Protecting your Driving Licence for work...

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

I'd imagine there are quite a few PH'ers who depend on their licence for their livelihoods...

Taxi Drivers, Lorry Drivers, BIB, Couriers...etc...

I'm at the beginning of a career change right now...starting college in September, to hopefully gain a place at University next year to do a degree in Paramedic Science...the goal being Ambulance Paramedic. I'm 39 years old, and I don't take this decision lightly - I am willing to work my socks off and give up 4 years of my life, unpaid, to get into the profession I very much desire.

I'm lucky enough to already have the 'C1' category on my licence, mandatory for Ambulance work - but the other criteria for University entry, and definitely for Ambulance Service interviews, is: 'preferably a clean licence, but applicants with up to 3 points for minor misdemeanours will be considered'.

Anyone with over 3 points can whistle...your application would find a nearby bin very quickly.

I'm fortunate (careful?) enough to have a clean licence right now - but it's not always been so in the past - and these days, it's dead easy to pick up points, even unwittingly at camera sites, if you're not paying attention, and your mind has wandered for a second (and we're all just human, are we not - even the best drivers must surely be exposed to the vagaries of the human mind from time to time, no?)

So, since my life-changing decision, concsious of the fact that, now more than ever, my driving licence means so much to me - it's good health and points-free status is pivotal in acheiving what I wish to - that I have become a slow, careful, highly-compliant 'Driving Miss Daisy' type road user, almost driving on egg-shells, and actually now far less relaxed than before, almost tense and nervous. And I mean, to an extremely anal degree.

Ok, you could argue that ALL road users should drive with this degree of care and anticipation - but we all know that, human nature being what it is - this type of driving, day to day, is a little unsustainable - for example, every journey I've done lately, I've arrived at my destination a tense, nervous wreck from the high degree of critical observation on my driving, minute by minute.

I'm terrified of getting points for some careless in-attention on my part, which will totally bugger up my career prospects!


So - how do other 'job dependent' drivers on here cope with that kind of pressure? I.E points or a ban immediatey results in loss of livelihood?

How do you drive, day to day?

[Eighteeteewhy]

I drive for work and my colleagues and I were acquiring points left, right and centre.
All vans are now limited to 67mph.

Licences are clean. It's harsh but it works.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Eighteeteewhy said:

I drive for work and my colleagues and I were acquiring points left, right and centre.
All vans are now limited to 67mph.

Licences are clean. It's harsh but it works.

What's your work, mate?

[Eighteeteewhy]

Courier/delivery driver, all over the country.

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Eighteeteewhy said:

Courier/delivery driver, all over the country.

So you'd suggest that, since having 'limited' vehicles, that the nickings generally vanished? I.E. most of the nickings were speed related in 70mph limits?

Not many nickings in other limits, like 30's, 40's, 50's etc.?

[Krise]

I work in construction and for a couple of years I was doing around 80k a year driving up and down the country.

Doing that kind of mileage I racked up 6 points quickly, had to spend the next 5 years religiously sticking to the limit.

Fortunately I'm working on a project 10 miles from home so could cycle, bus, train but that could change and not being able to drive would have a detrimental effect on my work and earnings.

Krise

[Eighteeteewhy]

In 30s most of us drive sensible do not a problem.

50s are a pain, but the worst was duel carriageways which in a van is 60mph oppose to 70mph in a car.

[anonymous-user]

I've never had any points, ever, and I don't hang about where appropriate.

Some of it is luck, but stick to the lower limits as that's where most of the mobile vans are and don't do daft things like cresting a hill on a fast dual carriageway at 90+ and I can't see how you're going to rack points up. If you're getting caught by fixed cameras then you're not watching the road properly.

[Studio117]

Becoming a paramedic is a strange career choice.

Get used to:

90% of your time being wasted by stupid chav idiots.
Shagging your buddy at work, your spending 12 hours with them everyday.
Drinking heavily to free you of stress/guilt/paperwork/general bullst.
fking up your family life due to the working hours.
Crash the van and you will get fked, a post on here described similar.

