What a shit fest at the moment

Tezza

Tezza

Free Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2008
Posts
243
Likes collected
70
Location
South Wales
Funster No
3,966
MH
Benimar Mileo 286
Exp
around 26 years
AT the end of May I was in Durness 4 days into a two week holiday when i had a black out whilst riding my push bike, (57 years of age and never had any problems before) . As I incurred a head injury I was ambulanced down to Inverness.
After being seen in A&E and feeling fine I was released and advised not to drive, so the wife drove us home, shell shocked.

Lucky or not so lucky my wife works for neurologist and heart specialists and they have already seen me, set up tests, my Brain MRI and EEG have returned normal, my heart scan has been done and I currently await the results, with my stress test booked for 2 weeks time.

Yesterday received a letter from the DVLA to say licence revoked for 6 months from end of July and if no occurrences occur during this time I can reapply then, but then says I will lose the right to drive a vehicle over 3.5t, so this means my motorhome will be no good, as we increased it from 3.5 to 3.65 and with out the extra 150kg it's not much good to us.

So it's a bit of a shit fest all round at the moment, unless you good people can share some positive news about the last bit (licence restrictions), may be I have interpreted it incorrectly, any advice?
Feeling very down at the moment.
 
Can't help with the medical issue other than sympathy, which doesn't help of course. If you have to go back to 3500kg I would say just run at that and on the off chance that you get stopped you will have 125kg with the 5% over weighing allowance.

Martin
 
So sorry to hear that and let's hope you get better soon
 
EX51SSS said:
Don't think that's actually official,
Click to expand...
It would be close enough for me as there has to be a +- tolerance on their weighing machine calibration as nothing is 100% accurate.

www.pattersonlaw.co.uk

DVSA (VOSA) - Excess Weight Offences - Patterson Law

Overloading of a vehicle is governed by VOSA who impose strict penalties on drivers carrying excess weight for their vehicle, overweight van penalties, vehicle overloading. CU50 driving offences carry 3 penalty points. Have you been wrongly accused? We can help defend your driving licence
www.pattersonlaw.co.uk www.pattersonlaw.co.uk

Martin

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Thanks peeps, it's so new to me that I haven't had chance to look at alternatives yet, but we'll see, It says on the DVLA form no driving for 6 months from date of incident, so I am already 1 month down, but my licence isn't revoked until 29th July for some reason.

How do I fair on my insurance, can I insure my van if not holding a driving licence, wife can drive but she insures our other everyday scudo van.
 
Tezza said:
Thanks peeps, it's so new to me that I haven't had chance to look at alternatives yet, but we'll see, It says on the DVLA form no driving for 6 months from date of incident, so I am already 1 month down, but my licence isn't revoked until 29th July for some reason.

How do I fair on my insurance, can I insure my van if not holding a driving licence, wife can drive but she insures our other everyday scudo van.
Click to expand...
My mother in law insures "her car" for me to drive as her chauffeur as she can't drive anymore, the insurance company didn't want to do it at first but came round and then the price came down as well.

Martin

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Talk to who your insured with on your motorhome and see if your wife can be set up as the main driver. You do not have to be the registered keeper of a vehicle to be the named driver on an insurance policy for that vehicle.
 
Tezza said:
Thanks peeps, it's so new to me that I haven't had chance to look at alternatives yet, but we'll see, It says on the DVLA form no driving for 6 months from date of incident, so I am already 1 month down, but my licence isn't revoked until 29th July for some reason.

How do I fair on my insurance, can I insure my van if not holding a driving licence, wife can drive but she insures our other everyday scudo van.
Click to expand...
Wait until you get your licence back and in the meantime get it downplated. at 150kgs you will defintely not be the most overweight on the road. just don't run around with full tanks.

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Tezza said:
....... so this means my motorhome will be no good, as we increased it from 3.5 to 3.65 and with out the extra 150kg it's not much good to us.
Click to expand...

I hate to say it but about half of the Funster vans which were weighed at the recent Peterborough gathering were overweight so you wouldn't be on your own; more like in the majority IMO.
 
Our thoughts and sympathies are with you, as this sort of incident could happen to any one of us.
Hope all the test results and impending stress test go well for you.
I know its very early to think about van options like down plating or towing a trailer etc, but you have a one bonus over me in that your wife can legally drive the van, once you get the insurance sorted out.
TinaL lost her C1 through medical issues a few years back and I would need a prescription for strong sedatives if my she drove the van:imoutahere:
She no doubt would prescribe a taylor made mussel, and straight jacket harness for me.
Good luck all the best to you both.
Les & TinaL
 
jongood said:
It is actually. 5% per axle, Ive posted the reference before and can't be bothered to find it again. But actually what are the chances? Vosa are too busy chasing the Poles.
Click to expand...
AFAIK that's the leeway not the legal position. They are UNLIKELY to prosecute for less than 5% overweight so a sub 3.5 tonnes can LEGALLY run at 3.675 tonnes?
I certainly know that there isn't a position like that on commercial but once again, they're unlikely to prosecute

an overloaded vehicle can be fined as follows.....

up to 10% overweight = £60

10% up to, but not including 15% =£120

15% and over = £200

over 30% = court summons.....courts can impose a fine of up to £5000 PER AXLE. Tag axles beware !

