I passed. BUT.

Convicted Driver Insurance

europhil

Well Known Member
I contacted DVLA on Friday, They have told me that everything is fine regarding my medical and they are happy to issue my licence.
Here's the bombshell.
They have now contacted the traffic commissioners office and won't issue my licence until the TC has given her approval. I can still drive under section 88 as from Wednesday. I have to go to a driver conduct hearing in June, I could then have my HGV licence taken away for a while.
I would have thought they would give me my licence in the meantime. and i'm sure there are time limits, rules and regs regarding this.
I start a new job next week and this news could cock this up.
 
europhil said:
I contacted DVLA on Friday, They have told me that everything is fine regarding my medical and they are happy to issue my licence.
Here's the bombshell.
They have now contacted the traffic commissioners office and won't issue my licence until the TC has given her approval. I can still drive under section 88 as from Wednesday. I have to go to a driver conduct hearing in June, I could then have my HGV licence taken away for a while.
I would have thought they would give me my licence in the meantime. and i'm sure there are time limits, rules and regs regarding this.
I start a new job next week and this news could cock this up.
Click to expand...

Hiya,
Firstly congrats anyway, pleased to hear you got through the medical.....is the new job driving a lorry then? Not really sure how their system works :-(
Moodle
 
Yes it's hgv driving, i'll be driving to and from Belgium, Holland and France mostly.
I've checked the regs and DVLA are supposed to contact the traffic commissioner 4 months before the ban is due to end, but they usually contact the TC when the driver puts his application in.
in my case they contacted the TC less than a week before the ban ends.
 
europhil said:
Yes it's hgv driving, i'll be driving to and from Belgium, Holland and France mostly.
I've checked the regs and DVLA are supposed to contact the traffic commissioner 4 months before the ban is due to end, but they usually contact the TC when the driver puts his application in.
in my case they contacted the TC less than a week before the ban ends.
Click to expand...

Good grief that is awful :-( hope they sort it out pronto with a positive result for you....
 
At least you are getting your car licence back.
i am surprised that the TC cannot hold a conduct hearing before June, but I am not aware of any legal time limit on them to hold such a hearing.
could you contact them to say you would take a short notice hearing if one arises, perhaps due to a cancellation or illness?
 
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I'm not getting my car licence back. They won't send anything out until the TC gives the go ahead.
I'll be driving on my section 88 letter.
 
The guidelines for tTraffic Commissioners are here:
http://assets.dft.gov.uk/publicatio...d-guidance-directions/no-6-driver-conduct.pdf

But it does not mention a maximum time limit for having a hearing, just that they must have one.
You raise an interesting point about a S88 letter. If DVLA do in fact issue you with a driving licence effective from 19th March, then it will be for vehicles on your previous licence, less the goods vehicle entitlement pending your TC hearing. This is what normally happens.
you are saying that DVLA say that you can continue to drive on the s88 letter, they will not be issuing you will a driving licence until they hear from the TC. A s88 letter allows you to drive any vehicle which was on your former licence, which would include HGV's.
you are right to say that a S88 letter is not an authority to drive abroad, but you would have to tell a prospective employer that you are due before a competency hearing in June, and what your convictions are, and they could be on dodgy grounds employing you to drive a goods vehicle in this country.

Have you asked the TC if they will do an earlier hearing in the light of the circumstances not being your fault, ie DVLA telling you repeatedly that they are not going to refer you, then deciding at the last minute that they are, effectively extending your ban anyway.
i would imagine that any ban that the TC might have imposed will be viewed as 'time served'. They do, however, have the power to direct that you have to revert to provisional status and qualify for HGV's again.
Your further problem is that, as you said, you cannot do your CPC training. Did you do any of the 35 hours required before you were banned? If not, the deadline is 10th September this year, so you will not have much time to do a lot of hours. The CPC requirement is Europe wide, not just for the UK.
 
I have been in touch with the traffic commissioners office and from what i can gather is i have to attend, Because the rules say so, However, From the correspondence they've had from me the outcome should be in my favour.
This is why the TC isn't responding to DVLA yet. If the TC did respond before the hearing, Then i would get a licence, But without my hgv entitlement. But without a response, I can drive under section 88.
I have asked for the TC to grant my licence in the meantime. I have put the argument forward that i would be able to complete my driver cpc before the hearing in June. and it's due to dvla delays that prevented the TC and myself from arranging a hearing.
 
It is a sensible and reasoned argument, but when has that been known to overrule procedure....!
 
The traffic commissioners office rang me last week and we arranged a hearing for this week. The TC has said i have to wait another 13 days before i get my hgv licence back. Pretty annoying, I was supposed to have started a new job by now, i even showed him a copy of the job offer, but the TC explained that i should get used to driving a car first. This didn't make much sense, i've got convictions for driving lorries and cars whilst disqualified.
On the funny side. DVLA have just written to me to tell me that they will be contacting the traffic commissioner. I received the letter this morning.
I have rang DVLA to see if they have heard anything from the TC. They won't be checking the emails from him until the end of the week, Then it'll take until the end of the following week before they put the TC's disqualification on the system. So, They will ban me from driving hgv's and un ban me on the same day.
they are just so organised. you couldn't make it up.
 
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