LCWRA and Provisional License

Fruitloops

I'm on LCWRA and have been thinking about applying for a provisional license, initially for ID but also with the hope that one day I might actually be well enough to learn to drive. There's no guarantee of that and it's not something I'm capable of currently. I'd still like to apply for the license.

My worry is that it will trigger a review of my LCWRA even though nothing has changed there, if anything, my situation is worse at the moment. Is it a big risk to get my provisional? Does anybody have experience with this? Thank you.

sammyjammy

They will not know or care you have applied for a provisional driving licence, nothing to worry about.  All you are doing is filling out a form and receiving an ID card.  Don't overthink it.

Robbie64

I'm on ESA and got a provisional driving licence simply for ID purposes - my GP surgery would no longer give printouts of tests etc without seeing ID and I didn't want to be carrying around my passport. As sammyjammy has posted, the DWP won't know you've got one. One thing I wouldn't do though, if I was ever called for an assessement for either ESA or PIP is to show my provisional driving licence as ID. That would probably be an unneccesary worry but would stop me overthinking things.

Fruitloops

Thank you both for your replies, that's easing my worry over it. I'll probably still stress a bit but not as much now!

Newcad

Can you qualify for a disability bus pass?
https://www.nowcard.org/apply/disabled-persons-application/

That has your photo on it and is becoming more and more widely accepted as proof as ID in place of a DL/passport.

A 'official' Older Person or Disabled Person bus pass is one of the forms of photo ID that can be used when voting.
Because of that you see them now appearing on more lists of 'accepted' photo ID.

I have one and for a nmber of years have used it as photo ID when asked for a DL/passport, it has occasionally been queried but accepted in the end.
(It was even accepted at my UC ID interview in 2021, it isn't on the UC photo ID list and she said they didn't accept it - but then took the details and scanned it in as my photo ID anyway).

HillStreetBlues

Fruitloops said:

I'm on LCWRA and have been thinking about applying for a provisional license, initially for ID but also with the hope that one day I might actually be well enough to learn to drive. There's no guarantee of that and it's not something I'm capable of currently. I'd still like to apply for the license.

My worry is that it will trigger a review of my LCWRA even though nothing has changed there, if anything, my situation is worse at the moment. Is it a big risk to get my provisional? Does anybody have experience with this? Thank you.

If you have a medical condition that legally prevents you from driving you won't be accepted for a driving licence, even provisional.

Fruitloops

Newcad said:

Can you qualify for a disability bus pass?
https://www.nowcard.org/apply/disabled-persons-application/

That has your photo on it and is becoming more and more widely accepted as proof as ID in place of a DL/passport.

A 'official' Older Person or Disabled Person bus pass is one of the forms of photo ID that can be used when voting.
Because of that you see them now appearing on more lists of 'accepted' photo ID.

I have one and for a nmber of years have used it as photo ID when asked for a DL/passport, it has occasionally been queried but accepted in the end.
(It was even accepted at my UC ID interview in 2021, it isn't on the UC photo ID list and she said they didn't accept it - but then took the details and scanned it in as my photo ID anyway).

It can be used for ID? I didn't know but I'll look into this too, thanks!

Fruitloops

HillStreetBlues said:

Fruitloops said:

I'm on LCWRA and have been thinking about applying for a provisional license, initially for ID but also with the hope that one day I might actually be well enough to learn to drive. There's no guarantee of that and it's not something I'm capable of currently. I'd still like to apply for the license.

My worry is that it will trigger a review of my LCWRA even though nothing has changed there, if anything, my situation is worse at the moment. Is it a big risk to get my provisional? Does anybody have experience with this? Thank you.

If you have a medical condition that legally prevents you from driving you won't be accepted for a driving licence, even provisional.

I don't have anything officially preventing me from driving, my disabilities aren't on the list that would.

Newcad

Fruitloops said:

.It can be used for ID? I didn't know but I'll look into this too, thanks!

Yes and no.

Even now you still see a lot of places where it just says DL or Passport, but some lists do now include the photo OAP/Disabled bus passes too.

Whenever I have had a stroppy person in the past who would not accept my bus pass because it 'isn't on our list of accepted ID' I've used the following approach which has (almost) always worked.

Stroppy person- "That's not an approved form of photo ID it has to be a DL or Passport".
Me- "I am legally not allowed to have a DL because of my medical condition, I don't leave the country because of my medical condition so don't have a passport, your ID policy is discriminatory against disabled people under the Equal Rights Act 2010. I'd like to speak to your supervisor please, and do you have a complaints form please?".

Amazingly they (or their supervisor) then quickly find that their ID poilicy says that they can accept a disabled or OAP bus pass as photo ID after all, so isn't discriminatory under EA10.

Like I say though, now that the bus passes are clearly stated on the Voter ID list they are also getting more widely recognised as being valid photo ID.

kaMelo

That's just a cop out on their part not wanting bad PR.

Companies can and many do choose to accept a much broader range of ways for someone to prove who they are but there is nothing discriminatory in insisting the only acceptable forms of ID are either a passport or driving licence.

It would of course make things easier though if there was a third option of a Government issued ID card simply to prove ID.

Fruitloops

Newcad said:

Yes and no.

Even now you still see a lot of places where it just says DL or Passport, but some lists do now include the photo OAP/Disabled bus passes too.

Whenever I have had a stroppy person in the past who would not accept my bus pass because it 'isn't on our list of accepted ID' I've used the following approach which has (almost) always worked.

Stroppy person- "That's not an approved form of photo ID it has to be a DL or Passport".
Me- "I am legally not allowed to have a DL because of my medical condition, I don't leave the country because of my medical condition so don't have a passport, your ID policy is discriminatory against disabled people under the Equal Rights Act 2010. I'd like to speak to your supervisor please, and do you have a complaints form please?".

Amazingly they (or their supervisor) then quickly find that their ID poilicy says that they can accept a disabled or OAP bus pass as photo ID after all, so isn't discriminatory under EA10.

Like I say though, now that the bus passes are clearly stated on the Voter ID list they are also getting more widely recognised as being valid photo ID.

Thanks for this extra info, definitely good to know!