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Q. What are the medical rules I need to follow?
Q. What about eye-sight tests?
Q. What is the medical position if I've been disqualified for drink-driving?
Q. What if I lose my licence or need to change my name/address?
Q. What if I want to drive a minibus?
Q. What if I want to drive a bus?
Q. What if I want to tow a trailer?
Q. Learner motorcyclists (Including learner moped riders)
Q. Provisional licence Conditions/restrictions (Motorcycles)
Q. How long do endorsements stay on a licence for?
Q. The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act, 1995
Q. Short Period Disqualification
Q. When can I supervise a learner?
A. Learner drivers must be supervised. To supervise a learner driver you must be at least 21 years old and have held a full EC/EEA licence for at least 3 years. Anyone who does not comply with these requirements could be liable to a maximum fine of £1000, discretionary disqualification or 3-6 penalty points (as could the learner driver).
Q. What are the medical rules I need to follow?
A. DVLA (Drivers Medical Unit, Swansea, 5A991TU) MUST be told at once if:-You now have any physical or mental disability which affects your fitness as a driver or which might do so in the future. This includes dependency on or misuse of alcohol or illicit drugs;
You may come to know in the future that you have such a disability or condition.
If you are informing the DVLA about a medical condition, please write to the address above giving your driver number or full name and date of birth and tell them what the medical condition is in as much detail as possible.
If you are in any doubt about whether you need to notify DVLA, you should ask your doctor for advice or write to the Drivers Medical Unit at the above address or telephone the Customer Enquiries Unit on 01792 772151. The medical rules are explained more fully in leaflet D100 (obtainable at Post Offices).
Q. What is the medical position if I've been disqualified for drink-driving?
A. Tighter rules apply to drivers who have been disqualified for certain drink/driving offences. Such drivers will not regain their licence until they have satisfied the Medical Adviser at DVLA that any drink problem they may have had is under control and that there is unlikely to be any road safety risk if they drive.Drivers will be affected if they have:-
A) been disqualified for having a proportion of alcohol in the body which equalled or exceeded-
87.5 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath, or
200 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of blood, or
267.5 milligrammes per 100 millilitres of urine, or
B) two disqualifications within 10 years for drink/driving; or
C) one disqualification for failure to provide a specimen for analysis.
Before the period of disqualification ends, DVLA will write to drivers telling them what will happen when they apply for the return of their licences.
Q. What if I lose my licence or need to change my name/address?
A. Before sending your driving licence to the DVLA ensure that you have a copy of your entitlement, preferably a photocopy of the licence itself. Occasions have recently come to light where the DVLA have sent licences back with the previous entitlements stripped from them. This would mean that if you passed your test before the 1st January, 1997, although you are entitled to drive a vehicle up to 7.5 tonnes, your new licence would allow you to drive only up to 3.5 tonnes. You have been warned! If you need your driving licence for any special purpose, you should check well in advance that you have your licence, that all your details are correct and that it would remain valid during the time you need it. It does not matter whether you hold a paper licence or a new photocard licence just so long as it is valid for the time you need to have it available to you. This is particularly important because the Agency now only issues photocard driving licences. Paper licences already in circulation will remain valid provided their details are correct. However, if you need to replace your paper licence for any reason you will need to complete a special application form (D750). You will be required to provide original identity documents (passport or birth certificate) and a colour photograph when you apply for your first photocard, so it is not quite as straightforward as when you last applied for a paper licence. Allow yourself some time to get your photograph and your documents together and allow the DVLA a minimum of three weeks (15 working days) to return your identity document/s to you. Your photocard licence will be sent to you separately but within the same timescale.Remember that if you currently hold a paper driving licence and you need a new licence for any reason, you must apply for a photocard licence. The special application form, D750, available at post offices and also issued by DVLA and other selected bodies, must accompany your normal licence application. If you do not send a correctly completed D750 form along with your licence application, your application will be returned to you. Full details of the arrangements for issue of the D750 form are provided below.
Under road traffic legislation, the form of the driving licence that is issued and the requirements of the application process are determined by the Secretary of State.
Q. What if I want to drive a minibus?
A. 1. Car licences held before 1 January 1997 - if you had car entitlement before 1 January 1997 - group A (B for automatics) on old licences or category B and D1 not for hire or reward on new licences - you can drive a minibus provided you are 21 or over, the minibus has a maximum of 16 passenger seats and is not being used for hire or reward. To drive a minibus which has over 8 passenger seats for hire or reward you will normally need passenger carrying vehicle entitlement (PCV) category D1 or D. To obtain this you must meet higher medical standards and take a further driving test.New rules from 1 January 1998 - your minibus entitlement will remain valid in the UK and on temporary visits abroad until your licence is renewed on or after 1 January 1998. When your licence is renewed, your minibus entitlement (D1, D1+E not for hire or reward) can only be issued if you make a special application which will involve meeting higher medical standards.
In general, car licences have to be renewed when drivers reach the age of 70 but younger drivers with restricted medical licences will also be affected by the new rules. All drivers may drive non-commercial minibuses in the circumstances explained below.
