Highland MSP Seeks Reform Of DVLA Driving Assessments

4th March 2016

Highlands and Islands (Labour) MSP and Scottish (Labour) Transport Spokesperson, David Stewart, has written to Lord Ahmad, the Under Secretary of State for Transport, over anomalies with drivers requiring to be re- assessed for driving after a medical condition meant their licences had to be suspended.

I have been in dialogue with DVLA and the Driving Assessment Centre in Edinburgh over the lengthy waiting list for drivers re-sitting their test. Some are waiting up to seven months just to be re-assessed, which is frankly unacceptable" said David Stewart. On this occasion however, I have written to the Under Secretary of State for Transport seeking answers on the following:

Drivers attending the assessment centre in Edinburgh are issued for a provisional driving licence for the day of the test only. They get no time to practice supervised beforehand. Many of these drivers have not driven for over a year and are expected to just turn up and produce an acceptable drive.”

I have asked why such drivers cannot be issued with a provisional licence two months before they sit their re-test which would allow them to practice whilst being supervised. Surely if their own GP and the DVLA Medical Advisor deemed them fit to drive, then this would be a more acceptable and understanding approach to the whole issue.

David Stewart went on "It is ludicrous when you consider that a driver has recovered from a medical condition, which in some cases can be a serious condition and then by the time they have re-applied for their licence, plus the waiting time to be re-assessed which is anywhere from 12 months to 18months, their health is affected by the stress and pressure of waiting unable to drive, whilst they watch their income dry up and businesses fold.

In this day and age the whole process takes far too long and needs an overhaul. In Scotland we have only the one driving assessment centre, since the SNP Government and the NHS Boards decided to do away with the mobile assessment centre that toured the country. How is this a step forward?

I await with interest the response from Lord Ahmad.