Early return of licence .

Convicted Driver Insurance

pjh1

Member
Hi I am currently completing community payback at a charity shop and although it is still a long way off intend to apply for early return of my licence after 2 years . Would it be a good idea to continue to volunteer a few hours a week at the charity shop ? would this assist my application along with other reasons or would it make no difference .
 
To get your licence returned early you have to show the court a significant need as to why it should be returned early, such as driving kids to school and improving their quality of life, care for an ill family member or a job offer which requires you to be driving within the job role. A friend of mine volunteers in a rehab center and they provided him with a job offer for a role which required driving and he used this to apply for his licence back early and was successful, volunteering alone isn't a strong enough reason for an early return, you have to show why you really need the licence or how people in your immediate family are suffering without you having it. I attend meetings with 2 other people who had similar reasons to ask for an early return of their licence in regards to having job offers and they were both turned down, it's all down to who's seeing your case on the day and if they feel like your reasons are justified.
 
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Hi I am currently completing community payback at a charity shop and although it is still a long way off intend to apply for early return of my licence after 2 years . Would it be a good idea to continue to volunteer a few hours a week at the charity shop ? would this assist my application along with other reasons or would it make no difference .
That would not be a proper reason for early restoration of your licence. Grice96 has given goos advice, I would just add that you should also show what you have done to ensure that you will not offend again if alcohol was a problem in the past.
 
Hi pjh,

As grice95 and price have quite rightly said, you need to give solid reasons to the court as to why your licence should be returned early and also demonstrate that you have changed your behaviour and drinking habits for the better since the offence occurred. As I have already been through the process to get my disqualification ended early and can give you some advice as to what to prepare for the courts, please do give me a private message!
 
Thank you it is a long way off yet , nothing like being well prepared . I just thought if I continued with a bit of charity work and got a letter off them it would show I am of good character . I will also take a private CDT blood test to show I am not drinking .
I had my own business which I lost but would be able to restart and employ one other if I got my licence back as it depends on driving . I have taken Open University course on Alcohol and Human health and similar courses and my family will benefit as they live a distance away and I cannot see my Grandchildren . Hopefully this will all help .
 
Thank you it is a long way off yet , nothing like being well prepared . I just thought if I continued with a bit of charity work and got a letter off them it would show I am of good character . I will also take a private CDT blood test to show I am not drinking .
I had my own business which I lost but would be able to restart and employ one other if I got my licence back as it depends on driving . I have taken Open University course on Alcohol and Human health and similar courses and my family will benefit as they live a distance away and I cannot see my Grandchildren . Hopefully this will all help .

Preparation is key to having a strong case to put forward - it sounds like you’re doing the right things to support your case when the time eventually comes - charity work always goes down well and it counts for your case even more if you’re giving up your spare time to do it. I’d definitely get some form of statement written down before you actually apply to the court and you can spend time amending it before your court date
 
Preparation is key to having a strong case to put forward - it sounds like you’re doing the right things to support your case when the time eventually comes - charity work always goes down well and it counts for your case even more if you’re giving up your spare time to do it. I’d definitely get some form of statement written down before you actually apply to the court and you can spend time amending it before your court date
Preparation is key to having a strong case to put forward - it sounds like you’re doing the right things to support your case when the time eventually comes - charity work always goes down well and it counts for your case even more if you’re giving up your spare time to do it. I’d definitely get some form of statement written down before you actually apply to the court and you can spend time amending it before your court date
Thank you for reply . I have actually increased my payback hours to get that part out the way and probation case worker finished with and although it will mean volunteering for another 18months think it should be a point in my favour especially if I ask charity shop for a reference . Do you think a CDT blood test by Medicheck to show I am not drinking would be submersible to the court .
I don't drink much anyway so 6 months alcohol free would be easy .
 
The CDT test will benefit you if you've been diagnosed with an alcohol problem in the last 3 years, but if you haven't been then the DVLA won't be looking for any sort of period of sobriety from you. I would recommend seeing your GP every 2 months from now and logging with him/her that you aren't drinking and things are going well for you. It's better to have a long GP record that you've stopped drinking than a few private CDT tests. You have to pay for a CDT test but your GP should provide you with a liver function test via bloods for free every few months to keep a record of the results for that. Your ban will fly in, in the first month or two of mine it really dragged but now my bans up and I'm waiting for my medical and it flew (in NI you can't have the medical until your ban is already over.) It sounds like you're wanting to do all the right things to get your licence back, best of luck!
 