no mention of penalty points but its not the end of the world if your just a bit over.
invalid insurance should be more of a concern

Text courtesy of pappajohn
 
Tezza said:
Yesterday received a letter from the DVLA to say licence revoked for 6 months from end of July and if no occurrences occur during this time I can reapply then, but then says I will lose the right to drive a vehicle over 3.5t, so this means my motorhome will be no good, as we increased it from 3.5 to 3.65 and with out the extra 150kg it's not much good to us.
Click to expand...
No known cause is the problem at the moment, you might not lose your c1, but obviously it’s hard o tell without reading the letter. I have sent you a PM
Good luck
 
Not wishing to be a bearer of bad news but.....
An aquintance recently had a triple heart bypass, not a problem but as an addition he had to have one of those onboard defibrillator things fitted at the same time.
DVLA were OK with this but his problem now is finding an insurer willing to insure him
He is Peruvian, a legal UK resident with a UK licence.

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rosalan can you help here?
Am I right in thinking you got your C1 back, although was in different circumstances I think.
 
Aye tell me about it. I got an MS diagnosis and every time I get my licence renewed there’s a bit missing. Can’t tow, can’t ride a motorbike, drive a tractor and I’ve lost my C1 also. I did contact our local traffic branch to ask what would happen as my Motorhome is 3850 kgs fully loaded, what would happen if i drove it when it was only lightly loaded and under 3500kgs. They said it was a grey area as I’d need to be stopped and put on a very rare weigh-bridge and that would be extremely unlikely. We decided it was too risky anyway so I navigate just and look after the dog and bickering kids.

But to the best of my limited knowledge you can request the reinstatement of your C1 after the 6 month safety period although you may need to retake a test to prove your competency.
 
EX51SSS said:
AFAIK that's the leeway not the legal position. They are UNLIKELY to prosecute for less than 5% overweight so a sub 3.5 tonnes can LEGALLY run at 3.675 tonnes?
I certainly know that there isn't a position like that on commercial but once again, they're unlikely to prosecute

an overloaded vehicle can be fined as follows.....

up to 10% overweight = £60

10% up to, but not including 15% =£120

15% and over = £200

over 30% = court summons.....courts can impose a fine of up to £5000 PER AXLE. Tag axles beware !

no mention of penalty points but its not the end of the world if your just a bit over.
invalid insurance should be more of a concern

Text courtesy of pappajohn
Click to expand...

HGV weight limit fines:
Amount over limitFine
5%-10%£100
10%-15%£200
15-30%£300
More than 30%Court summons

As you can see, the authorities allow a leeway of up to 5% before they hand out a fine, unless the excess weight is more than one tonne.

AFAIK the only time you would get points is if you were so dangerously loaded that operation was considered to be dangerous driving.

I really can't see you having in insurance issues with it as more than half the MH's on the road would be uninsured.

The other thing you can do is not to carry anything superfluous; don't run around with full tanks, chuck out the books and get a kindle or leave the wife behind...........
 
jongood said:
HGV weight limit fines:
Amount over limitFine
5%-10%£100
10%-15%£200
15-30%£300
More than 30%Court summons

As you can see, the authorities allow a leeway of up to 5% before they hand out a fine, unless the excess weight is more than one tonne.

AFAIK the only time you would get points is if you were so dangerously loaded that operation was considered to be dangerous driving.

I really can't see you having in insurance issues with it as more than half the MH's on the road would be uninsured.

The other thing you can do is not to carry anything superfluous; don't run around with full tanks, chuck out the books and get a kindle or leave the wife behind...........
Click to expand...
Yes I appreciate that and that's a leeway but it's not actually law otherwise the 44 tonne would run at 46 tonnes regularly with impunity?
 
Is the issue the weight you are carrying or the weight limit that the vehicle is?

So if you don’t have C1 on your license you can’t drive a vehicle that is in that category, regardless of how much it physically weighs. Or am I missing something.

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Landy Andy said:
Is the issue the weight you are carrying or the weight limit that the vehicle is?

So if you don’t have C1 on your license you can’t drive a vehicle that is in that category, regardless of how much it physically weighs. Or am I missing something.
Click to expand...
That's correct, if he is restricted to 3500kg then he cannot legally drive anything over that, end of. However, if he is 100kg overweight and didn't 'intentionally' drive like that (ie believed he was 3500kg) then the only thing he's likely to get is a warning, but it does depend on the circumstances at the time and the attitude of the official!
 
Landy Andy said:
Is the issue the weight you are carrying or the weight limit that the vehicle is?

So if you don’t have C1 on your license you can’t drive a vehicle that is in that category, regardless of how much it physically weighs. Or am I missing something.
Click to expand...

I am sorry for your predicament. I would wait and see what happens. Hopefully you will get your entitlement back. If not then there have been some good suggestions ... the trailer is a possibility. Or you could downrate your van back to 3500kg. The extra 150kg sounds like a lot but I bet we could all strip out some non essential ‘just in case’ items if necessary.
 
Good Morning all

Thanks for all the replies, it's good to talk and listen sometimes.

The issue I thought I had was not being able to drive the van at all, as I had it uprated to 3,650 from 3,500 to give me the much needed extra payload.
If I drop to 3,500 I can (fingers crossed) use the van but the loss of the 150kg makes the vans payload a decidedly dodgy 370kg.
 

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