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Driving under section 88

Mick H

Member
Messages
14
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Has anyone had a delay waiting for their driving licence being renewed by DVLA, mine expired a couple of weeks ago even though I returned the forms as soon as I received them in September.
I phoned them to enquire about carrying on driving while they process my application and they told about section 88 of the road traffic act which can allow you to drive while waiting for your licence renewal.
They sent me a letter explaining how it works but it seems a bit vague, do I need a letter of fitness to drive from a doctor or do I just carry on as it says if you haven't been told not to drive by a doctor to carry on as normal.
If anyone has a definite answer could they please let me know
 
heres relevant info.


was it renewal of medical license? if so online application usually is MUCH MUCH faster!

Renew your short-term medical driving licence

Reapply for a short-term medical driving licence issued for 1, 2, 3 or 5 years because of a medical condition
www.gov.uk

presuming was medical license and previously filled in diab1 if u didn't fill in the past you'll require to do so or if treatment type changed at all. diab1 can be printed off and sent from this page: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diab1-confidential-medical-information

ps. they wrote to my consultant when changed from normal license to medical. was allowed to drive whilst waiting.
 
I tried to apply online last time but was denied, I also have glaucoma and I had a seizure 4 years ago so there's quite a bit of investigation for them to do.
I 'll try online next time and see how I go but thanks for the info, much appreciated
 
renewal is usually smoother shame that was denied unless was any changes reported at the same time should of been relatively straight forward.

first pdf link contains section88 in full.

Their medical team telephone number is: 0300 790 6806 which i found staff to be rather evasive trying to get direct reply to relatively simple queries, nevermind something that could be a little more complicated

gl
 
I phoned them and found them evasive as well, they're covering their own backs
 
Mick H said:
I tried to apply online last time but was denied, I also have glaucoma and I had a seizure 4 years ago so there's quite a bit of investigation for them to do.
I 'll try online next time and see how I go but thanks for the info, much appreciated
Click to expand...
If you've got more than 1 medical condition that DVLA require to be notified of, eg glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy etc, then you can't do it online even if there haven't been changes in your condition (or you couldn't last time I applied) - very frustrating.
 
I drove for almost a year under section 88 after my Gp made a mistake on my form that deemed me unfit to drive. By the time this was sorted out I had to re-apply for my driving licence. I had no problem driving under section 88 I was never stopped.
 
It's annoying, when I applied 3 years ago they didn't get my licence processed in time, the excuse was a backlog due to covid, I don't know what the problem is this time. I didn't drive at all last time as I could get a lift to work but that's not the case now
 
Sarah69 said:
I drove for almost a year under section 88 after my Gp made a mistake on my form that deemed me unfit to drive. By the time this was sorted out I had to re-apply for my driving licence. I had no problem driving under section 88 I was never stopped.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that, it puts my mind at ease
 
I also drove under a section 88 when there was a backlog due to Covid. Because someone on this site had said you needed a medical letter to say you were fit to drive, I got one from the Consultant.
 
Thanks, my DSN is based at my GP's surgery and would probably have to okay it with a doctor so I'm back to square one, I'll give it a try but I'm not hopeful
 
My licence has been restricted to 3 years due to sleep apnoea and during Covid the renewal was not done before the renewal date was well past, but I continued to drive as I had no reason to believe that it would be denied.
Eventually a new licence turned up and all was well, but I had to see the GP just when restrictions were being lifted and confirmed that as long as you had a valid licence to begin with and there was no reason for disqualification, it was OK to go on driving.
 
Mick H said:
Thanks, my DSN is based at my GP's surgery and would probably have to okay it with a doctor so I'm back to square one, I'll give it a try but I'm not hopeful
Click to expand...
I would double check that they may just be an actual DSN if they are using that title. Most GP surgeries just have a dedicated general nurse that does clinics & has a bit more knowledge. I’m very lucky that my surgery does have a fully qualified DSN who does 3 different GP surgeries on a part time basis
 
 
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