well i hit the big five oh in september and i finally received my medical call up papers after spending 42 minutes on hold to find out when they were planning to send them out to me.
so today i am £90 lighter, thanks NHS for supporting keyworkers (disengage sarcasm mode).
so i have a few questions that don’t seem to be covered at least as far as i can see on the government site.
can someone tell how long it is likely to take for the DVLA to process them and will they get back in touch with me to let me know that everything is ok? ( i’m hearing horror stories of long
processing times due to people being furloughed and industrial action as well).
can i still drive if they haven’t processed them by the time of my 50th birthday?
there was no return envelope to send the medical form back to the DVLA, does anyone know the exact address to send it to the right department?
all help, advice and useful comments greatly appreciated.
Yes you can continue to drive under Section 88 of the Road Traffic Act whilst DVLA are processing the paperwork as long as you believe there is no reason you’d be refused. Make sure to send the forms back recorded delivery so you have proof you sent them.
The address will be on the form or the paperwork you got.
my medical was £100…paid back to me by my Company,of course.
think it took 7 weeks to get my licence back…and as Conor said,you can drive under Section 88,for up to 1 year…and dvla have to notify you if your application has failed.
In assuming that if one changes one’s driving licence photo slightly before your medical is due, you don’t need to do the medical itself for another five year period.
I’m sure we’ve had a thread here about it.
Just looking at the envelope I have to send off tomorrow for same thing. Its the postcode which is important.
Just read the non D4 form very carefully as there’s a bit for example where it asks of you’re renewing lorry or bus, then under that it has a box for renewing photo. Except according tp the booklet, that second option means “I don’t want to renew my hgv / bus” and overrides the top one.
Also ignore the bit about proving identity which looks like you need a passport, except if you ignore the form and booklet, but look on the back of the form notes then you find you ignore that bit except changing name.
Only a committee could create this form! It is absolutely stupid, but we know how stupid DVLA are now.
£90 sounds about right if its with a doctors practice. Doctors practices are essentially private businesses that work almost exclusively for the NHS , they can charge what they like. I always use my GP for my medical rather than some dodgy doctor on wheels type who doesn’t know you from Adam. My medical at 50 picked up a long term condition, I was given advice on how to control it and it made a 100% difference to my life. It’s the only time my doctor sees me
Most likely used his own GP so his medical records are up to date,instead of some w/e wally, who will never been seen again after making a few extra bob,
Absolutely. That’s why you should always have your car serviced at a main dealer rather than a well equipped garage with fully trained and certified mechanics who’ll do the same job for half the price.
I had this fiasco to deal with a couple of months ago. My license expired 2 weeks before I got the replacement, thanks to the wife not sending my envelope recorded delivery when I asked her to post it!! My employer is mega ■■■■ and wouldnt let me drive under S88 as I had no proof of sending it. I ended up having to take holiday and a couple of days unpaid.
From sending it by normal post, to receiving it back took 6 weeks.
Regarding the medical, I used motormedicals. Cost me £49. Was spot on.
GP quoted me £150!! Ive used GP a long time ago and they didnt do any more tests than the cheap one did. BP, height, weight, brief eye test, and asking all the questions off the form. Id never use GP for it again.
(employer paid for medical, I refused to use GP on principal, plus the GP couldnt fit me in for another 2 weeks which would have been a disaster in the circumstances!)
Id be amazed if a HGV medical would uncover any underlying health issues that you couldnt work out yourself by buying a £20 BP monitor or a pair of scales!
Swordsy:
My employer is mega ■■■■ and wouldnt let me drive under S88 as I had no proof of sending it.
Forgot about this good point, op me sure you:
Copy x2 all pages of the D4 after medical
Copy x3 all pages of the other form.
Send recorded / special delivery!
Copy x3 the receipt from post office
Copy x3 the “delivered” page from Royal Mail.
Copy x3 your existing licence.
Keep all that safe and if its at risk of running out, give one copy to your employer, keep one lot with you in your truck stuff and one in the car. That way you can drive under section 88. Technically you don’t need the D4 for the car.
I know it sounds extreme, but if stopped your class 1 / 2 will say “expired” and your overal licence status will be “expired on x date”. Just fully covers you in all cases.
