Driving licence (1 Viewer)

Mar 31, 2014
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My sister in law who is 75 and a reasonable driver is very upset to receive a letter from the DVLA saying that a "third party"has contacted them questioning her driving abilities!They are saying they will revoke her licence unless she gets the enclosed forms completed by her Doctor.She has to arrange a medical and I presume pay for it.She has contacted the Licence office who refuse to divulge who has contacted them.The whole family and her friends are all under suspssicion! Her licence is not up for renewal for 11 months and I find it incredible that the .D.V.L.A appear to be acting on some type of tittle tattle!!Her Doctor says it's not them!As do everyone else she has asked.She is not bothered about having a medical but is upset and annoyed about it.Anyone else had a similer letter??
 

pappajohn

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There are some tw@ts out there.

If she is confident of passing the medical then go for it and prove the doubter wrong.
If she isnt so sure then maybe it is time to stop driving.
I doubt you will ever find out who the 'reporter' is....could even be a neighbour or a close, and concerned, friend...but whoever it is isnt going to hold up their hand voluntarily.
 
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Frightening that "big brother dvla" will act on the word of another individual presumably without knowing whether a malicious act or not, or indeed is qualified to judge whether a person is a safe driver or not.
Never heard of this happening before :Eeek:

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GWAYGWAY

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It is probably the Police for some reason. maybe stopped for some reason and they have queried her competence.
 

mike mcglynn

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There must be a time to realise that driving is not a safe option but when is it ? in Liverpool in the last week an old lady 80 years old ran into 8 schoolgirls who were on the pavement having just left school for half term break luckily nobody was killed but some had broken hips legs and arms

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mike mcglynn

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:(There must be a time to realise that driving is not a safe option but when is it ? in Liverpool in the last week an old lady 80 years old ran into 8 schoolgirls who were on the pavement having just left school for half term break luckily nobody was killed but some had broken hips legs and arms :(:(:(:(
 

sdc77

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You can't tittle tattle tale tell if there are no tales to tell. .. I suppose you could just make it up.
My money too is on the Police being the informant.
Let's hope she passes the medical with flying colours. Of course ..if she doesn't then someone's life may have been saved.
 

Minxy

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Hi Rob, whilst I can totally empathise with your sister and I sincerely hope the medical/competence test is not a problem so she can still keep her licence, I need to ask how long is it since you've been with her when she's been driving?

She may be totally okay, but my suggestion is to take the opportunity to go somewhere in her car and observe for yourself how she drives ... it may avoid further upset IF you feel that something's amiss and agree that she should not drive any more as she'll probably take being told better from you than anyone else and then she can voluntarily give up her licence - difficult, yes, but better than having the licence forcibly removed by the DVLA.

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Puddleduck

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Playing Devil's Advocate for a minute, it's a good thing (sometimes) that we are able to report dangerous drivers.

Hope it works out OK for you.

I'm not saying this is the case for your relative BUT

If a relative has asked someone to stop driving because they feel it's time to do so and the plea repeatedly falls on deaf ears then it may be the only thing available to get a dangerous driver off the road.

When my relative was reported the medical wasn't very onerous, was completed by the practice nurse and signed off by the GP who didn't even see my relative. The family were fuming as he shouldn't be driving but we have nowhere else to go. A neighbour he doesn't like got the blame for the report :whistle: - and he is still driving. (n)
 

Minxy

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I'm not saying this is the case for your relative BUT

If a relative has asked someone to stop driving because they feel it's time to do so and the plea repeatedly falls on deaf ears then it may be the only thing available to get a dangerous driver off the road.

When my relative was reported the medical wasn't very onerous, was completed by the practice nurse and signed off by the GP who didn't even see my relative. The family were fuming as he shouldn't be driving but we have nowhere else to go. A neighbour he doesn't like got the blame for the report :whistle: - and he is still driving. (n)
In which case do what they do sometimes for family matters in the USA ... have an 'intervention' with several family members and tell him straight! Allowing someone to drive who you KNOW should not is just condoning it. I'd also be tempted to report the doctor's practice to the DVLA for not doing the test correctly - if they've done it once, they've done it many times before so how may other 'dangerous' drivers have they left on the road?????
 
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In which case do what they do sometimes for family matters in the USA ... have an 'intervention' with several family members and tell him straight! Allowing someone to drive who you KNOW should not is just condoning it. I'd also be tempted to report the doctor's practice to the DVLA for not doing the test correctly - if they've done it once, they've done it many times before so how may other 'dangerous' drivers have they left on the road?????

