I was a risk to myself and others,so about 5 or 6 yrs passed and I was granted funding for  the Duodopa system which improved my life %99  , indeed I felt so much better I decided to re apply for my car licence, this was not a straight forward process.,I needed to be assessed at a DVLA Testing facility and if I passed then with a letter from my Neorologist saying I had improved sufficently, would be sent off to Swansea , and I would recieve my new licence,  er well no, Im afraid it did not go to plan,I was so confident and the test track was only a small figure 8  but in that small track were all the obstacles and dangers you would meet on the public highway, and to cut a long one short, I FAILED ABYSMALLY,and I KNEW  my driving was over for good, I had lost all  the instincts accumulated over54 yrs,so it was the end of the road and I had no choice but to accept  it.    This does not mean the same thing will happen to you of course,but the likelyhood is you will be required to attend the assessment centre,and if you do then I WISH  YOU WELL, but prepare well study the highway code and take nothin for granted.

                                                Go Well young Sir            FED

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Hi fed

When I filled in the paper work to say I had PD a assessment was what I expected but instead they just take your license straight away. Thanks for the post it is certainly thought provoking...............Paul

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hi stormforce 

can i ask when you filled in first form telling dvla did you tick yes to anything? ive just sent mine off .i ticked no to them as feel fine to drive and not having any concentration or sleep issues. was wandering why license taken off you straight away?

bit worried cos if lose mine cannot get to work for shifts so would put job at risk

 

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cool

  Hello Kittens

                    When I was told I had PD and informed the DVLA I had no idea of the repercussions and the effects it would have, when my licences were taken I knew what would be the likely outcome, the firm I was working for, is the biggest in Northumberland, OWEN PUGH and CO,i mention them because they were so good to  me when  BLACKHEART struck ,I  resigned in early june 1999,but my boss Mr Keith Pugh actually paid my wages until, the end of the year,

I would be 50 and this is the earliest you can claim your pesion, not only that, he included the average bonuses I would  have earned and added that, plus all my accumlated Holliday pay,I also was informed by a  organisation called the BCE that I was entitled to claim a annuity  of £550, I used to pay a extra 30pence a week to cover me if I lost my licence or licences in my case,it was so tiny a amount I never missed it as ontop of my usual uniom fees it was automatically deducted from my pay, and I  completely forgot  about iit, then I recieved a letter from my union with a cheque for  £7.500, as I said I had  completely forgotten to remember that  30p its the best investment i HAVE EVER MADE,,  but despite all these payments, oh I forgot I had been paying for 11yrs into a private pension with the PRU, I had pulled out of that and went back into the BSE scheme,but all that cash  had lain untouched and forgotten, well for 12yrs,until the PRU sent me a letter!!!!!! I could take iump+  a annuity or just a annuity,,,,and the  lump,well £12000, plus a few pence,so with all the lumps lumped together, and the ANNUITIES toalled up plus the great kindness shown by my employers OWEN PUGH, I  recieved over £22763,cash and  £429,per month annuities for life oh I was also awarded the top level of DLA,AND I RECIEVED my ssp until the recent  changes, now its all included in one payment, now  you may think what a lucky boy I am,and I am I appreciate all the money that I RECIEVED and still recieve, but dont forget, I did not recieve it for nowt, I prepared for the likelyhood of serious injury or death, oreven worse, I paid into all these excellent complicated funds they were not free but although we are better off now than when I WAS WORKING, I WOULD GLADLY GIVE IT ALL BACK IF i  WAS FIT, I MUST GO NOW DENTIST. WILL CONTINUE UPON RETURN

                                                      FED

 

 even

 

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frownTHIS IS ME 1HR AGO  and nowlaughcoolI hate going to the Dentist,I had lost a filling as I HAD severe Dykinesia in  my teeth and it shook a filling out.

      Now that is silly. Getting back to my last post it shows what can be done if you prepare for horrible events you never know whats around the corner, and the youger you start the more you will have.

                                      I  wish you the best of luck and hope all goes in your favour

                                         All of you FED

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When i was diagnosed with pd last year my neurologist did say that i had to inform dvla i did they sent a form to me i filled it in then they  sent a questinairre  to the neurologist  and then the dvla medical officer decided i was ok to drive on a 3yr restricted licence

You have nothing to lose by applying for your licence back  Paul x

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cool

           Hello Shel nice to hear from you, I was given the same form with the proviso that upon the completion of the assessment plus the letter from my Neorologist, saying that in his opinion I was fit to drive,then they would renew my licence, as you see my Neurologist would not give me the ok until I passed the assessment so rock and hardplace eh, anyway its all tea down the sink  now.

                                      Best wishes  FED

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Hello Fed

I was lucky dvla made there decision on what my neurologist said to them , but no doubt that will change in the future but for now i will enjoy driving for as long has i can

How are you doing Fed ?

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hello shelly fed and kittens

Yes I think I did tick  yes to some of the questions on the dvla form in forming them of my PD. My driving was getting pretty poor undiagnosed and also I used to drive on the studs between lanes on A roads and motorways I could not understand this as I would pull the car back in line and it would happen again. I now know of course it was balance issues caused by PD but these days on madopar I feel so much better apart from a bad back first thing in the morning when I get out of bed which clears up within reason on taking my forst madopar.

