Medical/Drink Drive

[musicsmith]

Hi everyone. Before I get loads of people telling me I'm stupid, irrisponsible, should never be allowed to ever drive again, a worthless piece of human s$%t etc etc, what happened was eight years ago and I'm not proud of it and under no circumstances would I do it again. I am just looking for the advice and experience from people who have been through the drink drive medical. I do not need to be told how stupid I was as I already know.

I have not driven for eight years after my second drink drive offence. I am now thinking of getting my licence back and will need to go through the medical process. I do still drink, probably more than I should and am concerned that the fact I do drink regularly will show up on any blood tests. I intend having a chat with my GP and asking for a Liver Function Test, LFT, but does anyone have any information about what the actual medical is looking for and what it consists of.

2nd question
Curiously, When I contacted DVLA to ask about my licence, I was told I had only a provisional licence and had never passed a test. I passed while serving with the army and the testing officer was a Queens Testing Officer. As I left the army 18 years ago I am unable to get records from them, The only address DVLA have for me is my parents address, I havent lived there for 25 years. I know I held my licence at an address but DVLA have absolutley no record of it. My name is a very common one, Smith and I know of at least one other person who has the exact same name with the same date of birth, just a different place of birth and this has caused some difficulties in the past. DVLA say that it is my responsability to prove I passed my test. Interestingly, when I had a CRB check done recently, it stated all of my driving convictions back to the year dot but nowhere does it mention ever driving without the correct licence.
Any suggestions???
Thanks

[Lula]

Hi there, the test results and any certificate should form part of your Army records which will be freely available to you, but I am going to ask someone who have relevant experience to come and advise you further

[musicsmith]

Thanks Lula, I've already been down the army route, I was initially a member of the Territorial Army, however I worked full time for them in an odd role, and the unit I was sent to was a new one, the TA only keep their records for 7 years after the member has left, or at least they did at the time because I often had the job of destrying records and it was before the time of computer records. The QTO has retired and no records can be found but any suggestions are welcome
Thanks

[Lula]

Hi again, well you would know more than me about it, but the person I have asked to come and look is very experienced in matters of the TA and have a few ideas, of course, he may just confirm what you have already stated, in which case, your only option might be to retake the test.

But when you were banned, did you not possess a full licence at the time? and if you did, what happened to this?

[musicsmith]

Hi Lula, I seem to remember that I had applied for my licence to be returned to me about a month or so before the second conviction, which was about 3 years after the first. between them I had not really driven and so had not spent the money getting it back. So I think it was sort of 'stopped at source' by the court and dvla. I may just have to retake my test but it will be an expensive hassle

[patdavies]

You could try a Subject Access Request on the DVLA for all your records - it has been known to throw up a different result from the 'official line'.

[musicsmith]

Thanks Pat, I may try that but what I think may have happened is that my details have crossed with another 'Smith'. The first time I was in court for a minor driving offence the prosecution came out with a long list of offences belonging to another Smith with the exact name and D.O.B funny at the time but not now....

[Conniff]

You must have been destroying irrelevent documents, regs state:
quote
'The Secretary of State shall maintain complete and accurate medical records in respect of service personnel and shall not dispose of any such records until that person has died
Unquote

[musicsmith]

Quite right! but these are not MEDICAL records, they are just soldiers documents, what they were qualified in, where they served, their next of kin etc. If the army kept all the documents for all the soldiers that have served this country since even 1950, it would take up half a city. It would also take about 150 years to input it all on a computer system. We now have access to the medal records from WW1, thanks to lots of volunteers, goodness knows when we will get round to WW2 let alone the 1980's. I don't know when the law you speak of was brought in but I would think it was fairly recently in the last 15/20 years. I left the Army in 1990, eighteen years ago. I wouldn't be surprised if even my Army Number has been re-issued by now, I know it was happening in the eighties with the numbers of servicemen from the fifties.
regards

[DocH]

The Service records of all discharged military personnel, including Reservists, are kept by the Public Records Office, Hays, Middlesex. Their website is here:

The National Archives of the United Kingdom

Send them a letter, with your Service No., asking for a copy of your Service Record, any driving qualifications should be noted on your Certificate of Service.

Service/Army numbers are exclusive to the individual they are issued to. They are never re-used.

[musicsmith]

Thanks for the interest but this information is not true. The records held for servicemen are just their name, rank, number, medal and medical records, and the medical records are not public. Sometimes, if someone has done something really spectacular then there will be a note attached but that is all they hold. The National Archives certainly do not hold information on servicemen still alive. If they did anyone could access their records and find General so and so or Colonel Fred Basset who served in Northern Ireland and then blow him up. It would be such a massive security breech. Try it, I will give you my service number if you want

[musicsmith]

I should point out that my job in the Army was that of Squadron Chief Clerk. Apart from knowing Queens Regs fairly well I was responsible for the upkeep of all the personal documents for the unit, roughly about 350/400 men. Unless someone knows more than me, which I do say is more than possible, things have changed since my day, once a soldier is no longer on the reserve list, they keep minimum recoreds as anyone wanting to rejoin after six years would have to go through training again

[Lula]

The official repository for Army records for at least the last 60 years is as follows:

Army Personnel Centre
Civil Secretariat
Historial Disclosures
Mail Point 400
Kentigern House,
65 Brown Street
Glasgow G2 8EX

phone 0141 224 2744

from experience they are very helpful

[musicsmith]

Thanks Lula for all your help. I have been through them before and as you say, they are very helpful. I may try again. MANY THANKS. S

[DocH]

We were in the same trade then, just different services. 34 years in the regular RN in administration and training, last ten of which were as a WO1. Things have changed since I was discharged in 2001 because the PRO was always our first port of call if we needed details of former service. Life moves on.

A little more research has thrown up this site:

Service records

and this document is particularly useful, it expands on the information given by Lulu:

http://www.veterans-uk.info/pdfs/ser.../army_pack.pdf

[livelylad]

I will have a dig around for you.

[Lula]

man of few words our Lively

[musicsmith]

Thanks, DocH and Livelylad. Sorry sent PM to you Lively lad but PC hadn't shown up your reply. DocH, I came out as Sgt, broke my heart cos I was on better money as Cpl!!! no mess bills!! You have ten years on me, I came out in 1990. I don't know what has changed since then regards personal info but it never seems to get any easier!!! anyway, us shiny arses should get off our shiny backsides and do something else!! Do you remember PAMPAS? I was one of the first to be trained in it! Only problem was we had to keep 2 paper copies for when it crashed!!