The CDT test will benefit you if you've been diagnosed with an alcohol problem in the last 3 years, but if you haven't been then the DVLA won't be looking for any sort of period of sobriety from you. I would recommend seeing your GP every 2 months from now and logging with him/her that you aren't drinking and things are going well for you. It's better to have a long GP record that you've stopped drinking than a few private CDT tests. You have to pay for a CDT test but your GP should provide you with a liver function test via bloods for free every few months to keep a record of the results for that. Your ban will fly in, in the first month or two of mine it really dragged but now my bans up and I'm waiting for my medical and it flew (in NI you can't have the medical until your ban is already over.) It sounds like you're wanting to do all the right things to get your licence back, best of luck!
Thank you I will still need a medical due to being classed as a high risk offender because I have been convicted twice within 10 years last time 6 years ago . Thank you for advice when I get to 12 months I will start getting the liver tests done by my doctor .
 
Thank you I will still need a medical due to being classed as a high risk offender because I have been convicted twice within 10 years last time 6 years ago . Thank you for advice when I get to 12 months I will start getting the liver tests done by my doctor .

The CDT tests are not a problem and only really show any results if you have been drinking heavily for a long period of time - as a general rule of thumb, you can abstain for as little as 2 weeks and still pass it (I had around a month by the time I took mine), although I’d recommend a bit longer just to be safe. As you said before that you don’t really drink much anyway, then you won’t have a problem
 
The CDT tests are not a problem and only really show any results if you have been drinking heavily for a long period of time - as a general rule of thumb, you can abstain for as little as 2 weeks and still pass it (I had around a month by the time I took mine), although I’d recommend a bit longer just to be safe. As you said before that you don’t really drink much anyway, then you won’t have a problem
Do you think its a good idea to take a private one before I go to court so I have the results to show them ?
 
Do you think its a good idea to take a private one before I go to court so I have the results to show them ?

It can’t hurt to do a private one and you can control the outcome to an extent (by abstaining for as long as you want), and various members on this forum have quoted prices around £100. It all depends on the circumstances of your original case as to whether there was a risk of historic alcohol abuse
 
It can’t hurt to do a private one and you can control the outcome to an extent (by abstaining for as long as you want), and various members on this forum have quoted prices around £100. It all depends on the circumstances of your original case as to whether there was a risk of historic alcohol abuse
They seem to judge you as such because it is my second time within 10 years . The district judge commented "you obviously didn't learn your lesson first time " I don't want to give them the impression I have a drink problem .
 
Do you think its a good idea to take a private one before I go to court so I have the results to show them ?

It can’t hurt to do a private one as you can control the outcome to an extent,
They seem to judge you as such because it is my second time within 10 years . The district judge commented "you obviously didn't learn your lesson first time " I don't want to give them the impression I have a drink problem .

The response you got was similar to mine as I was sentenced in a city where the police have regular crackdowns on drink driving and view drunk drivers as lower than low (I had also just got my licence back from another offence 2 years previously), however when I came to apply for my disqualification to be removed early, it was a completely different story as the magistrates were genuinely interested to hear about what I had done to change my behaviour and habits subsequently. I think as long as you have your head held high, don’t give off arrogance and just state your case like it is (you’ve made a lot of changes and have moved on from where you were) then you’ll have no problems
 
Magistrates courts are weird places. At sentencing the magistrates tend to aim for you to leave sh*tting bricks and never wanting to be there again. Remember most of the people they see are illiterate chavs who don't respect anyone, not the people posting on these forums.

At early return hearings any chavs will have been weeded out by no licence prosecutions so they are more likely to hear you out.

They may seem like grumpy sods but if I volunteered my time to get abuse from chavs I'd give everyone a bloody hard time too.
 
Magistrates courts are weird places. At sentencing the magistrates tend to aim for you to leave sh*tting bricks and never wanting to be there again. Remember most of the people they see are illiterate chavs who don't respect anyone, not the people posting on these forums.

At early return hearings any chavs will have been weeded out by no licence prosecutions so they are more likely to hear you out.

They may seem like grumpy sods but if I volunteered my time to get abuse from chavs I'd give everyone a bloody hard time too.
Thanks for reply I will be 60 by the time I apply and certainly no chav . Do you know if successful how long it is roughly before I can drive again bearing in mind I will need a medical and although I will be completely honest with them do they check up on everything you say references etc reason I ask this is what happens if they cant get hold of someone will it delay the case .
 
Thanks for reply I will be 60 by the time I apply and certainly no chav . Do you know if successful how long it is roughly before I can drive again bearing in mind I will need a medical and although I will be completely honest with them do they check up on everything you say references etc reason I ask this is what happens if they cant get hold of someone will it delay the case .
If your request is successful the DVLA take about three months to process a HRO application, although it depends how quickly your GP replies. Chasing both your GP and DVLA will probably speed things up.

At court you will be expected - or at least your case will be much stronger - if you provide documented evidence of anything you want to use to support your case. Although references are not routinely checked, lying under oath is perjury and you will get much more than a driving ban if discovered. Apart from anything else there is no need to pretend to be the perfect human being. You need to focus on why you have changed since the ban was imposed - including any practical examples - and why you need your licence back early.
 
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