Licence renewal at 70

[Kennyb]

Hi , this might be answered somewhere else ,so apologies if it has ,my licence is now due have nearly reached 70 and not sure what I have to do, my situation is my camper is less than the 3500kg mark but I pull a trailer with my motorbike and gear onboard which is still under the 3500kg but when I have the car on the A frame with all the gear onboard I think I’ll be over the 3500kg (on the weigh bridge some time next week) so if that’s the case will I have to have C1 licence & medical that comes with it ,thanks

 

[Exwindsurfer]

As long as the van your driving is under three and a half ton you don’t need a C1 and you still aloud to tow

 

[r4dent]

If you can keep C1 I recommend that you do.

My understanding is there is not a medical at 70. You just have to confirm that you do not have any of a list of medical conditions. If you do have any you may require a medical.

I lost my c1 because of insulin injections for diabetes when I was about 69 1/2. I was going to try and keep it.

 

[Kennyb]

Hi, thanks Exwindsurfer for the reply, and r4dent the form say,s if I want to keep my mini bus /medium size vehicle with a MAM wt of 3500-7500 kg you must fill in a D2 form along with a D4 form with doctors medical certification.

 

[Full Member]

Hi, thanks Exwindsurfer for the reply, and r4dent the form say,s if I want to keep my mini bus /medium size vehicle with a MAM wt of 3500-7500 kg you must fill in a D2 form along with a D4 form with doctors medical certification.

That's exactly what I did at 70 years of age and at 73 years of age, Kenny. The D4 form requires an eye examination (my local Boots optician did this and completed the form for free but I did need new spectacles which had to be paid for) and a doctor at my usual practice did the medical, though I was examined by a doctor other than the doctor I am registered with. They made a charge for the examination (about £180 from memory).

The application form (I don't recall the number but, as you mention, it could be D2) is a multipurpose affair which is badly designed in my view. The accompanying booklet provides at least some guidance but I kept a photocopy of the first application (at age 70) which made the second application (at age73) much easier! The (~£17) fee I enclosed with the first application was returned. The second time I didn't enclose a payment. The need or otherwise for a fee is one of the things that is not too clear!
The licence was with me about 2 weeks after posting - and I used 'signed-for' post.
One final point. I applied about 50 days before my licence expired at age 70 and the new licence was dated from expiry of the licence at age 70. I also applied for the second licence about 50 days before the first licence ran out. This time the new licence was dated from the date of processing, so I 'lost' about 40 days. I contacted DVLA to discuss this and it's just what they do! The logic of that escapes me.

I hope this helps, Kenny.

Colin

 

[Kennyb]

Hi, thanks for the input everyone luckily today there was a road check for HGV vehicles on the A19 and as they were packing up for the day I pulled in and quizzed one of them , I’m okay to lose my entitlement as Exwindsurfer suggested as long as the car +gear doesn’t exceed the towing capacity of my camper which is in my case 2000kg so everything will be fine but he suggested to load both car and camper with the stuff I take away with me and go to the weigh bridge,just as a precaution ,he said if your pulled you can show the ticket but we will disregard it and do our own measurements but it shows willingness, So I have just renewed my licence on line no fee involved and I’m off to the weigh bridge tomorrow,so once again thanks for your input.

 

[maingate]

Just received my D2/D4 forms today to renew again. I also lost around 2 months by sending off the forms early. This time I will get the forms filled in early but will post them just before the expiry date. If the DVSA have a backlog, I can claw back a few days.

I think someone stated earlier that they made a copy of the 2 forms for reference next time the renewal is due. That is sound advice.

 

[Trotter]

The advice given here is correct. One word of warning, as Colin pointed out. Don’t apply to early. The new license will take effect at the time of issue. As an example, I didn’t want to continue with my HGV entitlement, sent my license off in good time for its 21 November renewal date. Which was my intended retirement date. The new license came back on the 8th , dated from the 3rd November. I can only suppose I’d been driving illegally that week. I had to phone my employer to give them the good news that, 1, they needed to cover my shift at short notice, and 2, I wouldn’t be in again.
I’d lost a couple of weeks wages because of this. But to be honest, the extra eternity leave more than made up for it.

 

[Clunegapyears]

And check the form carefully. James’ Dr made an error and the form was rejected. Just an issue for us as we were waiting to travel abroad and the EU don’t recognise that you can drive whilst your application l is pending.

 

[Nosmo king]

And check the form carefully. James’ Dr made an error and the form was rejected. Just an issue for us as we were waiting to travel abroad and the EU don’t recognise that you can drive whilst your application l is pending.

I had exactly the same problem, doctor f***ed up with one question/answer, caused me 6 questionair papers and 2 months before I got my C1 back grrrrrr

 

[Trotter]

No . Your doctor gave the right answer but the Dvla thought it was a prescription and tried to take it twice a day with water.

 

[Kennyb]

Hi, thanks for the input everyone luckily today there was a road check for HGV vehicles on the A19 and as they were packing up for the day I pulled in and quizzed one of them , I’m okay to lose my entitlement as Exwindsurfer suggested as long as the car +gear doesn’t exceed the towing capacity of my camper which is in my case 2000kg so everything will be fine but he suggested to load both car and camper with the stuff I take away with me and go to the weigh bridge,just as a precaution ,he said if your pulled you can show the ticket but we will disregard it and do our own measurements but it shows willingness, So I have just renewed my licence on line no fee involved and I’m off to the weigh bridge tomorrow,so once again thanks for your input.

Well just got my licence back today everting is fine ,with no loss of driving days due to early renewal

 

[wildebus]

It looks like you have got a new entitlement as well? AM, dated from 4 Dec this year.
Is this a change you were expecting?

 

[GeoffL]

I suspect that "AM" is a replacement for (or additional to) "P". Both are mopeds but "AM" has a top speed between 25 and 45 km/h while "P" has a top speed between 45 and 50 km/h. Anyone passing their test early enough had automatic moped entitlement as a 'grandfather's right'.