DVLA versus disabled motorists

[Raistlin]

Not only is there fairly reliable ( that is to say, NOT reported by the Guardian ;) ) news that the government is going to take away the zero rate of road tax for disabled drivers who use diesel cars.

Here's another way in which disabled drivers get a kick in the teeth.

I've just bought another car, in fact a petrol engined Jaguar to replace my diesel engined Jaguar to forestall the consequences of my first comment above. I can't tax it at disabled rate until I get a new Certificate of Entitlement from DWP, which I now have.

I have elected not to trade in my present car but to sell it privately to a friend.

Here's the rub. Being disabled I can't walk or catch a bus to the Post Office and I HAVE to go to the Post Office to obtain zero rate tax on my new car. So, to be within the law, I'll have to drive my present car to the Post Office to tax my new one. The trouble is, when I leave the Post Office, all legal obligations met, I can't drive my car home, to where my new car sits (which I can now drive) as the instant I tax the new car, the old car is neither taxed or SORNed and in doing so I'd be committing a criminal offence.

It didn't help when the blockhead at DVLA told me that the only solution was to "Walk or catch a bus", after I'd explained my level of disability to him.

THERE IS however, another solution, which is to tax my old car for a month for the 10 minute drive home. Now isn't that an enlightened and helpful attitude.

Perhaps I should be an MP, then I could claim taxi fare there and back on my expenses.

I'm rapidly developing the opinion that a great deal of "law" in this country these days is purely to gain, fiscally, from those of us who would generally consider ourselves to be law abiding motorists.

To put this into context, a commercial entity, my insurers, allow me to drive either of the cars within the 24 hour period of the day of changeover."

 

[Raistlin]

Thanks Ron :) Based upon my experience with Police officers in the local area specifically and also in general, I agree that they might well consider the bigger picture as it were.

However, being a Magistrate, I don't  want to flout the law and it grinds my gears that this state of affairs should make even the contemplation of doing so necessary.