2. If you pass a car test on or after 1 January 1997 you may only drive vehicles with no more than 8 passenger seats. To drive vehicles between 9 and 16 passenger seats (category D1) you will need to meet higher medical standards and pass an appropriate test. But you will be able to drive a minibus with up to 16 passenger seats without holding category D1provided:
i) you drive on behalf of a non-commercial body for social purposes, but not for hire or reward;
ii) you are aged 21 or over;
iii) you have held a car licence for at least 2 years;
iv) you are providing your services on a voluntary basis, and
v) the minibus weight is no more than 3.5 tonnes excluding any specialist equipment for the carriage of disabled passengers, or no more than 4.25 tonnes in certain circumstances.
vi) you are able to meet health standards for driving a vehicle, if you are aged 70 or over.
When driving a minibus under these conditions you may not receive any payment other than out of pocket expenses, or tow any size trailer; you may only drive minibuses in this country. Drivers aged 70 or over will need to make a special application which involves meeting higher medical standards.
NOTE ALL DRIVERS: If you drive a permit minibus in the UK - you cannot take a permit minibus abroad if it is used for hire or reward unless you hold
either PCV D1 or D entitlement.
Q. Learner motorcyclists (Including learner moped riders)
A. Since 1 January 1997 ALL LEARNER moped and motorcycle riders irrespective of when a licence was issued MUST complete a Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) course before riding a moped or motorcycle on the road. When you successfully complete CBT you will be issued with a Certificate of Completion (DL196) which is valid for 3 years. Keep your certificate safe because you will need to show it to the examiner when you take your moped or motorcycle practical test, and you may need to show it to the Police if necessary. The requirement to complete CBT does NOT apply to those riders who:are learning to ride a motorcycle and who have already obtained full moped entitlement as a result of passing a moped test on or after 1 December 1990;
are riding a moped with the full entitlement given automatically with a car licence.
Your motorcycle dealer or local council road safety officer can give information on local CBT courses - also see adverts in local papers and telephone directories - or contact the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) on 0115 901 2595.
Q. Provisional licence Conditions/restrictions (Motorcycles)
A. At age 17, and after successfully completing CBT, a learner may ride a motorcycle up to 125cc (1lkW/14.6bhp). At age 21 learners have direct access to any size bike over 125cc but must be accompanied by a fully qualified instructor. If you do not have a full car or moped licence you must apply for provisional motorcycle entitlement which is valid for two years. If you do not pass a test during this period you will lose your motorcycle entitlement for one year. If during the 2 year period you want to give up riding motorcycles, you may ask to have category A removed from your licence.You must use application form D1, available at Post Offices. If you want to ride motorcycles again you will have to apply for an exchange licence. You can reapply for a provisional motorcycle licence on a D1 form. If your last provisional motorcycle licence was held more than a year ago your new provisional motorcycle licence will be valid for a full two years. Otherwise you can reclaim the months left on your licence when you give it up (NOTE: you cannot reclaim within 2 months of giving up your motorcycle licence and there must be a whole month left to reclaim). A provisional moped licence is usually valid until the holder's 70th birthday.Moped riders on reaching the age of 17 may obtain a provisional motorcycle
licence. If you do not ask for motorcycle cover, your licence will not be extended
automatically - you must apply for it. Do this on form D1 which you can get from Post Offices. Send your application to DVLA with your licence and fee (the amount is shown on the form). Provisional motorcycle entitlement issued with full licences for motor cars, motor tricycles and mopeds (categories B, B1 and P) is usually valid until the holder's 70th birthday - but the CBT requirements and other learner restrictions still apply.
Q. How long do endorsements stay on a licence for?
A. Endorsements remain on a licence for:11 years from date of conviction for offences relating to drink/drugs and driving, causing death by careless driving whilst under the influence of drink/drugs and causing death by careless driving then failing to provide a specimen for analysis;
4 years from date of conviction for reckless/dangerous driving and offences resulting in disqualification;
4 years from the date of offence in all other cases.
At the appropriate time, you can apply to remove your endorsement(s) from your licence by completing a D1 application form available from Post Offices.
Q. The Road Traffic (New Drivers) Act, 1995
A. This Act will affect you if you first passed a driving test on or after 1 June 1997. If you reach 6 or more penalty points within two years of passing that test (the probationary period) DVLA will automatically revoke your licence on being notified by a court or fixed penalty office. You will then have to obtain a provisional licence, drive as a learner and pass the theory and practical test again in order to regain your full driving licence.Penalty points counting towards the total of 6 include any you incurred before passing the test, as long as the offence took place not more than 3 years before the latest penalty point offence. Points imposed after the probationary period will also count if the offence was committed during that period.
Passing the retest will not remove the penalty points from your licence, and if the total reaches 12, you are liable to be disqualified by a court.
Q. Short Period Disqualification
A. If you were disqualified for less than 56 days, the court will stamp your licence and give it back to you. The stamp will tell you how long you are disqualified for. You do not need to renew your licence when the Short Period Disqualification ends. Your licence becomes valid again the day after the expiry of the disqualification.