renewal of HGV license with a Twist

[Purosangue]

We have a friend who is on the spectrum of Asperger's , He has a great deal of difficulty socialising , lives his life very quietly , peacefully alone has a very holistic view on life , vegan , vegetarian , teetotal etc. but very intelligent ,

Unfortunately three years ago , he was convicted of stalking a "celebrity" ..... The case was a shambles , and when you stack up the evidence he was hung out too dry . Very bad advice from his solicitor . the stalking part was meeting the celebrities mother who is a holistic coach and during a holistic session she mentioned her daughter was a celebrity who also had a very holistic view , So he put two and two together and thought she was the one , after asking the mother if he could write to her which the mother agreed he sent 4 letters
These were written in Shakespearean English , I think both the mother and celebrity though " fruitcake " and asked him to stop sending letters which he did , Unfortunately using the internet he discovered where she lived , so decided to knock on her door ./ She panicked and called plod .........Then his world fell apart , he was arrested , charged

and spent 7 months on remand in Pentonville prison and received a two year suspended sentence , tagged with curfew and a life long ban from visiting a district in London .
It was akin to the Barry George case , where police had an easy target , the celebrity had a top barrister , and for someone who on the face of it would be considered " socially odd"

So when we got involved we found him accommodation , together with work colleagues found him a job as a construction warehouse Driver , he had an HGV licence already , and worked extremely hard , His exceptional talent was reversing trailers , and being extremely precise ,

His 2 years suspended sentence expired a year ago and its taken a year to get his life back on an even keel , the query regarding HGV & Bus licences is . He is renewing his licence , its clean , but it asks wether he has had any convictions other than motoring offences , Which of course he has , hes worried they might rescind his HGV license due to his criminal conviction , can anyone offer advise on this

thanks

[nismocat]

Yeah, way too much info dude.

Declare all convictions.

For example, we will suspend your licence if:

you have been charged with a serious relevant offence
the police or another public body are investigating you for a serious relevant offence
Examples of what we mean by “serious relevant offence” are: terrorism, murder, manslaughter, rape, assault occasioning bodily harm (actual or grievous), battery, kidnapping, possession of indecent photographs of children, restriction of production and supply of controlled drugs.

Lie and you he WILL have it revoked.

[sherbertdip]

Purosangue said:

We have a friend who was sentenced to 2 yrs suspended, secured a driving job, sentence now complete, does he have to declare his conviction to renew his HGV licence?

Yes he does.

[119]

Is being a fruit loop a ‘serious relevant offence’ though?

[MBVitoria]

sherbertdip said:

Purosangue said:

We have a friend who was sentenced to 2 yrs suspended, secured a driving job, sentence now complete, does he have to declare his conviction to renew his HGV licence?

Yes he does.

This - although when the convictions are deemed "spent" under the Rehabilitation of Offenders act (see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rehabilitation-periods... he doesn't need to disclose them, unless the role is deemed exempt - the question on the form should make this point clear.

[vaud]

Presumably as he got two years then it was for harassment with fear of violence?

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/outlines/hara...

Sentencing guidelines:

https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/offences/crow...

[Purosangue]

sherbertdip said:

Purosangue said:

We have a friend who was sentenced to 2 yrs suspended, secured a driving job, sentence now complete, does he have to declare his conviction to renew his HGV licence?

Yes he does.

That is not what was asked , Yes he is going to declare his conviction the question was by declaring them , would they revoke his license ?

[Purosangue]

[quote=vaud]Presumably as he got two years then it was for harassment with fear of violence?


No fear of violence , the offence was stalking

[sherbertdip]

Purosangue said:

sherbertdip said:

Purosangue said:

We have a friend who was sentenced to 2 yrs suspended, secured a driving job, sentence now complete, does he have to declare his conviction to renew his HGV licence?

Yes he does.

That is not what was asked , Yes he is going to declare his conviction the question was by declaring them , would they revoke his license ?

You asked for advice, that is the only advice I can give, declare it, whether his licence will be rescinded I cannot answer and only the licensing authority can provide the advice you require on a particular conviction. It's one of those questions that really shouldn't be asked on a forum.

[sherbertdip]

MBVitoria said:

sherbertdip said:

Purosangue said:

We have a friend who was sentenced to 2 yrs suspended, secured a driving job, sentence now complete, does he have to declare his conviction to renew his HGV licence?

Yes he does.

This - although when the convictions are deemed "spent" under the Rehabilitation of Offenders act (see https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rehabilitation-periods... he doesn't need to disclose them, unless the role is deemed exempt - the question on the form should make this point clear.

