My Driving Licence: A Positive Update

~ beetleypete

The DVLA has still not been in touch, and my licence has not arrived. I have not heard back from my Member of Parliament as yet, so yesterday I decided to email the Norfolk Police and ask for their advice. They replied last night, a great service from our local police force.

It seems I can drive until my new licence arrives, as long as I meet the following conditions.

You have the support of your doctor to continue driving
you had a valid licence
you only drive under the conditions of the previous licence
your application is less than a year old
your last licence wasn’t revoked or refused for medical reasons
you’re not currently disqualified
you weren’t disqualified as a high risk offender on or after 1 June 2013″

I do meet all those conditions, so as of today I am going to drive again. I have a printout of the email to keep in the car, and a note of my DVLA application reference.

Just a pity that I didn’t think to ask the police on the 17th of March.

If anyone who is affected by the DVLA delays reads this, I suggest you do the same thing, and then you will be able to drive legally.

“HURRAH FOR COMMONSENSE POLICING!”

90 thoughts on “My Driving Licence: A Positive Update”

    1. Well my wife has been driving me around since the 16th of March, but it does involve some forward-planning and swapping arrangements. At least I can now just get in the car and go when I need to.
      Cheers, Pete.

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    1. I had conflicting advice on this, Beth. But my County Police do not seem bothered about prosecuting legal drivers because of DVLA delays. So I can certainly drive in Norfolk, and that’s a big county. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. It does seem to depend on where you live, and whether the local police can be bothered to prosecute something that is not the fault of the driver. My ex-colleagues in the police in London previously advised me not to drive, but Norfolk County Police seem to have no issue with awaiting a licence renewal.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. Pete, your post is a day (or night here) before you were about to get a private email from me.
    I will post it here now instead to give you a smile. . .
    Greetings Pete, I contacted our NZ driver licensing office and asked if they knew anything about delays in the UK licence. She puts me on to a guy who said . . . They deal with many such enquiries as there many Brits over here who are still UK licenced. The UK DVLA has told the NZ agency that UK motorists can continue to drive while forms are being processed provided they have not been advised otherwise by their doctor or optician and application forms must also be completed & accurate.
    So he suggests that you go to your Dr & get a note to say you are fit to drive, then write down all your licence details & conditions on a piece of paper, details of your re application – and you are good to go. cheers Gavin
    Now the good folk of Norfolk Constabulary told you the same thing.

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  28. I’m pretty sure I said that you could drive Pete as long as there were no medical issues, (as in the document I attached) but you were a bit dubious. Glad you have confirmation from the police that it is OK. And I really hope they get on and process your application soon!

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    1. You did, Jude. But when I spoke to my contacts in London in the Met Police, they said an expired licence was a driving offence. Obviously Norfolk Police don’t see it that way.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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      1. I suppose it depends on what is meant by expired – as you had already applied for the renewal and had not had your licence revoked for any reason other than the age factor.

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    1. Thanks, Julie. I used to work for the Met police in London, but my former colleagues there told me that I should not drive on an expired licence. Just as well I decided to try the local police for their opinion.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  36. This is very good news. In Canada, we always got a paper temporary licence immediately until the official one arrives. I couldn’t understand why you were not given one. So glad you can drive legally again.

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    1. That fast, helpful, and polite service from the Police was excellent, Jon. But as I worked for the Police in London for 12 years, I already knew that most police officers are polite and helpful.
      (I didn’t mention that in my email by the way.)
      Best wishes, Pete.

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