Driver's licence renewal.

larchill

My 87 year old Mother's license is up for renewal. She has her Medical form approved (as is required for persons over 70). Its only valid for 1 month �� Now to the NDLS �� Their system is appointment based, with on line booking. I go online & there are no slots available until mid March just before Paddys week end. Leaves the whole thing very tight �� Went up to the local NDLS centre here in Drogheda today just to have a look. Its a shambles! Big long Q, there's a ticket machine there if you don't have an appointment, you press & you get a ticket & a place in the Q. There was a girl standing by the machine for an hour waiting for the machine to give her the option of pressing & getting a ticket. The place closes @ lunchtime on Saturday, & this was around 11:00. Whole thing seems like a shambles. Another RSA sponsored quango. What are others experience of the NDLS.

amcalester

Used the one in Citywest twice, both times I booked an appointment and was in and out in 20 minutes.

No way would I queue, estimated queue time was 2-3 hours.

If they offer an appointment based system I wouldn’t blame them for the long queues.

larchill

I think you're missing the point here. There are no appointment slots available until the middle of March. I'm going away for the Paddys week end & my Mothers Medical report is only good till the 18th thanks to the dunces in the RSA/NDLS. I need to accompany her here, she's 87.

amcalester

I’m not missing the point, there’s no appointments available in Drogheda but you can go to a different one.

I don’t really see why you’re calling them dunces, you’re the one who got the time limited medical report before booking a time slot.

larchill

You don't get it! There're 2 issues here:

1. When you go to the doctor to get the medical report as is required for all persons over 70, the report is only valid for 1 month (3 months would be more reasonable & sensible) especially given the lack of appointment slots.

2. Non availability of slots until close to the expiry date of the medical report.

Hence the dunce remark.

Squidgy Black

Why didn't you book an appointment before getting the report then?

There's a backlog due to Brexit and UK drivers wanting to swap over their licences, on top of usual busy periods.

amcalester

You don’t get it.

1 You could have booked your time slot before getting the cert
2 You can go to another center
3 You could just go to Drogheda and queue
4 book a slot now and if you need a new cert get one.
5 You said the slots are close to the expiry date, but presumably within the month. So what’s the problem? Not their fault you’re unavailable.

So, who’s the dunce?

Wishbone Ash

OP - many people book an appointment and just don't show up (same as for driving tests) - hence the reason they allow queuing on the day also rather than waste the spots. You may have hit them on a bad day where everyone showed up. It's not the fault of the NDLS.

PS - did you queue early or just arrive at 11am to join the queue?

larchill

Amcaster, you're an antagonist! My Mother attended the doctor last Monday in relation to another matter & took the opportunity while there to have the medical form completed & signed. We were unaware of the situation regarding the non availability of appointment slots 😕 She's 87 after all, still being able drive means she can get to the shop, hairdresser etc. Have some regard 😑

cursai

Get another medical report closer to the appointment date. Of course this is assuming a sensible period before the ten year licence expires.

amcalester

larchill wrote: »

Amcaster, you're an antagonist! My Mother attended the doctor last Monday in relation to another matter & took the opportunity while there to have the medical form completed & signed. We were unaware of the situation regarding the non availability of appointment slots 😕 She's 87 after all, still being able drive means she can get to the shop, hairdresser etc. Have some regard 😑

So go to Trim? Slots available there in the first week of March.

Nothing you have said here justifies you calling the staff dunces.

Vologda69

Saturday's and Fridays are the busiest days of the week for NDLS. Brexit is not helping either with UK licence holders taking up a lot of time. Go early in the morning or late in the afternoon on another weekday and you wont be waiting long. You can attend any office on the country. Make sure there are no mistakes on the medical or they will reject it.

Spook_ie

30 mins or so to go to Santry, or as said book a suitable date then get the medical

Mundo7976

Queued in santry for 2 licences last week, no appointment. Was in & out less than 45mins for both

larchill

Thanks for all your suggestions. Will try afternoon/evening next week. Im not blaming the staff, they're only doing their job. It's the lack of latitude around the thing. Expecting to get an appointment within a few weeks is not an unreasonable expectation. The medical report being only valid for a few weeks is irksome to say the least.

Wheety

Has she renewed her psc card in the last couple of years? Might be able to renew online? The medical report element could complicate that though.

Vologda69

Wheety wrote: »

Has she renewed her psc card in the last couple of years? Might be able to renew online? The medical report element could complicate that though.

Can't renew online at the moment if a medical is needed. RSA like to reinvent the wheel with such things. Instead of researching what other countries like Australia (where you can check your driver file online) do. If they also invested in more frontline staff (who are clearly under pressure), customers wouldnt have to wait weeks for appointments.

larchill

Aye, that's just it isn't it - the bl00dy RSA, the bane of our lives these days. Use the excuse that they're attempting to save lives to create crap for us all!

I just walked into an an ndls Centre to exchange my UK license it was very busy but I took a ticket was still done in an hour.