over 70 licence renewal

[TD42]

I have just received my licence renewal form on reaching 70, quandry is,do I renew my C1 & D1 entitalment & pay for the doctors report,or simply accept that I can no longer tow in excess of 3.5 trainweight

My present caravan has a mtplm 1350kg & my car (a CitroenC5) has a GVW 1985 giving a MTW of 3345kg??
What have others done? there must be many who have had to make the decision considering the amout of 4X4s & vans in excess of 1350kg

 

[NickinFrance]

Doesn't the 3,500 kg limit apply to the plated Gross Train Weight rather than the actual car & trailer weights?

 

[RogerL]

In the case of a driver who has B+E and C1+E entitlements, the +E part isn't subject to medical conditions - they can if they wish relinquish their C1+E at age 70 but still retain B+E.
The B+E entitlement can be renewed at age 70 with a self-declared medical statement, exactly them same as a B only licence for non-tuggers - so a car up to 3500kg gross can continue to be used to tow a trailer of any weight (as long as it doesn't exceed the car's limits).
At age 70, the C or C1 entitlement can only be renewed after a medical examination - this is only needed for vehicles OVER 3,500kg gross which are typically trucks but also includes US-style motorhomes.
A handful of motorhomes are built on the "jumbo" version of a conventional chassis-cab around 4,250kg gross which needs the C1 entitlement and therefore a medical.
There is no provision for drivers to lose the +E entitlement once gained so it never goes back to a 3,500kg OUTFIT limit - except of course disqualified drivers if they're stripped of all their group entitlements.

 

[ProfJohnL]

I believe Roger is correct on this but I have to sound a note of caution, The DVLA have been kown to loose categories when renewing licences, so if yours is up for renwal always keep a copy of the original so you have some record of what categories you do haveand thne carefully check you new one, if its wrong get in touch with DVLA.

 

[RogerL]

I believe Roger is correct on this but I have to sound a note of caution, The DVLA have been kown to loose categories when renewing licences, so if yours is up for renwal always keep a copy of the original so you have some record of what categories you do haveand thne carefully check you new one, if its wrong get in touch with DVLA.

I'm not sure about DVLA "known to lose" - they're infamous for it !!
Best thing to do when renewing your licence is to declare that you've lost/mislaid the original and don't return it - the stupid part is that DVLA work from their own records, not your existing licence, so it only gets binned - of course we can guess how many inaccuracies their records contain.

 

[TD42]

thanks for the infomation folks I've done the renewal on line,& there is no need to send in the original
Thanks again
TD