This doesn't always work unfortunately. After my father had a stroke, the family all realised that his reaction times were far too slow and would be dangerous if he was to drive again. We (myself and my 4 brothers) all told him that he shouldn't be driving, but he wouldn't take any notice of us. We resolved it by initially hiding his keys, then had his car (it wasn't worth much) taken to a local firestation (where one of my brothers was station officer), for "practice" :D.

I think that whilst he had the car, there was the temptation for him to drive it, but once it was gone, he never mentioned driving again. It was a rather drastic step, but it worked for us. (y)

Not knowing the OP's family member and their capabilities, I can't provide any guidance, apart from they will need to do what they feel comfortable with

Cheers

Trevor

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Jaws

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You can't tittle tattle tale tell if there are no tales to tell. .. I suppose you could just make it up.
My money too is on the Police being the informant.
Let's hope she passes the medical with flying colours. Of course ..if she doesn't then someone's life may have been saved.
Sorry but the opening remark shows a lack of how the real world now works.
An ex neighbour was reported for child abuse.
He lost his job, was ostracised from a social club he had been a member of for many years and was abused in the street.
He always denied it as did all his family members.
It eventually came out it was down to aa anonymous letter sent to the police saying the person who sent it SUSPECTED there was a issue.
It was all completely groundless, the originator was found out but was never prosecuted or even offered an apology.

People can be very malicious.. And the way today's powers that be work need zero proof or grounds to act before ruining others lives
 
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We have a scheme here run and funded by North Wales Police and Flintshire Council, any one over 60 can apply for and take a driving assessment, it is an advisory course and results do not affect your licence, both me and my wife took the test and found it very reassuring (in my case I had a compulsory test pending because of medical grounds) incidentally both of us got advised we were not looking over our right shoulders enough when pulling out to overtake.
 
Dec 28, 2011
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[QUOTE=") incidentally both of us got advised we were not looking over our right shoulders enough when pulling out to overtake.[/QUOTE]

Known to motorcyclists as "The life saver"

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mariner

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We have a scheme here run and funded by North Wales Police and Flintshire Council, any one over 60 can apply for and take a driving assessment, it is an advisory course and results do not affect your licence, both me and my wife took the test and found it very reassuring (in my case I had a compulsory test pending because of medical grounds) incidentally both of us got advised we were not looking over our right shoulders enough when pulling out to overtake.

If you are driving a car or van etc why would you look over your right shoulder when overtaking?
 
Dec 28, 2011
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If you are driving a car or van etc why would you look over your right shoulder when overtaking?

To look into the blind spot that your mirrors can't see into.
That way you can see if there is any other traffic alongside you or overtaking you.
That is why it is known as the life saver.
It is taught by instructors when you are learning to drive, but like a lot of other things that are taught, it is forgotten as soon as the test is passed.

Nothing personal, just an explanation. (y)



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mariner

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If you have a blind spot in the drivers (offside) mirror then I suggest you get it changed. I can understand Motorcyclists and Cyclists doing it but not in a vehicle.
A glance to the right will tell you if anyone is alongside you, but IMO to physically turn your head to look back over your right shoulder, is not only unnecessary but also dangerous. If the vehicle you are about to overtake, makes any unexpected manoeuvre, while you are busy looking over your shoulder, you are in trouble.
In any case you will have checked your mirrors long before indicating and starting your overtaking manoeuvre.

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GeebeeJaybee

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There have been too many incidents in the past year where "older" drivers have lost control or had poor reactions causing injuries - culminating in the shocking accident in Liverpool last week.

I am sure that driver thought she was perfectly safe too!

Even if your sister is a wonderful driver - it can't hurt to follow procedure, after all if she is a good driver she has nothing to worry about.

I actually think we all (regardles of age) should have to take a refresher course every 10 years. A car is a very heavy and dangerous weapon if used incorrectly!
 

sdc77

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The life saver is in fact being aware to what's going on around you at all times and using your mirrors correctly in order to know what's behind or to the side of you . I can't believe people are being taught to .. in effect.. look backwards.
 

mariner

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The life saver is in fact being aware to what's going on around you at all times and using your mirrors correctly in order to know what's behind or to the side of you . I can't believe people are being taught to .. in effect.. look backwards.

No, nor can I!
If I was with a driver who was constantly turning his/her head to look behind when in a forward motion, I would request to be dropped off at the next bus stop!

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The problem is that age is an easy target, each and every day I see numerous examples of diabolical drivers of all ages but because they have not yet been labeled we just accept that they are bad drivers and leave it at that. Whistle-blowers should be put forward for treatment at dignitas.
 