Employers can’t let you drive under section 88 without proof of a valid licence so this is what mine said. Got to take it all in Monday as had to take 2 weeks hols and a week unpaid partly due to failing first medical and part due to forms being late to arrive.
With regards medicals - had 2, one with hotel doc and one with GP for £60 and £95. Hotel one included having to drive 60 miles just to fail on blood pressure so went to GP which is 2 miles, got that sorted and he did a more extensive medical some abdominal summut and circulation checks.
Dr’s medicals are private not NHS which is why they can charge wildly different amounts. Bit like NHS dentists who don’t work for NHS really.
As for £20 BP meter, can I recommend people buy one like the docs use either A&D or Omron as we have 4 of them now. Omron and A&D give pretty identical results, other 2 give wildly different from 20 points higher to 30 points lower. Wrist ones seem to be the most inaccurate, keeps telling me my head has exploded.
thanks to all those who have helped especially the S88 part, that is real useful to know and i always send the stuff to the DVLA recorded/signed for as well.
and yes i went to my local GP as other options weren’t available in the time frame i have. i also have to get a separate eye test as the doctor no longer does this and it has to be done by an optician, and yes i did argue the point with my GP. the eye test is on thursday so i hope to have all this wrapped up by saturday with a little luck.
thanks for the correct address and postcode, i figure the postcode did play a big part of it and i didn’t want to give the DVLA an excuse in taking even longer in processing this stuff.
as for making copies of it all, yep i have used the ole mobile phone and photographed all of it.
the maoster:
Absolutely. That’s why you should always have your car serviced at a main dealer rather than a well equipped garage with fully trained and certified mechanics who’ll do the same job for half the price.
I’d really like to know where I can get a medical done so cheaply…
One of the few perks of holding down a full time contract these days - is that you get your medical paid for by the firm?
My own GP doesn’t seem to want to meet face-to-face with any of his patients at the moment, after an esteemed collegue of his (another asian GP) fell victim to Covid earlier in the year… “Sheds with Beds” medicals from 5 years ago - have long gone as well, of course. Paid £50 for that one, in a layby on the A21 Knowle Hill.
@Winseer i had to explain i was legally required to get this medical done and eventually i got a phone consultation with my local GP and did everything over the phone. he then told me that i would still have to come in for the blood pressure, weight and height stuff. he asked when i could attend and i told him i could be there in less than 5 minutes as i lived less than 1 mile from the surgery, so he said fine and i got that last lot done then and there.
the local surgery has four seats in it and they are only letting you in one at a time.
@Conor the address is not on the medical form, my wife and i have checked it twice.
@msgyorkie don’t rely on them sending the paperwork out to you, i had to chase them up on the phone and the girl at the DVLA confirmed nothing had been sent out…then asked if i wanted them to send it out to me! it arrived 48 hours later… then a duplicate lot of paperwork arrived 48 hours after that! you really have to love bureaucracy
I’m due my form any day now, assuming it doesn’t get held up too much by these wildcat strikes I’m hearing about happening at the DVLA, Swansea following 10% of the workforce going sick with Covid…
Thanks for the advice though. I’ll see if I can set up some kind of “over the phone” thing, which clearly won’t demand as much money as a full-on face-to-face medical back in the day…
the maoster:
Absolutely. That’s why you should always have your car serviced at a main dealer rather than a well equipped garage with fully trained and certified mechanics who’ll do the same job for half the price.
How the bloody hell do you compare a car service with peoples health , these cheap medicals you talk of as being as good as a doctors are not , nowhere near it and i know because I’ve done one & to this day regret it , £50 at a hotel next to pennels garden centre , Lincoln , 2 mins , are you diabetic , not sure , no then , eye sight , not sure , ok , it wwas cheap but in no way could you call it a medical , all it was was a easy
Way for some bloke purporting to be a doctor to earn a easy £50 , couldn’t give a ■■■■ about whether I or the conveyor belt of drivers comming through the doors health was at the level required to pass a hgv medical ,or give a ■■■■ about our general health , doctors totally the opposite in my experience , follow up tests are done if not happy , you won’t pass until you are fit enough too ,
Mind I don’t know why I’m replying to someone who thinks the answer to a broken seat on a lorry is put a seat cover on it , god knows what state the tip ( car ) you drive is in !!
