Extremely unusual case please help..

[Mad Matt]

Good Morning

I was convicted in around 1993 for drink driving and dangerous driving, subsequently i lost my licence and was ordered to resit my driving test. I didn't and was again caught drink driving in 2001 and further banned for 3 years a Manchester Crown court. Sadly and foolishly i continued to driving without re-siting my test and was again caught drink driving in about 2004/5 and again banned for 3 years but also ordered to pass a medical before applying for a driving licence. These were the very stupid years of my life..

In 2007 in attended a medical and passed, i also attended a 3 day alcohol awareness course which allowed me to apply early for my licence. I then did my full driving test and passed first time with flying colours. I have now been driving ever since, 10 years without any motoring offences and i haven't touched a drop of alcohol for over 5 years.

In February this year i started a new job, best paying job i have ever had and i love it, however the job requires a full clean driving licence which must have been held for at least 2 years, which i have. My employer asked if i was eligible to tow which i wasn't but someone had informed me that DVLA should have post dated my full driving licence back to when i originally passed my driving test. So silly me sends an email to DVLA asking if this was true and could it be updated to which they replied Yes just send my licence back and they would update it.

However after weeks of waiting for my new updated licence to return and many emails to DVLA i had no choice but to complain to their customer complaints department, they said it was in hand and i would receive my new licence soon. Last week i received the most horrifying letter from DVLA possible. It states that in 2001 i was not only banned for 3 years but also ordered to resit an Extended driving test???? News to me, I've never even heard of an extended driving test. So i phoned the lady at DVLA dealing with my case and asked what was going on. I asked if i could see the Judges sentence of an extended driving test, to which she replied, she doesn't have it as all the court records have been lost or destroyed so they have relied upon the police for their records.. I asked how it could be possible that I've been allowed to drive for 10 years and surely this can't be right either legally or morally not forgetting the fact that my job is dependent on my driving licence. Sadly she said theres nothing more to say on the matter and nothing i could do but to start the process of doing my licence all over again but this time doing the extended test and all that that requires...

Please please tell me that this isn't the case, my boss has allowed me a short period to sort this out before he lets me go...

Thank you for any advice....

 

[SeanJoyceStephensons]

A sentence following conviction for dangerous driving must involve an 'extended retest' requirement. When a disqualification until test is passed is ordered then that 'test' is defined by legislation as 'an appropriate test'. That is further explained to be an 'extended test' when the ban that is imposed relates to an offence like dangerous driving where the court have to ban you upon conviction.

It seems that errors may have been made along the way by the DVLA, however, if the court ordered 'disqualification until test is passed' in your case then that means that you are technically still disqualified from driving given that the test is defined by legislation in your case as an extended retest. An extended retest is not usually ordered for a drink driving offence (relating to your 2001 conviction and sentence) but it can be imposed at the discretion of the court. There does appear to be some confusion here and I would recommend contacting each of the magistrates' courts concerned and obtaining a copy of the memorandum of conviction in each case (if they still exist) as that should tell you the exact detail of any sentences imposed on each occasion.

This appears to be complicated on the face of it but the answer could be straight forward once more information is known. Unfortunately, it is likely that any original order for an extended retest following conviction and sentence for the original dangerous driving matter remains outstanding as a standard driving test completion should not have satisfied any such order. Similarly, if a retest was ordered for the drink driving matter then this would have to be an extended retest by nature of the type of offence (one where an obligatory ban is required). Until such a test has been successfully completed a disqualification from driving would remain in place.

I would recommend contacting a specialist solicitor to discuss this further.

 

[Mad Matt]

Thank you so much for your response...

I have again had a long conversation today on the phone with DVLA the lady dealing with my case and I've had a check with my solicitor at the time. Both Dvla and my solicitor at the time confirm that in 2001 i was in Manchester Crown court for the following driving offences, Drink Driving, Driving whist Disqualified and No Insurance. For this DVLA say that the judge in 2001 sentenced me to a 3 year ban and ordered me to sit an extended retest.. If this had happened then i would have been aware of it...

I have spoken to Manchester Crown Court asking for records however they no longer have them but they are somewhere, apparently they have been "archived". Im informed they will be extremely hard to find if not impossible but DVLA are adamant that if i can somehow show what the judge sentenced me to in 2001 then that would be enough to satisfy them.....