Have you had to wait excessively long for your new driving licence despite applying in good time? — Scope | Disability forum

Have you had to wait excessively long for your new driving licence despite applying in good time?

Tori_Scope
Tori_Scope Posts: 8,195

Scope community team
in Disability rights and campaigning

Has your GP refused to sign a letter that allows you to drive until your new licence comes through? A leading consumer TV show wants to find out more.

Researchers from the TV show are looking into the complaints of disabled drivers who've had their licenses expire despite seeking a renewal from the DVLA several months before. The DVLA are working through quite the backlog, but it’s left many disabled road users with expired licences.

Many disabled people are being told by the DVLA that if they seek permission from their doctor that they are medically fine to drive, they can continue to do so even with an expired license. This comes from Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Your doctor must have told you that you are fit to drive. If your doctor is unsure about how a medical condition affects driving, they should refer to ‘Assessing fitness to drive – a guide for medical professionals’ here on the gov.uk website, with more information available in this DVLA leaflet

Some initial research shows that, whilst people's GPs are more than happy to provide the requisite medical information to the DVLA, they're unwilling to give this level of sign off on a person’s ability to drive. 

Despite this, the DVLA specifically says 

You and your doctor are in the best position to consider the Section 88 criteria and to decide whether you should drive while you are waiting for a licence to be issued.

Is this something you've experienced?

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