Fully agree, but the timescale described the Rehabilitation of Offenders act is not applicable, so not worth bringing up.

[NFT]

Good lord, I can't help but feel the mother gave him the idea he was a match for her daughter.

I once got it other way round when cashier I was running to disappeared for some time without warning, I felt like a stalker so stayed away when she reappeared and saw in public. Friend then nearly knocked my teeth out for having hurt her. Can't win sometimes I guess.

Edited by NFT on Wednesday 4th October 12:57

[Ian Geary]

Is this thread a competition to post the most random story?

I don't think I'm going to beat those two!

[Purosangue]

Ian Geary said:

Is this thread a competition to post the most random story?

I don't think I'm going to beat those two!

Its just one of many topics we have had to deal with for the poor chap ,people with Asperger's don't act or think normally anyway he's declared his convictions , so will wait to see what happens.

[nismocat]

I can’t imagine someone with Asperger’s would be able to properly concentrate to the degree you’d need to operate a HGV or heavy machinery.

[Purosangue]

nismocat said:

I can’t imagine someone with Asperger’s would be able to properly concentrate to the degree you’d need to operate a HGV or heavy machinery.

we got him a start at a friends construction company , he already had an HGV license and had been driving for a few years , we put him on a telehandler course and the instructor gave him top marks , his calculations are top notch too , visually he could look at a drive , and be able to calculate quantities' of Gravel , concrete m3 etc , in his head , usually not far off the money. and remember that information weeks later .

his problem is socialising , he doesn't drink , alcohol or tea / coffee , but has earned the respect of the teams by sheer hard work ,

[DuncsGTi]

nismocat said:

I can’t imagine someone with Asperger’s would be able to properly concentrate to the degree you’d need to operate a HGV or heavy machinery.

Yeah, I suppose you could add high pressure jobs like road racing motorbikes to that list of jobs too.

Guy Martin might disagree though..............

[CanoeSniffer]

DuncsGTi said:

nismocat said:

I can’t imagine someone with Asperger’s would be able to properly concentrate to the degree you’d need to operate a HGV or heavy machinery.

Yeah, I suppose you could add high pressure jobs like road racing motorbikes to that list of jobs too.

Guy Martin might disagree though..............

Yeah, that’s a bit wrong. One of my most competent work colleagues had an Asperger’s diagnosis- we work with high voltage electricity 25kv, operating MEWPs ranging from 10 through 32 tonnes- on road and on site. Also emergency fault cover for any number of sticky situations which he was more than capable of handling.

I also race with a couple of people who’ve been diagnosed, they’re perfectly capable on the circuit and in fact pretty bloody rapid in the case of one- also have excellent mechanical skills and do a good job of preparing the cars. Asperger’s really doesn’t have to be debilitating, though of course the traits vary a lot from person to person.

[rallye101]

The vegan comment hit home, employed a great guy who was on the spectrum and he had a weekly delivery in an estate with a slaughterhouse.
He committed suicide one night as he couldn't handle his feelings and left a note stating that..was a tough one!

[Purosangue]

rallye101 said:

The vegan comment hit home, employed a great guy who was on the spectrum and he had a weekly delivery in an estate with a slaughterhouse.
He committed suicide one night as he couldn't handle his feelings and left a note stating that. Was a tough one!

That's a bad outcome ,

The Owner of the construction company is a good chap he has a barrister friend who reviewed the case , ne said his legal team hung him out to dry , and spending 7 months on remand in Pentonville , when you dont have the social skills to deal with ordinary people let alone criminals must have been a nightmare for him..

Really should never have got as far as court , guess having a celebrity top legal team greases a few wheels , the joke was he got 150hrs community service , over 2 years this was during COVID . Probation royally fked up , they couldn't get staff to supervise and he ended up doing just 6 hrs , was a complete joke ,

[Silvanus]

rallye101 said:

The vegan comment hit home, employed a great guy who was on the spectrum and he had a weekly delivery in an estate with a slaughterhouse.
He committed suicide one night as he couldn't handle his feelings and left a note stating that..was a tough one!

I know it's all history now but couldn't someone else have done the slaughterhouse run, or were management unfortunately not aware it was causing him issues. I know at times companies are accused of pandering, but sometimes reasonable adjustments are easy and a benefit all round.

We have a team that carries out forestry inspection and one of the guys is a vegan (not a militant vega, very knowledgeable guy). They don't do the jobs with the pheasant pens if we are aware of them. They didn't ask, it was suggested to them. Otherwise all the work gets done and we are all happy with it.

Mental health issues combined with neurodiversity struggles is utterly st, I know only to well. Especially if you throw in a physical condition too.