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If you have a blind spot in the drivers (offside) mirror then I suggest you get it changed. I can understand Motorcyclists and Cyclists doing it but not in a vehicle.
A glance to the right will tell you if anyone is alongside you, but IMO to physically turn your head to look back over your right shoulder, is not only unnecessary but also dangerous. If the vehicle you are about to overtake, makes any unexpected manoeuvre, while you are busy looking over your shoulder, you are in trouble.
In any case you will have checked your mirrors long before indicating and starting your overtaking manoeuvre.


The life saver is in fact being aware to what's going on around you at all times and using your mirrors correctly in order to know what's behind or to the side of you . I can't believe people are being taught to .. in effect.. look backwards.


There are blind spots on all vehicles, hence the fitment of blind spot mirrors on larger vehicles now, including transit type vans and motorhomes.
Changing the mirrors will never alter that.

You are glancing over your right shoulder, not turning round.
 

Badknee

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I wonder if the lady mentioned has done something silly and been seen? Even running over a kerb turning left, hesitant when manoeuvring could bring the attention of plod.

As far as life savers are concerned if your telling me that you have never ever " lost" a vehicle, bike, cyclist, pedestrian in a blind spot that every vehicle has your very lucky......... Or you didn't see it.

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No, nor can I!
If I was with a driver who was constantly turning his/her head to look behind when in a forward motion, I would request to be dropped off at the next bus stop!

I hope you never have to sit a retest, because you will be marked down everytime you fail to carry out the correct safety checks.
If I was with a driver who failed to observe other road users and pedestrians I would be sat on the bus next to you.
 

mariner

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I hope you never have to sit a retest, because you will be marked down everytime you fail to carry out the correct safety checks.
If I was with a driver who failed to observe other road users and pedestrians I would be sat on the bus next to you.
I do know that if I turn my head to look over my shoulder, whilst in a forward motion, I will be marked down for not being in proper control of a moving vehicle.
A glance to the right does not involve looking over your right shoulder, unless of course, one is seriously deformed!
 

Puddleduck

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In which case do what they do sometimes for family matters in the USA ... have an 'intervention' with several family members and tell him straight!

This doesn't always work unfortunately.

Done that Minxy Girl and all we got was rant and rave, bad language, and he was perfectly safe to drive as he's been driving for almost 70 years and never had a serious accident (although he did admit there have been incidents when he has reversed into posts and gone over red lights. He then said young people have more accidents that older drivers etc etc etc....... but would not listen when told that we were talking about him and not anyone else. That is why the DVLA were told.

He was also told by a hospital consultant not to drive until he has had an eye test but when being taken for tests by a hospital porter asked the porter about driving! The porter was foreign and probably didn't understand the full implications and said it would probably be okay in a day or two!!! Good enough for a stubborn man.

The DVLA were notified that the assessment had been done by the nurse and not the Dr but nothing was done. When I queried the practice I was told this happens in a lot of health practices.

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Dec 28, 2011
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I do know that if I turn my head to look over my shoulder, whilst in a forward motion, I will be marked down for not being in proper control of a moving vehicle.
A glance to the right does not involve looking over your right shoulder, unless of course, one is seriously deformed!


I've just sat here and glanced to my right and discovered my right shoulder, which I can look over and past, so I guess that makes me seriously deformed.

Can you tell me how you arrived at your assumption that you will be marked down for not being in proper control of a moving vehicle if you turn your head to look over your shoulder please.
 

Emmit

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Frightening that "big brother dvla" will act on the word of another individual presumably without knowing whether a malicious act or not, or indeed is qualified to judge whether a person is a safe driver or not.
Never heard of this happening before :Eeek:

I'll put my hand up then.

SWMBO's Dad had a stroke at the age of 82yrs and as a result lost most of the use of his right side function. Prior to this he was completely right side dominant.

After a period of time he said that he was going to drive again. It was pointed out to him that his car was a manual gearbox and as gently as we could, we pointed out to him that he would not be safe driving.
Cantankerous old sod that he was, he continued to insist that he was going to recommence driving so I 'blobbed' him to his Dr. and also to DVLA who took his licence off him.

I've got a clear conscience about it.
 

GeebeeJaybee

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Frightening that "big brother dvla" will act on the word of another individual presumably without knowing whether a malicious act or not, or indeed is qualified to judge whether a person is a safe driver or not.
Never heard of this happening before :Eeek:
The other side of the argument is what would be said if someone reported a driver to the DVLA and they didn't act on the information.
Imagine the headlines "DVLA ignored reports of unsafe driver who kills 6 at bus stop".
I think they have a duty of care to act and investigate - after all they have only (in this case) asked for a report, they haven't issued a ban just on someone's complaint.

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