As you say shelly I may as well reapply as I have nothing to lose I will give it a go I was always praised for my driving yearsa go with a goood positive attitude and always being in the right gear etc. I have travelled with you in your car Shelly and you are a great driver so your neuro was quite right to allow you to apply to the dvla and it gives me confidence to have another go. its handy a car because I have a mobility scooter as well and you can store it in the back of your car and just take the battery in to be charged this is also very useful when on holiday as guest houses dont always have facilities to accomodate mobility scooters I can really recomend thses scooters a real help getting around the shops and there a reasonable price as well especially on that well known auction site begining with E no advertising on here.................Have a good day all of you.........................Paul

 

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Hi there.   Before I write anything else let me say sorry to Fed for not replying sooner to your last e-mail.  Thanks for your kind words. Name is Casie with an 'a' for 'apple' NOT 'a' for 'ace'.    

Also, having been a secretary for the last 46 years it's getting very frustrating not to be able to type properly and I keep pressing the wrong buttons and lose all my work. 

I was diagnosed 14 years ago and for the first 12 years I have renewed my licence on a three year basis but this time the DVLA has kept me waiting.  I reapplied in May and have been waiting since then.   I've had two letters from them.  First to tell me there are so many people waiting for reports

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...............that I shouldn't expect to hear from them soon.  Then they wrote again, to say I should use the letter from them to prove I am allowed to drive.  That letter is getting very tatty in my handbag!!   It's all very frustrating.

All the best  - Casie

 

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Hi Stormforce,

 

Have you heard of RoADAR an offshoot of RoSPA. ?  You might want to try one of their driving courses.just to bolster your confidence on yourself and in applying for the licence.

I was already a member of the Insttute of Advanced motorists but after I had backed into an immoveable object for the third time in my newly aquired high driving positiion Automatic , I took the Driver Improvement Course of RoADAR.  Apart from paying the membership there was no cost as the instructors are all volunteers. It wasn''t quite what I wanted but  it did reinforce my convictionn that there was not much wrong with my driving and there  was something wrong with the car. and  after a year the garage people agreed there was something amiss with my automatic.  So eventually the equivalent of switching the computer side of things on and off put paid to the  "now you see it, now you don't problem" with the reverse gear mainly. 

Best wishes.

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cool

        Hello Shel,  I am having long periods of forgetfulness, also long periods of forgetting things which I  should not be forgetting but remembering,also as well, Im being silly again, but reverting to  serious mode I am having unerving  moments through the day where I do not recognise my surrondings, and that includes my  home,Its alarming Shel  and really scares me and the more I try to  remember the worse it gets, I have to keep asking my Lady if  Im  dreaming or  nightmaring , are you having problems like this, indeed I would welcome feedback from anyone having these episodes, they can last from 30secs up to 20 mins or more, I dont like the implications of this new and serious development, I even completely erase the thread of a conversation I am having with someone, I was chatting to my friend yesterday  about the RAFs new Heavylifter the A400M, I AM deeply interested and knowledgeable on all aspects of Aviation and I was angry and annoyed when my mind went , I DONT  KNOW where it went, but went it did, and it did not return for 5mins or so, now I know  my friend, you will be thinking that everyone has absentmindednesssesesss especialy  PD afflickted or aflickted or aflicted, im getting there,but this is different Shel, my mum lives about 100mtrs away and I lived in her home for 24yrs, yet I couldnt remember the house or where it was or how to get there, I can now, Im ok now, but this is happening too many  times now, and as far as I know you  cant  get memory pills,or can you. you often come up with usefull info and/or interesting websites SHEL,is this another failure of old Feds powerplant (my brain) and can I DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.

                                                        NIGHT NIGHT sweetpea   KIND REGARDS  FED

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cool

          Hello , I have positioned this post in the wrong  position, I  appologise for my inferior positiononing of the post I was posting particlarly as the theme of the post was forgetting things now, where was I?????????????????OH YES I was about to bore you all to sleep introducing the  NEW A400M,, no that wernt tit, now Ill think on int a wile, itlll come  to me,angryfrown

                                                             FEDUPFED

1 Like
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Hello Everyone

I am awaiting my new licence, I had not updated them on my personal changes i.e. marriage and address.  Anyway they sent me forms and I returned them.  My Neurologist wrote to me saying they had been in touch and he was duty bound to tell them of my anxieties.  But he also said as he had only seen me back in April, he could not comment on my progress since taking Madopar and other PD drugs.  He said DVLA were contacting my GP.  I am due to see Consultant 3 November.  I am hoping everything will be fine about me continuing to drive.  I have found that its when I travel as a passenger in a car I feel uncomfortable and do get anxiety probs.  I drove to Kent last week from Sussex - 1 1/2 hrs each way, stuck to my 50-60 mph and was OK. 

I keep thinking if I lost my licence, how would I travel - if being a car passenger too difficult, it would be getting buses and trains.  I share my car with my husband, but would really love my own.  I am waiting to see what happens. 

Best wishes to you ALL.

Beverley (alias HET)