Over 70 Driving Licence Renewal

DVLA delays were featured on BBC's Watchdog last night. Apparently They are taking on more agency staff at Swansea and Birmingham and hiring extra office space. So all will be well from this day forth,

What's that just flown past my window ? Oink

Absolutely pathetic, it's one excuse after another.

Tony

I'm always inclined to take news reports with a pinch of salt, but even so this hardly inspires confidence in the DVLA quality of management...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55785912

I renewed my license 18 months ago. Although not used for some time I did not wish (and felt agrieved) at losing the C, C1, D, D1 entitlements. It cost me £120 at the Docs and FOC at the opticians to get the application filled in appropriately. Doc was happy as taking no medications whatsoever.

I will repeat the exercise at 73. If I am fit enough to drive a quick sports car and to do scuba diving and drive 4-500 miles a day when required, I am fit enough to keep those entitlements should I wish to use them.

Colin

Older driving is in the news today; just listened to a discussion about proposals to address 'disproportionate deaths in over 70's drivers' by replacing prosecutions for driving without due care and attention with training, and introducing mandatory eye tests.

I thought mention of 'disproportionate deaths' was bit worrying but couldn't find any figures. Only the comment that over 70's drivers were three to four times less likely to be involved in an accident than men aged 17-21. No surprise there, young men are crazed on testosterone!

Anyway, I've reached the age were I'm keeping a critical eye on my driving and found this list from The Older Drivers Forum who suggest looking out for the following signs:

Since retiring 18 months ago at 70 my mileage has dropped from between 20-35 thousand miles a year (all round the UK) to around 16 thousand. Have done over 6000 in last 7 months in Caterham 7 (Scottish Borders twice, Peak District twenty plus times, Tours round Wales, plus various other locations. My view is if you don't keep driving you will lose the ability to concentrate and your reaction times etc will suffer.

As with Dave (SOD) I live in a village where a car is a necessity (no buses or other public transport).

Colin

My licence ran out start of January after many months waiting for a DVLA eye test I got in touch with my local MP she sorted it in two weeks after contacting the head of DVLA medical centre.

I did not drive when my licence ended after a few months asked my Doctor if I could still drive as there is provision for that he said yes but I was cautious I decided not to.

When my license arrived it said do not drive before the new licence start date.

My eye problem is static and been like that since an accident in abut 1960 after the last DVLA eye test decided to have the hospital eye clinic check if any change since it was diagnosed 20 years ago there was no change.

As I had a temporary eye infection when doing the licence test was concerned as I thought had failed test.

Just processed my over 70 driving licence, it expires in Feb 22.

They ask to cut old licence in half and send back? when? Now or on receipt of the new one.

I have printed out the applicaton number so am covered by that, so it says?

Clive

Best keep your current licence until it expires then do as requested.
Your new licence will continue from the expiry date of your current licence.

Emgee

Mine will be due in about 10 months. Wondering how early I should apply to renew? Already have a plastic version.

Re night driving.

I am 69 but have disliked night-driving for a long time - over the last 20 years at least. Not just over-60.

I will qualify that though. I don't mind driving at night on empty roads.

The main problem is that headlamps have become far brighter with very intense, long beams of bluish-white light, even if correctly set. It started with halogen bulbs, and some motorists liked to fit ones of higher power than the regulation 60W; and continues with l.e.d. types.

On top of that a lot of drivers have no idea of their headlamp ranges, and even on long straights don't dip until within a hundred yards or so - then often flash them back to full just as the cars start to pass.

I find the most tiring though is wiggly roads with intermittent traffic even when everyone is dipping their lamps as soon as they see the glow round the next bend, but the overall effect is a sequence of random, frequent changes to dip always when you need the most light. If I know the road - as I do with the A37 Dorchester-Yeovil - I will usually leave the lamps on dip for a few seconds, to lessen the effect and assess if anyone else is coming.

I mention that route because it is generally open with long straights and gentle curves for about 15 miles to the county boundary, then becomes narrower and twisty with blind bends.

'''

I am certainly less confident about intense urban driving even in daylight; but much of that is lack of experience of city conditions. I could never have driven to Alexandra Palace (returning in the dark too), even in my 30s.

I won't return to Doncaster despite enjoying the 2019 exhibition - I had not expected the race-course to be practically in the city-centre; guarded by heavy traffic pushing me through very complicated junctions close together with no race-course signs, too rapidly for even the sat-nav to work properly.

