KeyWorker
Well Known Member
Hi, just a bit of perspective on the hand check!Hi all.
After having my medical 22 days ago I was elated to open the post this morning and find my driving licence enclosed! To say I am surprised and shocked is an understatement given the delays some people are having and I certainly didn’t expect any news until the end of July/August time at the earliest. The licence expires in 4 years time but I that’s because my old one expired on the same date and I really didn’t want to faff around with photographs etc to add more time to my application.
Here are my timescales to help others in their journey, which is certainly a difficult and unpredictable one:
Licence applied for - 31/01/2022
Application form received by DVLA - 01/02/2022
Cheque cashed - 03/03/2022
Medical letter received - 30/03/2022
DRIVING BAN ENDS - 02/05/2022
Date of medical - 05/05/2022
Licence issued 25/05/2022
So, all in all 16 weeks and 4 days to receive my licence and just 3 weeks and 3 days after my ban ended. Given how long some people have had to wait I’ve been incredibly lucky. The most stressful part for me was waiting for the medical as I was unable to book it myself and had to wait for the GP surgery to contact me. They said they ’should’ be able to fit me in within the 12 week timescale but they had a long waiting list and that if I missed the phone call they would move on to the next person on the list. I was darn lucky to have a day off work when they called to offer me a cancellation two days later Credit to the GP surgery in sending the paperwork off quickly and thank goodness it didn’t end up in a large postal sack in the corner of the office of the DVLA. The only time I contacted the DVLA was to check if I could change the GP surgery so I could pre-book my medical but they refused. Apart from that call, I didn’t chase anything else up or involve my local MP.
The medical itself was simple - height, weight, feel around the abdomen, listen to chest, blood pressure, look in mouth and check my hands (haven’t worked that one out) and CDT blood test. She asked the questions on the questionnaire to which my last alcoholic drink was 12th February and always less than 6 units when drinking and ”no” to everything else.
Now, car insurance… my husband contacted Admiral as part of a family policy and they will insure me on my own policy for £323 which I think is superb. Zurich refused to insure me. I’m an additional £300 on my husband’s electric car as a named driver.
I hope I’m okay to stay on this group because whilst I haven’t posted that often, I’ve found this site to be a great source of information, some of which have allayed my fears and some that have put the fear of god in me )! Whilst I don’t have great experience in all this, I hope I can offer hope and support to those out there travelling this awfully slow and arduous journey.
Good luck to each and every one of you.
People who drink excessively may ( not always ) develop very red palms
Also if you are asked to stand with your hands stretched out in front of you ( as I was on both my DVLA Medicals, though both with the same Dr ) they usually require you to maintain that position for around ten seconds, and they are checking for a fine shake, which again can be a sign of alcohol abuse.
I’m a nurse so could work out what it was all about, and even said to him that just thinking about it was enough to make anyone shake. He did have the good grace to smile.
Hope that helps J