Its a hard life and your driving licence is the least of your worries.

• As explained from an ex ambulance driver who now earns £7 per hour because he quit due to the stress of it all.

Edited by Studio117 on Monday 23 July 01:17

[Flawless Victory]

Ray Luxury-Yacht said:

So - how do other 'job dependent' drivers on here cope with that kind of pressure? I.E points or a ban immediatey results in loss of livelihood?

How do you drive, day to day?

I don't speed or break any other traffic laws.

No licence = no job and although the hours on the dole are good, the money is crap.

[R0G]

Pass the advanced driving test

Not only will it give you a heads up for blue light driving but will also help to keep your licence clean

[Ray Luxury-Yacht]

Studio117 said:

Becoming a paramedic is a strange career choice.

Get used to:

90% of your time being wasted by stupid chav idiots.
Shagging your buddy at work, your spending 12 hours with them everyday.
Drinking heavily to free you of stress/guilt/paperwork/general bullst.
fking up your family life due to the working hours.
Crash the van and you will get fked, a post on here described similar.

Its a hard life and your driving licence is the least of your worries.

• As explained from an ex ambulance driver who now earns £7 per hour because he quit due to the stress of it all.

Edited by Studio117 on Monday 23 July 01:17

Heya.

Thanks for your honesty!

Wanted to chat to you a bit about this - tried to PM you but it says you don't accept PM's...

I wonder if you could PM me when you get 5 minutes please? Thank you!

[AdvanceRoadcraft]

All the above is pretty good advice, but in addition you might be a candidate for a speed camera detector?

Best with the career change, B

[Ecosseven]

I need my licence for my job. I do around 20k miles per year and around 7k of those are business miles travelling around Scotland. I made the conscious decision not to get another bike as the temptation to pin the throttle wide open is too great. I still enjoy driving but am now focussed on having fun at lower speeds. An off road toy or an MX-5 are likely to be next on my list.

[Rawwr]

I protect my licence by not driving like a . Works quite well.

[king arthur]

Eighteeteewhy said:

In 30s most of us drive sensible do not a problem.

50s are a pain, but the worst was duel carriageways which in a van is 60mph oppose to 70mph in a car.

Did you find yourselves getting nicked a lot on dual carriageways then? By what method?

[Vipers]

Observation, anticipation, turn the phone off, concentrate on whay you are doing. It isnt that difficult, goood luck.

[Chilledbud]

I'm in a slightly different boat from you, as I'm already a Paramedic so it's more of a case of not loosing my license than tarnishing it with points.

Since I have a s2000 and live in God's country for UK driving ( North Wales ) I do 'make progress' when out in the car, but I tend to pick when and where on the basis of knowledge of the area I'm in.

I'm a 70mph on the motorway kind of person so I've no issues on getting points there, and 30/40/50mph are stuck too fairly religiously. I tend not to drive so fast I'm in court/ban territory when I'm out for a spirited drive, apart from where it's clear and safe to do so.

Having been advance police trained, I felt a far better and safer driver after finishing the course, and years of blue light driving has increased that two fold, it's more of a case of knowing something is about to happen that the ability to get out of that situation, but when they do arrive it's instinctive by now.

Since I get to play about driving fast in work, especially with some of the tweaked Volvos we have these days I get most of the fast driving out of my system then, and it's far better fun doing it on someone else's tyres and fuel and calling it work.

If you want to pick my brains, I was seconded as a Technician to Uni to become a Para by my trust a couple years back, so I know the route fairly well, having also worked in central Manchester for years I know the worse and the best parts of the job well by now.

[philmots]

Hard for some van drivers. Unless the van is car derived a derestricted zone is 50mph.

I drive HGV1 and have a clean license.. Normally allow up to 6 as a new starter, if you gain points whilst employed they keep you on.

[Bohally]

By looking far enough ahead. Reguarly sit at speed on the motorway and haven't been caught yet in 100k of motoring in 4 years.