Afternoon all - hope you are all well! So, I am on (like alot - if not all of us) a 3 year driving license. It ran out in June - although I sent it back to the DVLA in March - anticipating that it could take a while to renew. They have now had it for almost 7 months. I kept ringing up for a progress report and was told that its being dealt with. The DVLA supplied me with a covering note so I may continue to drive in the mean time - happy days. Well, just now I have received a call from Wessex Motability - I have to go for a driving assesment and a meeting with an occupational officer. A driving instructor will take me out for a drive (in his car, not mine, in a city I have never driven in). To obviously asses my ability to drive. They say the DVLA have reffered me. As this is my first renewal of my license I dont know if this is normal drills or not? I have stupidly worked myself up in the 15 minutes since the call. I am worried they will say I cant drive although in the sensible part of my brain I know I can safely operate my car, but the non-sensible part of my brain is playing tricks. I am under alot of stress at the moment, moving jobs (possibly), getting married in 7 weeks (hopefully!) looking after a mother who has done her ankles in, a nan who is just generally old and ill, and my other half who also has MS along with other conditions and is medically retired. and now this. Can anyone reassure me PLEASE!!! H xxxx
Hi h, well no wonder yourre a bit frazzled..........who wouldnt be, without all those added extras to worry about.
i liken my life to one where I am spinning lots of plates…if one of my plates slip, then the others are also in danger of coming crashing down around my head.
You have more spinning plates than me, so i do feel for you.
i decided to give up driving several years ago, but sometimes wonder if i should take it up again. Whilst I have my hubby to chauffeur me around, I only think about it briefly.
Im afraid i cant advise you on your dilemma, but im sure therell be others along soon, who can.
Just want to wish you well and hope things go your way.
luv Pollx
Hi Hayley
http://www.mssociety.org.uk/forum/everyday-living/dvla-notification
Look at the comment from Markolad towards the end. When I saw your post, I was sure I’d seen something about this where someone said that the assessment was about checking you can control the car ok, and not about picking you up on the bad habits we’ve all got ni the years after passing our tests. I think this is what I was remembering.
Hope this helps to reassure you,
Dave
Hi Hayley
I had an assessment done a few years ago and it was really good. The people who did it were all very understanding & supportive, and I was able to take as many breaks as I needed when I got tired.
The day started off with a quick questionnaire about what my main symptoms are, then they did the standard neurological exam that my neuro has done countless times before. And then it was onto the driving itself. I wanted to see what hand controls would be best for me to use, so I had a go in three different cars they had with slightly different controls.
The feeling I got from the people there was that they were looking forways to help me to drive, not looking for reasons to stop me driving. I’m glad I did the assessment, as it helped put my mind at ease about driving.
Good luck!
Dan
Thanks for responding guys. I feel better today - just got myself worked up into a right tizz!!
Dan and Dave its good to hear your experiences. It was just a shock I think as there is absolutely nothing that would stop me being able to drive (in my opinion) and in the many years my partner has had MS he has never been asked to do this. So - I put my victim head on!
And thank you Poll - you always put something nice and positive onpeoples posts.
Now to wait for the appt!!!xx
I have no personal experience but I was talking to a woman when waiting to see the ms nurse and she had been sent for one.
She was like jelly(her words) when she got there as she only drives known roads but said they were brilliant and the aim was definately to check she had full control of the car,not to try and get her off the road.
She said that they were checking that cog fog wasnt a problem and that she was able to move her feet to the pedals in a way that was fast enough to respond to suddenly changing situations.
She kept her licence with no problems and was advised to contact them in the future if she felt hand controls would help.
Good luck
Pip