I have had two new licences that were not a continuation of the expired ones.

Don't take anything for granted.

My latest licence starts nearly four months after previous one expired despite applying months before old licence finished.

Hi Windy

That's because the DVLA don't backdate licence start dates, probably dated the day it was issued.

At 77 Bucks council asked if I would like to take an older/mature driver assessment. I have never found any problem but thought what lovely idea. It cost £37 and is an hour long in your own car. The next year I was offered one free so I took it again.

As the lockdown sort of finished I asked and got another and at 80 being told I should wait 3 years before applying again was somewhat of a confidence boost.

It means being assessed by total strangers who aren't afraid to tell you how it is and give helpful tips.

One could argue it doesn't test you at night but as has been said already it does start to become obvious what the problems are. That is especially true of the people who love the high powered headlights and have no idea about when to dip.

I you have any doubts I would thoroughly recommend taking this assessment.

Nigel, I have the same problems with night driving, it seems as though the latest headlamp bulbs are lasers, the light is blinding, I don’t drive at night if there is a choice. I am fortunate in that my Honda Jazz has self dipping headlights, if it perceives a car coming towards you it automatically dips the headlights and likewise if you come up behind a vehicle it senses the taillights and dips, I have had a few problems where on a frosty night until the windscreen warms up it sometimes won’t operate, fails safe to dip though, the sensor for the lights is in the top of the windscreen and frost on the outside can upset it, however once the windscreen warms up and the frost is gone all works ok. Dave W

Most of my (admittedly limited at present) night driving is urban so I don't suffer too much from being dazzled by other drivers' headlights.

What I do find increasingly troublesome is having to sit behind drivers when stationary who, contrary to what I was taught, keep their foot on the brake pedal; the dazzle from permanently lit brake lights at close quarters can be very hard to ignore.

Sad anorak that I am, when stationary in queues I have taken to counting the number of drivers who have and don't have their foot on the brake pedal. The number of the former now generally outweighs the latter by a big margin. I'm sure this wasn't always the case. Can anyone tell me why this change has occurred?

Hi, Dave W, interesting that self dipping headlights, which reminds me when I was a passenger on my first occasion of night time driving by my late older brother, I noticed that every time a car coming the other way his lights seem to just dip automatically and being a bit naive about driving cars, I asked him how that works as I couldn't see him switching anything, he replied saying there was a photo electric sensor that detects there headlights and dips his automatically and puts them back on full beam after the other car has passed, to which I thought made sense, bearing in mind this was about 1969 / 70. Of course there was no such thing fitted to his old Austin A35, he did come clean though when we got home and showed me the built in foot switch on the floor.

I've got just under two years before I need to worry about renewing my licence when I'm 70, however my current one runs out in a little over a couple of months, so I'll get less than two years before I have to renew it again, always knew I have bad luck.

Regards Nick.

It could be down to an increasing prevalence of automatic gearboxes where a brake application is needed when stationary to prevent creep. The countermeasure is to apply the handbrake, or put the gearbox into park (easily enough done on our Honda where there is a P button).

I agree it distracting, and has become all the more so with high level / high intensity brake lights.

Another of my pet peeves - and one that IMO truly needs addressing as a safety risk - is the habit of emergency services when attending an incident to stop with their emergency lights on full, and often blinking as well. They are quite blinding and make it impossible to see the road clearly when passing them in situations where emergency personnel may be walking out into the road. I'm pretty sure I've seen emergency lights which go onto a 'dim' mode which would surely be more appropriate. Sometimes think there is an element of 'look at us, we're attending an emergency' about this behaviour.

Did an online renewal on Wednesday, my second since turning 70, new licence arrived this morning ,Saturday. Seems if no humans are involved it is processed almost instantly.

There is another reason why so many drivers are noted as riding the foot brake at T/lights etc.

The facility of 'Hill Start Assist' will apply the handbrake when the pedal is depressed harder when stationary. It is released automatically when the driver selects a gear, declutches and throttles to pull away. I have this on my Focus and it does leave the brake lights on for the stationary period. but I agree with you also that there are many who just sit with the foot on the brake nowadays. I am also aversed to the bright headlights and have always adopted the the advice from long ago to divert my line of sight to the kerb side ahead temporarily to avoid dazzle.

Also will have to jump through the hoops to replace my paper license which expires in 2022. Assuming my current painful wrist condition fades and I can get back to driving and the workshop?.

Regards

Edited By Richard S2 on 04/12/2021 14:31:17